Kent State University
21-11,12-6MAC
Miami
19-11,11-7MAC
Double-Doubles from Dunn and Gray Lead Golden Flashes to MAC Quarterfinal Victory
3/12/2025 5:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND — Senior Bridget Dunn and junior Dionna Gray recorded double-doubles as Kent State advanced to the Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament semifinals for the third year in a row with a 68-61 victory over No. 5 Miami at Rocket Arena on Wednesday afternoon.
The Golden Flashes (21-11) received balanced scoring with all five starters in double-figures. Sophomore Mya Babbitt shot 4-of-6 from three-point range and had a team-high 19 points. Dunn added 13 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots. Gray finished with 12 points, career-high 10 rebounds and six assists. Sophomore Janae Tyler and senior Jenna Batsch added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Kent State started the game by making four of five shots and led 10-4 on Dunn's triple with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter. The Flashes only got one more shot to fall the rest of the period, and the RedHawks led 15-13 after 10 minutes.
The Flashes scored on their first two possessions of the second quarter to go ahead 17-15 but went without a field goal until a jump shot by Batsch tied it at 22-22 at the 5:29 mark. Neither team scored for more than two minutes, and Tyler put Kent State back in the lead with a putback layup. The Flashes followed with three-pointers on the next four possessions — three by Babbitt and one by Dunn — for a quick 14-0 spurt that forced Miami to take timeout. After Miami sank a triple of its own to end the run, Kent State regained momentum and took a 39-25 lead into the locker room after Dunn splashed a shot from long range at the period buzzer.
After the lead was trimmed to four, the Flashes locked in defensively and held the RedHawks scoreless over the final 3:08 while shooting 5-of-6 at the free throw line to take a 54-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
Stellar play on the defensive end kept it a multiple possession game despite not scoring until 4:25 remained when Tyler split a pair of free throws. Kent State sank three of its next four field goal attempts to push the lead back to 10 with 1:20 to play. Four consecutive missed free throws allowed Miami to get back within five before Gray made two foul shots with 8.9 seconds on the clock to put the game out of reach.
The Flashes will resume the quest for back-to-back conference tournament titles against No. 1 seed Ball State in a semifinal contest at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 14.
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