Kent State University
6-3
Georgia Southern
2-7
Stifling Defense Leads Kent State to Victory in Las Vegas Opener
12/19/2019 6:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LAS VEGAS – Kent State totaled 14 steals and seven blocked shots while beating Georgia Southern, 62-48, in the opening game of the 2019 Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic Thursday afternoon at South Point Arena.
The Golden Flashes (6-3) held the Eagles to its lowest scoring output of the season and converted 26 Georgia Southern turnovers into 25 points. The last Kent State opponent to score 48 or fewer points was Ball State back in January.
Sophomores Asiah Dingle and Lindsey Thall and freshman Nila Blackford led the stellar defensive performance. Dingle recorded a career-high six steals while leading all players with 16 points and five assists. Thall rejected four shots and had a steal, while Blackford came up with two steals and two blocks.
The Eagles made their first three shots of the contest for a 7-2 lead just over a minute in but finished 19-for-53 (.358) from the floor. Asiah Dingle then scored seven points as part of a 9-0 run to put Kent State ahead for good. Following a Georgia Southern basket at the 4:42 mark, the Flashes scored the next 10 points for a 23-11 lead. The Eagles countered with the final five points in the period to get within 23-16.
Megan Carter made a pair of three-point field goals to get the second period started and give Kent State a 29-16 lead. The Flashes were unable to score over the final 7:10 of the half and took a 29-24 lead into the locker room.
Katie Shumate scored all of her eight points in the first five minutes of the second half as the Flashes extended the lead to 14. After being held scoreless for nearly four minutes, Georgia Southern scored on four consecutive possessions to get within single-digits. Nila Blackford made two free throws with just under a minute left in the period and Clare Kelly crashed the offensive glass for a rebound and found Carter wide open under the basket for a layup in the closing seconds to make it 47-34.
Senior Ali Poole made her first basket of the season to give the Flashes their largest lead of the game, 59-41, with 3:32 remaining. Sophomore Annie Pavlansky also scored her first points of the year on a three-pointer in the final minute.
Redshirt senior Megan Carter found her shooting touch from long range with a 3-for-4 performance from behind the three-point line and finished with 13 points. Freshman Katie Shumate led the rebounding effort with six. Five of those came on the offensive end, which helped the Flashes hold a 12-3 advantage in second-chance scoring.
Kent State will look to go 2-0 in Las Vegas when it plays Troy at 3 p.m. ET on Friday.
