Kent State University
2-1,0-0MAC
Xavier
0-5,0-0Big East
Kent State Rallies in Fourth Quarter to Beat Xavier
11/21/2023 9:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CINCINNATI — The Kent State women's basketball team outscored host Xavier 29-14 over the final 12:01 to leave the Cintas Center with a 64-57 victory Tuesday evening.
Sophomore Corynne Hauser and redshirt senior Katie Shumate, who shared the team lead with 15 points each, were the offensive catalysts in the comeback effort and combined to outscore the Musketeers 12-11 in the fourth quarter. Hauser added a season-high five assists and recorded three steals to tie her career-high, while Shumate also tied a career-high with three blocked shots.
The Golden Flashes (2-1) played stellar defense to keep it close until shots finally started to fall down the stretch. Kent State shot just 34.4% from the floor overall but went 7-of-15 during the final run. Effort on the offensive glass was also key and resulted in a 21-5 advantage in second-chance points. Led by a career-high 10 boards from junior Bridget Dunn, the Flashes outrebounded Xavier 42-31 overall.
Points were hard to convert in the opening minutes, but Xavier made three-pointers on back-to-back possessions after a 1-of-7 shooting start to lead 10-6 at the first media timeout. Sophomore Dionna Gray ended a four-minute scoring drought by the Flashes with an elbow jumper to get within 10-8 and the Musketeers answered with a triple on the other end of the floor. The teams traded baskets in the final minute and Hauser's floating three-point attempt at the buzzer rattled out, as Xavier led 15-10 at the end of the period.
Freshman Mya Babbitt connected on Kent State's first triple of the game as part of a 5-0 run to tie it with 7:50 until halftime. The Flashes were then unable to score for more than five minutes and fell behind by seven before Dunn splashed three-pointers on consecutive possessions. Xavier made four of its final five shots in the period to take a 28-21 lead into the break.
Hauser got Kent State within 36-35 on a jump shot with 3:47 to play in the third quarter. Turnovers on the next three possessions helped the Musketeers answer with a 7-0 run for their largest lead of the night. The Flashes quickly cut the deficit in half, as graduate student Mikala Morris muscled her defender for position on the offensive glass and a showed good touch on a short jump shot and Shumate followed by rejecting a layup attempt and converting a shot from the baseline.
After a late three-pointer seemed to swing momentum back in Xavier's favor, Kent State scored four points in the closing seconds to get within 46-43. Morris found the bottom of the net from just inside the free throw line and a foul was called away from the ball on a Musketeer defender who held Shumate, who was crashing the glass, with 1.9 seconds on the clock. Shumate then converted on a lob pass from Hauser in front of the basket.
Two free throws by Shumate made it 48-48 with 8:23 remaining to tie it for the first time since early in the second quarter. A strong drive and finish put Xavier back in the lead but the Flashes held their host without another field goal until just 8.7 seconds left in the game. The Musketeers missed seven straight shots and committed seven turnovers during that span.
Junior Jenna Batsch made two free throws to tie it and Hauser followed with two more to finally take the lead. A steal and layup by Shumate and putback finish by sophomore Tatiana Thomas extended it to an 8-0 run. Babbitt sank a corner three-pointer on a kickout pass from Hauser to end a three-minute scoring drought and make it 59-52 with 2:37 to play. The lead reached 10 before a late Xavier triple made it a single-digit final margin.
Kent State will spend Thanksgiving weekend in the Sunshine State and is scheduled to play two games at the Daytona Beach Classic against Chattanooga on Friday and Missouri on Saturday
Be sure to follow the Golden Flashes on X, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the team.
