Kent State University
3-0,0-0MAC
John Carroll
2-0,0-0OAC
Kent State Delights Crowd on Kids Day
11/18/2021 4:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
KENT, Ohio — All 12 Kent State players who saw action made a field goal and grabbed a rebound in a 101-40 victory over John Carroll during Thursday's Kids Day presented by PSI. This is the first time the women's basketball team has hit the century mark in 21 years and the highest scoring performance since beating Bowling Green, 106-84, on Jan. 17, 2000.
The win was the 250th in the career of head coach Todd Starkey, who was led the Golden Flashes (3-0) to victory 85 times since taking over the program prior to the 2016-17 season.
Kent State put on a three-point shooting clinic, knocking down 15 of 31 attempts from long range to finish one short of the school record set a year ago. Nine different Flashes splashed a triple, with sophomore Casey Santoro and senior Lindsey Thall both going 3-of-4. Santoro led all players with 19 points to match her career-high and Thall added 15 points. Freshman Bridget Dunn (11 points) and senior Annie Pavlansky (7 points) had the best scoring games on their careers, while freshmen Jenna Batsch (6 points) and Lexy Linton (2 points) made their first field goals as Flashes.
Unselfish play was key to getting open shots, and Kent State finished with 23 assists, which is the most by a Mid-American Conference team this season. Seven Flashes had multiple assists with Santoro's six leading the way.
A decisive size advantage helped Kent State outscore the Blue Streaks in the paint, 44-10, and hold a 48-31 rebounding advantage. The Flashes brought down 24 offensive boards and led 24-2 in second chance scoring. Junior Nila Blackford finished with a game-high nine rebounds and senior Hannah Young was right behind with eight.
Kent State will face its toughest challenge of the young season after Thanksgiving when it competes at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida. The Flashes will play three games from Friday, Nov. 26 through Sunday, Nov. 28, beginning with a matchup against No. 20 UCLA.
