'We dug ourselves a hole': Kent State rally falls short in MAC loss to Bowling Green
KENT — Visiting Bowling Green stayed hot and overcame Kent State's biggest strength Saturday afternoon at the M.A.C. Center.
The Golden Flashes, who entered the game surrendering the fewest points per game (61) in the Mid-American Conference, allowed the Falcons to hit seven 3-pointers, all in the first half, en route to a 75-69 victory.
It was the 11th consecutive win for Bowling Green (22-2), which improved to 11-1 in the MAC to remain in a first-place tie with Toledo.
Guard Elissa Brett converted her first five shots from deep to lead the way for BGSU, which shot 57.1% from the field in the first 20 minutes. Brett scored 17 of her game-high 20 points in the first half.
“It was a tough loss, and we did a lot of things well but not well enough,” KSU coach Todd Starkey said. “We had to convert, and we had some good looks down the stretch that we needed to convert.”
The Flashes (15-8, 7-5) trailed 45-39 at halftime and 61-58 through three quarters.
“We had blown assignments in the first half, and it wasn't like we changed anything,” Starkey said. “We just did what we were supposed to do better, and I thought defensively in the second half we played well enough to win.”
Kent State forced five missed shot to start the fourth quarter, but Bowling Green then went on a 9-5 run to make it 72-66. Casey Santoro's 3-pointer with 36 seconds to play pulled the Flashes within 72-69, but BGSU converted three free throws in the final seconds to hold on.
Forward Lindsey Thall finished with a team-high 15 points and recorded two blocks and two steals for Kent State. Freshman guard Corynne Hauser added 13 points — nine in the first quarter — to go with seven rebounds and seven assists.
“Today showed that we have that fight in us,” Hauser said. “They hit a lot of shots, and you can't control that all the time. I think it just shows how good of a team we could be knowing that we're able to hang with the top team in the MAC.”
Junior guard Casey Santoro chipped in 11 points, including two 3-pointers during the Flashes' third-quarter rally.
“She's a scrappy player,” Starkey said of Santoro. “She plays hard, and when she brings that type of energy, she's going to be very effective.”
KSU finished 8 of 28 from behind the arc, while the Falcons were an efficient 7 of 13 before missing all six of their second-half attempts.
“I think that falls on us in transition, and we were getting a little bit lost, and their shots were pretty wide open,” Thall said. “I think if we have a hand in their face, at least half of those don't go in, so we kind of dug ourselves a hole.”
Kent State travels to Buffalo (9-12, 4-8) to take on the Bulls at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Jacob Shondel is a reporter. Contact him at jshondel@kent.edu.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Bowling Green holds off Kent State in MAC women's basketball
