Kent State University
North Carolina
Women’s Basketball Visits Tobacco Road for Start of 2018-19 Season
11/8/2018 7:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Kent State women's basketball opens the regular season with a trip to the Tar Heel State this weekend. The Golden Flashes will play North Carolina on Friday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. and 17th-ranked NC State on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
Third-year head coach Todd Starkey's squad was projected to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. The returners are led by a veteran background that includes redshirt junior Megan Carter, senior Alexa Golden and junior Ali Poole. Golden and Poole were starters last season, while Carter was the Flashes' second-leading scorer (10.2 ppg) as the first player off the bench.
Kent State cruised past Division II Slippery Rock, 77-48, in its lone exhibition game on Sunday. Freshman point guard Asiah Dingle poured in a game-high 21 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the floor and added six rebounds and four steals in 24 minutes of action. Ali Poole had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds, which was twice as many boards as any other player. Megan Carter also hit double-figures with 10 points. Carter and Poole shared the team lead with three assists each. Freshman forward Lindsey Thall blocked three shots and drained a pair of deep three-pointers en route to eight points.
Although the Flashes' 26 three-point attempts were nearly 10 more than last season's average, they still managed to get frequent trips to the free throw line and ended up converting 23 of 29 attempts. Since the beginning of the 2016-17 season, Kent State's 16.97 free throws made per game trail only Oklahoma nationally.
Scouting North Carolina
Picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference, North Carolina hit the century mark in a 100-69 victory at Elon to open the season on Tuesday. The Tar Heels rarely missed in a 60-point second half, shooting 21-of-28 overall and 8-for-14 from long range. Six players scored in double-figures. Junior college transfer Shayla Bennett led the way with 19 points, seven assists and five steals. Paris Kea (19.4 ppg, 4.8 apg in 2017-18) and Janelle Bailey (15.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg in 2017-18) were Preseason All-ACC selections. Both players received national recognition, as Kea was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award (top point guard) watch list and Bailey was named to the Lisa Leslie Award (top center) watch list. Guard Stephanie Watts (16.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg in 2016-17) is back in the lineup after missing all of last season.
Scouting No. 17 NC State
Picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 17 NC State rallied to defeat Belmont, 77-62, in its season opener on Wednesday. The Wolfpack shot 20-for-28 from the floor and put 48 points on the board over the final 20 minutes to overcome a seven-point halftime deficit. Five players scored in double-figures. Transfer guard Grace Hunter led all players with 16 points and guard Kai Crutchfield contributed 15 points off the bench. Guards Aislinn Konig (11 points) and Kiara Leslie (10 points) each grabbed nine rebounds.
Series History
• Kent State is lost its only previous matchup to both schools.
• The Golden Flashes traveled to Chapel Hill early in the 1983-84 season to compete in the Tar Heel Doubleheader.
• Kent State lost its first game of the event to NC State, 79-55, on Dec. 3, 1983.
• Amy Schuler led the Flashes with 18 points and Kathleen Garvey had a team-high seven rebounds.
• Kent State then fell to North Carolina, 91-54, on Dec. 4, 1983.
• Judi Drum paced the Flashes with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
TV / Radio
Dave Wilson will be on the call for both games on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel. Sunday's contest will also be aired on 640 WHLO.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes open the home schedule next weekend by hosting the Kent State Classic inside of the M.A.C. Center. Kent State plays Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. and Oakland on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m.
