Golden Flashes go cold down the stretch, fall to Bulls
A cold spell at the most inopportune time kept the Kent State women’s basketball team from handing Buffalo its first Mid-American Conference loss of the 2021-22 season.
The Golden Flashes (10-6, 2-5 MAC) scored just two points in the final four minutes while the host Bulls (10-4, 4-0) rallied from seven points down to earn a 65-62 victory Monday night at Alumni Arena.
Kent State led 60-53 after a layup by senior forward Lindsey Thall with 4:11 remaining. That would be the last field goal for the Flashes, who managed just a pair of free throws in four attempts by sophomore guard Casey Santoro down the stretch. They missed their final seven shots from the floor.
A jumper by senior forward Summer Hemphill with 58 seconds to go following a KSU turnover put Buffalo on top 62-61. The Flashes missed two 3-pointers and were forced to foul Bulls star junior guard Dyaisha Fair, who split a pair of free throws with 32 ticks left.
Santoro had a chance to tie the game after drawing a foul with 23 seconds remaining, but split a pair from the line. Fair connected on two free throws at the 15-second mark, then Santoro missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer just before the final buzzer sounded.
Fair, the MAC's leading scorer at just under 24 points per game, poured in a game-high 26 points for Buffalo. She shot just 7-of-23 from the field but made 9-of-11 free throws, and tacked on seven rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Georgia Woolley hit 4-of-5 3s and scored 14 points for the Bulls, while Hemphill added 11 points and six boards.
Freshman forward Bridget Dunn scored 13 points off the bench to pace Kent State. Santoro scored 11 points, junior forward Nila Blackford just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, and Thall also scored 11 points while adding seven boards and four assists.
Free-throw shooting and turnovers proved to be the difference. The Bulls were 14-of-19 from the charity stripe, while the Flashes were 8-of-12. Kent State was whistled for 20 fouls compared to Buffalo’s 11. The Flashes committed 17 turnovers to the Bulls’ 11, leading to a 14-8 advantage in points off turnovers for the hosts.
After splitting two games in three days, Kent State is not scheduled to play again until Jan. 26 at Northern Illinois.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent State lost at Buffalo 65-62 on Monday
