Kent State University
4-1,0-0MAC
UMass
7-0,0-0Atlantic 10
Women’s Basketball Suffers First Loss of Season to UMass
11/27/2021 8:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ESTERO, Fla. — The Kent State women's basketball team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten on Saturday afternoon, losing a Gulf Coast Showcase semifinal matchup to UMass, 72-64.
The Golden Flashes (4-1) led by eight at halftime but shot just 8-of-35 from the field over the final minutes and were outscored 45-29 the rest of the way.
Kent State continued to scorch the nets from long distance and finished 12-of-30 from behind the three-point arc. Senior Lindsey Thall led the way with four triples and scored a game-high 22 points while grabbing nine rebounds and sharing the team lead with three assists.
Senior Mariah Modkins found an open Thall for three-pointers on the Flashes' first two possessions of the game for a 6-2 lead. Kent State made just one of its next seven shots, however, and trailed 10-8. Freshman Bridget Dunn splashed a three-pointer with 2:49 left in the period and the Flashes scored the final nine points for a 19-15 advantage after 10 minutes of action.
After UMass scored the first four points in the second quarter, the teams traded 7-0 runs and the game was tied 26-26 with only a few minutes until halftime. Sophomore Casey Santoro put Kent State back ahead with a three-pointer and senior Abby Ogle turned a pair of steals into fast break baskets to help the Flashes lead 35-27 at the break.
A 1-of-11 shooting start to the third allowed the Minutewomen to lead 45-40 before senior Hannah Young helped lift the lid off the basket with a big three-point field goal. Thall converted a pair of free throws after grabbing an offensive rebound on the next possession and followed with a three-pointer to make it 48-48 heading into the final 10 minutes.
Modkins knocked down a pair of triples in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and it remained tied with 8:16 to play. Only one of the Flashes' next 10 field goal attempts found the bottom of the net, however, and UMass was able to open a 69-61 lead. Thall drained deep three-pointer to get within six at the 2:49 mark. Young came up with a steal on the opposite end of the court, but Kent State missed three shots on the ensuing possession, and the Minutewomen converted a layup to lead by eight with 1:22 left as time for a comeback continued to run out.
The Flashes led 42-36 on the glass and had a decisive 22-9 advantage in second-chance points. Junior Nila Blackford grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds to lead all players.
UMass led 34-16 in paint scoring, as the Flashes made just one shot inside of the three-point arc over the final 20 minutes.
Kent State advances to Sunday's 5 p.m. third-place contest against Penn State, which lost to No. 13 Iowa State on Saturday evening, 93-59.
