Kent State University
Green Bay
Golden Flashes Visit Green Bay for WNIT First Round
3/20/2019 1:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Kent State will begin postseason action on Thursday with WNIT first round game at Green Bay. Tip-off against the Horizon League runner-up is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Golden Flashes (19-12) are making their second WNIT appearance under the leadership of third-year head coach Todd Starkey. A victory would give Kent State its first 20-win campaign since the 2009-10 season. The Flashes would also improve to 8-8 in road games, which would match the most road victories since that same season.
In its last time out, Kent State lost to Mid-American Conference Tournament champion Buffalo, 85-52, in a quarterfinal matchup at Quicken Loans Arena. The Flashes' stifling defense had held the Bulls to a 3-for-24 shooting performance in the second half just four days prior, however, UB made its first four shots to open with an 11-0 lead and shot 16-for-30 over the first 20 minutes to lead by 20 at halftime. Megan Carter led Kent State with 19 points and a career-high seven rebounds. Lindsey Thall added 12 points. Alexa Golden played a strong floor game and totaled five rebounds, five steals and three assists.
Guard Megan Carter (16.0 ppg) has scored at least 11 points in all but four games this season. Freshman Asiah Dingle (12.9 ppg) has provided a scoring threat at the point guard position. Forward Lindsey Thall (10.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg) leads Kent State with 61 three- pointers to go with a MAC-best 52 blocks. Merissa Barber-Smith is the team's top rebounder at 7.5 per game and has 36 blocked shots. Guard Alexa Golden (7.4 ppg) leads the team in steals (2.8 spg) and is second in rebounding (5.5 rpg).
Kent State in the WNIT
• Kent State is making its fifth appearance in the WNIT.
• The Golden Flashes are 0-4 in WNIT games.Â
• Most recently, Kent State lost to Michigan in the first round of the 2017 WNIT. The Wolverines, considered by many a NCAA Tournament snub, went on to win the tournament championship. Â
• All four of the previous games were played in either Michigan or Pennsylvania.
• Overall, Flashes are 1-9 in postseason play with a first round victory over Texas A&M in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
Scouting Green Bay
Green Bay (22-9, 15-3 HL) is No. 15 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll and is competing in the postseason for the 21st year in a row. The Phoenix played in the NCAA Tournament each of the past four years but fell to Wright State, 55-52, in the Horizon League Tournament title game. The Raiders also edged Green Bay in the league standings, ending a streak of 20-consecutive regular season conference championships.
The Phoenix were challenged early in the season and have the nation's No. 4 non-conference strength of schedule. A 56-49 victory at then-ranked No. 16 Missouri on Nov. 16 is among the highlights of the season thus far, and four opponents earned a top-8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin (15-18) is the only non-conference foe that did not have a winning record.
Green Bay is among the top defensive clubs in the country. The Phoenix allow just 51.5 points per game, which ranks fifth nationally. Fifteen opponents have failed to score 50 points against Green Bay's stingy defense, while 22 have failed to hit the 60-point mark. The Phoenix rank eighth in field goal percentage defense (.340) and 11th in three-point field goal percentage defense (.269).
Offensively, Green Bay scores 63.6 points per game. Guard Jen Wellnitz (8.4 ppg) earned Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Horizon League honors after leading the conference in steals (2.7 spg) and posting a team-best 3.4 assists per game. Guard Laken James (9.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) was a Second Team All-Horizon League selection. Guard Frankie Wurtz is Green Bay's top scorer (10.4 ppg) and three-point shooter (38). Forward/center Madison Wolf (8.1 ppg) pulls down a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game.
Series History
• Kent State is 0-3 all-time vs. Green Bay.
• The Golden Flashes have not scored more than 57 points in any of the previous matchups.
• The Phoenix won the first meeting between the schools, 78-50, at the Dartmouth Invitational on Dec. 29, 1994.
• Green Bay then won both games in a home-and-home series during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.
• Kent State is 54-38 all-time vs. current Horizon League teams, including a 3-1 record this season.
TV / Radio
Jacob Pavilack will be on the call on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel, while Ted Stefaniak and Cordero Barkley bring the action on ESPN3.
Next Up for Kent State
With a win, the Golden Flashes advance to the WNIT second round and will play the winner of the first round matchup between Butler and Northeastern.
