Kent State University
Eastern Michigan
Kent State Hosts Eastern Michigan Saturday in MAC Women’s Basketball Opener
1/3/2019 4:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Kent State will try to extend its season-best four-game winning streak on Saturday, Jan. 5 as Mid-American Conference play begins against Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside of the M.A.C. Center. Fans will have the opportunity to watch two games for the price of one, as the men's team is scheduled to play Bowling Green approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game. All women's tickets for Saturday will be honored for general admission seating at the men's game.
The Golden Flashes (7-4) have won four straight games to conclude the best non-conference season since going 9-3 in 2010-11. Kent State put an exclamation mark on 2018 with a dominant wire-to-wire 92-38 victory over Clarion on New Year's Eve. The Golden Flashes took control from the opening tip and scored the game's first 19 points en route to season-best performances for points (92), field goals (33), field goal percentage (.524), three-point field goals (11), three-point field goal percentage (.458), assists (19) and steals (17). Eight different Flashes scored at least eight points. Redshirt junior Megan Carter led all scorers with 15 and senior Alexa Golden was right behind with 13. Freshman Hannah Young turned in the best performance of her young Kent State career with 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes of action. Senior Merissa Barber-Smith scored a career-high 11 points to go with seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Guard Megan Carter (15.6 ppg) scored at least 14 points in all but two games this season and is second on the team in rebounding (4.8 rpg) and assists (2.6 apg). Freshman Asiah Dingle (12.0 ppg) has provided a scoring threat at the point guard position. Forward Lindsey Thall (9.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg) leads Kent State with 18 three-pointers to go with 14 blocks. Center Merissa Barber-Smith is the team's top rebounder at 7.2 per game and has registered a team-high 17 blocked shots. Guard Alexa Golden (6.3 ppg) has a team-high 22 steals.
Scouting Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan (7-4) is coming off of a 53-39 victory over Division II Northwood on Dec. 30. The Eagles had lost their two previous games, to UNC Greensboro and Butler, at the West Palm Beach Invitational. Offensively, Clarion makes just four three-pointers per game and shoots 26.1-percent from long range.
A stingy defense has allowed EMU to record its best non-conference performance under third-year head coach Fred Castro. The Eagles are third in the MAC in scoring defense, holding opponents to only 57.3 points per game and have held four opponents to 45 or fewer points. They rank in the top-50 nationally in both field goal percentage defense (.354) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.267). EMU puts pressure on the ball and has averages of 9.5 steals per game and 19.3 turnovers forced per game, which rank third and fourth, respectively, in the conference.
Offensively, the Eagles have struggled, ranking in the bottom two of the league in scoring (57.3 ppg), field goal percentage (.360), three-point field goal percentage defense (.252) and free throw percentage (.596). EMU has scored more than 69 points just once and been held to 60 or fewer points in six of 11 games.
The guard trio of Corrione Cardwell (14.0 ppg), Danielle Minott (13.5 ppg) and Courtnie Lewis (11.6 ppg) combines for better than 62-percent of the team's scoring. Cardwell is among the most-improved players in the MAC and has increased her scoring averaging by more than 10 points from last season. A Preseason All-MAC West Division selection, Minott boasts a team-best 2.5 steals per game. Lewis is the team's top sharpshooter and has knocked down 24 shots from long range. Freshman Jenna Annecchiarico (5.2 ppg, 4.2 apg) has made an immediate impact at point guard and ranks third in the nation with a 3.83 assist-to-turnover ratio. Annecchiarico has committed just 12 turnovers in 391 minutes of action this season. Forward Lorraine Enabulele (5.8 ppg) grabs a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game.
Series History
• Kent State is 38-27 all-time vs. Eastern Michigan.
• The Golden Flashes are 4-0 under third-year head coach Todd Starkey after losing 11 consecutive contests to the Eagles.
• The Flashes are 22-7 all-time record vs. the Eagles in Kent.
• EMU last won at the M.A.C. Center on Feb. 4, 2015 (70-53).
• Kent State's 19-game winning streak from 1992-03 is the longest for either team.
• The Flashes have won both games that have required overtime. Most recently, KSU came out on top in double-overtime, 96-94, in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals on March 3, 2000 in Cleveland.
• Last season, Kent State pulled away with a seven-point victory after the game was tied through three periods in both meetings with EMU. The Flashes won 67-60 in the conference opener on Dec. 30 and 76-69 on Jan. 10.
KSU in MAC Openers
• Kent State is 17-20 all-time in MAC openers, including an 11-8 mark at the M.A.C. Center.
• The Golden Flashes are 3-1 vs. Eastern Michigan in MAC openers following a 67-60 victory last season in Ypsilanti.
• Head coach Todd Starkey owns a 1-1 record in conference openers. Starkey lost his first MAC contest, 91-78, to eventual regular season champion Central Michigan on Dec. 31, 2016.
TV / Radio
Jacob Pavilack will be on the call on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel, while Dave Wilson and Tanner Castora bring the action on ESPN3.
Next Up for Kent State
The Golden Flashes will host Northern Illinois on Wednesday, Jan. 9 before playing four of the final five games in January on the road.
