Kent State University
Ohio
Women’s Hoops Visits Ohio on Saturday
1/6/2023 4:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Kent State will play its first road game since Dec. 7 as the Mid-American Conference women's basketball season continues with a trip to Ohio for a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday.
The Golden Flashes (9-3, 1-0 MAC) remain at No. 13 in the Mid-Major Top 25 and have won four in a row following a dramatic 64-63 victory over Buffalo on Wednesday evening at the M.A.C. Center. Senior Clare Kelly scored the winning layup on a return pass from graduate student Lindsey Thall with 1.5 seconds remaining. Kelly scored eight of her 11 points during the fourth quarter, while Thall stuffed the stats page with 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
Kent State ranks second in the MAC with a 36.7% field goal percentage defensive and is allowing the fourth-fewest points (59.5 ppg) in the conference. The Flashes are 9-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points.
Forward Lindsey Thall is the top scorer at 12.4 points per game and has also totaled team-best marks of 24 three-pointers and 12 blocked shots. Thall is Kent State's all-time leader with 242 triples, which ranks 18th among active NCAA Division I players, and ranks 10th among active players in career blocks (184). Guard Katie Shumate is close behind at 11.7 points per game and pulls down a team-high 5.8 rebounds per contest.
Guards Clare Kelly (6.4 ppg), Dionna Gray (4.8 ppg) and Abby Ogle (4.5 ppg) lead a strong bench unit that is scoring 26.4 points per contest.
Scouting Ohio
The Bobcats (2-10, 0-1 MAC) fell to Akron, 73-64, the conference opener on Wednesday and have lost six in a row. Ohio's last victory came on Nov. 29 at Dayton, a 52-51 contest in which it started the game with a 1-0 lead following on administrative technical foul on the host. The Bobcats rank in the bottom 20 of the country in scoring defense (75.2 ppg) and rebounding margin (-13.4 rpg).
Guard Yaya Felder is having a breakout sophomore campaign, ranking second in the MAC with averages of 19.2 points and 4.3 assists per game, while ranking third with 2.3 steals per game. Felder has scored 20 or more points in four consecutive games and eight games overall this season. Guard Caitlyn Kroll leads the Bobcats with 5.2 rebounds per game and 19 three-point field goals while scoring 9.1 points per contest. Forward Abby Garnett (6.8 ppg) poured in a career-high 18 points against Akron and is averaging 12.0 over the last three games.
Series History
• Kent State is 55-35 all-time vs. Ohio.
• Six of the past nine matchups have been decided by four points or fewer.
• Kent State is 18-24 in trips to Athens, including just a solo victory over the past eight visits.
• Kent State made a program record 16 three-point field goals the last time it hosted Ohio, an 84-80 victory on Dec. 11, 2020.
• The Flashes are 5-7 vs. Ohio under head coach Todd Starkey.
Broadcast Info
Marty Bannister and Kate Cummings will call the action on ESPN3, while Tyler Henry will be on the call on the Kent State Radio Network.
Next Up for Kent State
The Golden Flashes will play a second consecutive road game at Miami on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m.
