Kent State University
1-1,0-0MAC
LSU
3-1,0-0SEC
Shumate Posts Double-Double against Defending National Champions
11/14/2023 2:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BATON ROUGE, La. — Kent State trailed by just two at halftime before defending national champion LSU caught fire in the second half to pull away for a 109-79 victory Tuesday at the PMAC.
Redshirt senior Katie Shumate posted her first double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while junior Jenna Batsch scored 16 points to set a new career-high for the second game in a row.
The Golden Flashes (1-1) led 11-8 at the first media timeout with the help of two three-pointers by junior Bridget Dunn and a third by Shumate. Following a stop, freshman Janae Tyler scored inside for Kent State's largest lead of the game. The seventh-ranked Tigers tied it at 13-13, but the Flashes remained poised and went back ahead by four on baskets by graduate student Mikala Morris and Shumate. LSU made three free throws in the final minute and Kent State led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter.
An 8-0 run early in the second put the Tigers ahead to get the crowd of 9,117 fans going, but Shumate helped the Flashes push through with 12 points in the period, and it was just a 39-37 deficit at halftime.
LSU scored on the first possession in the third quarter, but gritty work on the offensive glass resulted in Batsch draining a triple on the team's third attempt on the other end of the floor. Shumate then ripped the ball from a Tiger rebounder and went coast-to-coast for a score and 42-41 lead. LSU had a response with an 11-0 run. Tyler ended the run with a putback layup but the Tigers pushed tempo and converted a three-point play to push the lead to double-digits for good.
In the second half, LSU shot 26-of-36 from the floor as part of a 70-point performance. The defense made 13 steals and converted them into a 32-2 points off turnovers advantage during the final 20 minutes. Mikaylah Williams put on a show with a LSU freshman record 42 points on 15-of-20 shooting.
Kent State will have six days off before a busy Thanksgiving week with games against Xavier on Nov. 21, Chattanooga on Nov. 24 and Missouri on Nov. 25.
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