Kent State University
10-6, 3-2MAC
Central Michigan
13-4, 4-1MAC
Chippewas Pull Away Late to Defeat Flashes
1/19/2019 5:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State played with two-time defending Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan for 30 minutes, but a big run to start the fourth quarter allowed the Chippewas to pull out an 82-75 victory inside of the M.A.C. Center on Saturday.
The Golden Flashes (10-6, 3-2 MAC) scored the final five points in the third quarter to get within two, 57-55. The fourth quarter had been Kent State's best during the first four conference games, outscoring opponents by 34 points in the period. However, Central Michigan scored on 10 of its first 12 possessions to extend the lead to 12. The Flashes ended the game with an 8-1 run to reach the 20-point mark in the fourth quarter for the fifth game in a row.
Redshirt junior Megan Carter led all scorers with 23 points to register her third straight 20-point performance. Freshman Asiah Dingle added 19 points and junior Ali Poole was also in double-figures with 10.
"We didn't finish the game how we've been finishing fourth quarters lately," said head coach Todd Starkey. "We made too many defensive mistakes down the stretch and struggled to finish on offense throughout the game. That's really what it came down to. Against the really good teams in this league, your margin for error is really small."
Kent State made just one of its first five shots to fall behind 4-3, but quickly caught fire and made five of the next seven as part of an 11-0 run. Central Michigan scored four in a row after calling timeout to regroup. The Flashes did not allow an extended run, however, and answered with a basket. Megan Carter added a steal and then converted a conventional three-point play to give the Flashes their largest lead of the game, 19-10. Presley Hudson sank a contested three-pointer in the closing seconds to make it 19-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The Chippewas scored the first eight points in the second and tied it at 20-20 on a pair of free throws at the 5:47 mark. Kent State answered with a basket by Asiah Dingle, and Ali Poole drained a three-pointer from the top of the key the next time down the floor. The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes with Dingle making a pair of free throws with 9.5 seconds to play, giving Kent State a 36-33 halftime lead.
The second half started with a 6-2 run that put Central Michigan ahead by a point. Carter splashed a three and followed with a mid-range jumper on the next two Kent State possessions to retake the lead, 43-41. The Chippewas then scored six straight points and extended the lead to seven with 1:19 to play in the third. The Flashes were able to make it a one possession game heading into the final 10 minutes on a three-point play by Dingle and floater in the paint by Carter.
Kent State got its first stop of the fourth quarter at the 5:49 mark but was unable to convert a transition layup that would have made it a four-point game. After Carter converted two free throws to make it 74-67 with 4:10 remaining, the Flashes were unable to score for the next three minutes and fell behind by 14. Just as in Wednesday's game at Ohio, Kent State continued to compete to the final horn and scored eight of the final nine points of the contest. Freshman Mariah Modkins got it started with a three-pointer at the 1:01 mark. Poole added a three-pointer with 12.9 seconds to play and freshman Hannah Young capped the scoring with a long two-pointer in the closing seconds.
The Flashes lost the rebounding battle, 37-32. However, Kent State held 15-9 and 15-4 advantages in offensive rebounds and second-chance scoring, respectively. Freshman Lindsey Thall grabbed a team-high eight boards. Senior Merissa Barber-Smith was right behind with seven.
Senior Alexa Golden totaled five assists and five steals, one off of her career-high in each category.
Central Michigan received a huge lift from its reserves with 20 points from a bench that had totaled just 46 points entering the day.
Kent State will play its final two games of the month on the road, visiting Ball State on Wednesday, Jan. 23 and at Miami on Saturday, Jan. 26.
