Kent State University
12-8
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Western Michigan
8-10
Golden Flashes Earn Wire-to-Wire Victory Over Visiting Broncos
2/6/2019 10:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State led by as many as 19 during Wednesday's contest inside of the M.A.C. Center and held on for a 55-51 victory against Western Michigan.
The Golden Flashes (12-8, 5-4 MAC) converted three of four shots at the free throw line over the final 11.9 seconds and added a defensive stop to close out the victory.
Redshirt junior Megan Carter paced Kent State with 17 points and freshman Asiah Dingle added 12 points. The Flashes were a season-best +18 on the glass with a 46-28 rebounding advantage. Senior Alexa Golden had a game-high nine boards. Senior Merissa Barber-Smith, Carter, junior Ali Poole and freshman Lindsey Thall added six rebounds apiece.
"I thought we had a good first half," said head coach Todd Starkey. "In the second half, we really came out and played tentative. We weren't talking on the defensive end, and they're a good enough team to make some threes down the stretch and get back into it."
Kent State broke a tie game open with a 13-0 run over the final 5:24 of the first quarter. The Flashes' defense was terrific during stretch, registering five steals while holding WMU to 0-for-4 shooting.
The Flashes scored the opening bucket in the second period, but the Broncos responded with seven straight points to get within 22-14. Kent State was able to push its lead back to double-digits with a 16-8 run to finish the half. The Flashes shot 12-for-25 (48-percent) in the first half, as Carter and Dingle scored 12 points each.
Ali Poole connected on a three-pointer and added a jumper two possessions later to give Kent State its largest lead of the game, 45-26, with 4:40 to play in the third quarter. Megan Carter scored on a driving layup with 2:11 in the period, but the Flashes went nine minutes without another basket. Carter's mid-range pull-up with 3:11 left in the game was much-needed after WMU got within 48-46.
Deja Wimby converted a pair of free throws to make it 52-51 with 12.8 remaining. The Flashes advanced the ball and Carter split a pair of free throws for a two-point lead. After WMU called timeout to advance the ball, Alexa Golden knocked away the inbounds pass. The ball bounced to the Broncos' Leighah-Amori Wool, who fired it to Kamrin Reed in the corner. Reed, who had a game-high 20 points, missed the go-ahead three-point attempt. Lindsey Thall hauled in the miss and sank two free throws after being fouled to put the game away.
The Flashes are now 8-2 at the M.A.C. Center this season.
Kent State will play its next two games on the road, beginning at Buffalo on Saturday, Feb. 9.
