Kent State University
NJIT
Kent State Concludes Non-Conference Road Slate Friday at NJIT
12/20/2018 1:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Kent State will play its final non-conference road game at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21 at NJIT. The Golden Flashes are 2-1 on the current road swing and will try to clinch a winning non-conference record for the second year in a row.
On Monday night, Kent State defeated St. Bonaventure, 76-64, in its best offensive performance of the season. In addition to posting the highest-scoring game the Flashes shot 28-for-54 from the field for a season-best 51.9 percent and registered a season-best 15 assists. Freshman Asiah Dingle scored a career-high 17 points and added a game-high five assists. Freshman Lindsey Thall and junior Ali Poole were also in double-figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Redshirt junior Megan Carter had nine points and shared the team lead with six rebounds. Senior Alexa Golden added eight points to round out the starting unit. Kent State received quality minutes from its bench, as all four reserves logged at least 12 minutes and scored at least two points. Freshman Hannah Young scored six points and senior Merissa Barber-Smith grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots.
Guard Megan Carter (15.3 ppg) scored at least 14 points each of the first seven games this season. Carter also leads the Flashes in assists (2.8 apg) and is tied for second in rebounding (5.1 rpg). Freshman Asiah Dingle (12.1 ppg) has provided a scoring threat at the point guard position. Forward Lindsey Thall (10.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg) leads Kent State with 16 three-pointers to go with 10 blocks. Center Merissa Barber-Smith is the team's top rebounder at 7.0 per game and has registered a team-high 14 blocked shots. Guard Alexa Golden (6.4 ppg) has a team-high 17 steals.
Scouting NJIT
NJIT (3-8) has seeks three consecutive wins against Division I opponents for the first time since January 2015 after defeating LIU Brooklyn and Colgate in its past two games. The Highlanders have averaged 74.0 points in their three wins but have failed to score more than 63 points in any of their eight losses.
Overall, NJIT averages 58.0 points per game (296th nationally) and allows 70.2 points per game (291st nationally). The Highlanders have struggled with turnovers and average 20.0 per game (307th nationally) with a -6.09 turnover margin (337th nationally).
Guards Kelly Guarino (14.6 ppg), Danielle Tunstall (11.5 ppg) and Ellyn Stoll (10.7 ppg) are on pace to become the top scoring trio in NJIT's D-I program history. Guarino was named ASUN Player of the Week on Monday, as she set a new career-high with 28 points, which included seven three-pointers, against Colgate. The senior ranks 11th in the country with 36 three-pointers and is shooting 45.6 percent from long range. Tunstall is third the ASUN in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and has three double-doubles.
Series History
• This will be the first meeting on the hardwood between the two schools.
• Kent State is 2-4 all-time against schools currently in the ASUN.
• Most recently, the Golden Flashes split matchups with Florida Gulf Coast during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
TV / Radio
Dave Wilson will have the call on the Golden Flashes iHeart Radio channel. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Michael Ventola and David Gass on the call.Â
Next Up for Kent State
The Golden Flashes will host Clarion on Monday, Dec. 31 to close out the non-conference schedule and begin a three-game homestand.
