Western Michigan guard LaTrondra Brooks, who lay on her back with an apparent head or neck injury for more than a half hour during Saturday’s game with Kent State, is all right.

Sean Daniels, a sports information official at Western, said “she is doing just fine.”

“She was able to ride home on the bus with us all,” Daniels said. “Everything was just precautionary because it was dealing with the head/neck.”

Brooks was injured when she fell backwards after committing a foul. Trainers and other medical personnel worked with her before paramedics wheeled her to an ambulance on a stretcher.

 

For the first half Saturday, Kent State looked like team that could win its share of games in the rest of the MAC season.

Coming off their first league victory Wednesday, the Flashes shot well, dominated inside and played solid defense on their way to a 31-28 halftime lead over Western Michigan.

But in the second half they shot badly, struggled with foul trouble and had problems  defending late three-point shooting. WMU pulled away to a 65-53 victory.

Kent State is now 4-15 on the season, 1-8 halfway through the MAC season. Western is 13-8, 5-4 in the conference.

“We felt pretty good about what we were doing at halftime,” coach Danny O’Banion said in her postgame radio interview. “But we’ve got to come out and keep it going. The third quarter was when things shifted.”

The Flashes turned the ball over on their first three possessions of the second half and missed six of their first seven shots. Western made five of its first seven shots, including two three-pointers, and moved to a 44-39 lead after three quarters.

The game got away after a long play stoppage caused by an apparently serious injury to a Western Michigan player.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Western’s LaTondra Brooks fouled Kent’s Naddiyah Cross on a drive to the basket and fell backwards, hitting her head on the floor.

Brooks lay on her back for almost a half hour while trainers stabilized her head and neck. Paramedics finally took her to the hospital. Her condition wasn’t immediately known.

Cross made one of the two free throws with 6:55 to go.

Then Western ran off 11 straight points, including three wide-open three-point shots, and the game was gone.

Kent State managed only 22 points in the second half on 33 percent shooting. Even that percentage was deceptively high. The Flashes made four or their last five shots when the game was out of reach. Take that out, and their second-half shooting percentage was 18 percent — 3 of 16.

Western, which shot 36 percent, made 52 percent of its shots in the second half. 

Larissa Lurken, who scored 37 points against Northern on Wednesday, had 11 points on 3 of 12 shooting. She just missed her second double-double in a row with nine rebounds. Western guarded her especially well on the perimeter; she got off just two three-point shots after making seven of eight Wednesday.

Jordan Korinek led the Flashes with 18 points, but eight of those came in the last three minutes when the Broncos led by 15. Korinek picked up two fouls in the first half, her third halfway through the third quarter and her fourth with two minutes to go in the third. She played only 24 minutes.

“We need to be better at adjusting to the way the game is being officiated,” O’Banion said. “Things were called today that weren’t being called Wednesday.”

Three of Korinek’s four fouls were offensive fouls, two for illegal screens.

O’Banion said those weren’t all Korinek’s fault.

“Jordan’s being a good teammate,” the coach said. “The problem is impatience on the part of the recipient of the screen. They’re not waiting for the screen to be solid.”

In a pregame interview on Golden Flash iHeart radio, assistant coach Geoff Lanier said the Flashes most needed to own the inside game and keep Western from scoring in transition. In KSU’s loss to the Broncos Jan. 13, WMU scored 38 points in the paint and 23 off turnovers.

Saturday KSU outscored Western 26-16 in the paint and 16-13 off turnovers.

What didn’t go right was the Broncos’ outside shooting — 10 of 20 three-point shots and KSU’s lack of second-half offense.

Notes:

• Western’s Miracle Woods, who scored 23 points against Kent on 11 of 11 shooting in Kalamazoo, had just six Saturday. She was pressed hard on defense by Korinek and Chelsi Watson and got off just three shots. She also got in foul trouble and played just 24 minutes.
• Freshman walk-on Paige Salisbury started her first game and played 26 minutes. She had a basket, two rebounds, three assists and a steal. Both she and Cross started as KSU began the game with two point guards.
• Watson, a junior college transfer, started her second straight game and played a career-high 29 minutes. She had six points and six rebounds.
• Tyra James, the third of KSU’s “Big Three” scorers, had a rough day, making 2 of 7 field goals, 3 of 10 free throws and six turnovers.
• Kent State, which made 22 of 24 free throws Wednesday, made 13 of 22 Saturday.
• Western had 18 assists on 21 baskets. It’s a pattern that if opponents have assists on a high percentage of their baskets, KSU is in trouble.

The Flashes travel to Miami Wednesday. The Redskins are 8-11 and 2-6, a game ahead of Kent State in the MAC East standings. They lost to Central Michigan 77-54 Saturday.

Box score

Other MAC scores:

• Ohio (17-3, 9-0) 68, Ball State (14-5, 6-2) 67, at Ball State.
• Northern Illinois (9-11, 2-7) 76, Buffalo (10-9, 206) 74, at Northern.
• Toledo (10-9, 5-3) 75, Bowling Green ((8-10, 4-5) 61, at Toledo.
• Akron (11-9, 5-4) 75, Eastern Michigan (13-7, 4-5) 72, at Akron.
• Central Michigan (13-7, 7-2) 77, Miami (8-11, 2-6) 54, at Central.

MAC standings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kent State gets to see how much of Wednesday’s good play will carry over to a better opponent when it hosts Western Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday at the MACC.

The Flashes (4-14, 1-7) scored their most points in 12 years in a 95-85 victory over Northern Illinois. But Northern is 8-10, 1-7 and has lost seven games in a row.

Western Michigan is 12-8, 4-4 in the MAC and beat Kent State in Kalamazoo 73-52 on Jan. 13.

In that game, the Broncos outscored KSU 26-11 in the second quarter, and WMU forward Miracle Woods made 11 of 11 field goal attempts.

Wednesday Kent had its highest shooting percentage overall, in three-point shots and in free throws of the season. The Flashes outrebounded Northern by 10 and had their fewest number of turnovers of the season.

Larissa Lurken scored 37 points, most by a Kent State player since 1995.

Audio for the game starts at 1:45 on Ton WHLO 640 and Golden Flash iHeart Radio. You can get video and live statistics through the Kent State website.

It was an improbable win, not so much because it happened, but in the way it did.

We knew KSU had a chance to break its 10-game losing streak when it played Northern Illinois. The Huskies were 1-6, Kent State 0-7. Kent had beaten NIU here last season. The Flashes play better at home.

But 95-85?

It’s the most points scored by a Danny O’Banion-coached team — by 19 points.

It’s the most points scored by a Kent State team since 2004.

It’s the fifth-most points scored by any MAC team this season.

Larissa Lurken’s 37 points are the most scored by a Kent State player in 20 years and the eighth most ever.

Her seven three-point baskets ties a school record.

Two Kent State players scored more than 20 points. (Jordan Korinek had 22.)

Kent made 22 of 24 foul shots.

It’s a big win for this team in what has been a tough year. Kent State is 4-14 overall.

“There are scores you see in the MAC that sometimes make you shake your head,” O’Banion said in her postgame radio interview. “Some other teams are going to be shaking their heads over this score.

But most important, O’Banion said, the team really needed this win.

“We felt it was a game we had to have, if only to prove to ourselves that we could do it,” she said.

Kent State had started the 2015-16 season pretty well with a team that looked and played very differently than the ones that had struggled through the last four years. The Flashes  played close games against Wright State and Minnesota — both teams in the top 100 in RPI — and won convincingly against Colgate and North Dakota State.

And then The Streak started. KSU lost 10 straight after the North Dakota State game, including its first seven conference games by an average of 11 points.

But that ended Wednesday. Of course NIU isn’t a great — or even particularly good — team. But it is 8-11. Its RPI was 60 spots higher than Kent’s. It beat Akron at Akron in the MAC opener.

O’Banion, who all season has preached that the team would come along, sees hope.

“It sets us up to have a good month,” she said. “We have home games every Saturday for four weeks.”

The Flashes, who haven’t won a road game, actually play six of their final nine games at home.

“We knew we had it in us,” said Lurken, who beat her career high in scoring by 15 points. “It just took one game to get it out,”

Lurken made 11 of 14 shots and seven of eight three-pointers. She made 8 of 10 foul shots. She had 11 rebounds for the first double-double of her career.

“I wish I could tell you I’m surprised, but I’m not,” O’Banion said. “Larissa is our most experienced player, and she’s evolved into a player who wants her shot. And tonight her teammates did a great job of getting her the ball.”

Lurken hit three three-pointers in the second quarter to help Kent State move from a 22-22 tie to an eight-point halftime lead. She scored KSU’s first eight points of the third quarter with two three-pointers and a jump shot.

She and her teammates built a 20-point lead with 7:10 to go.

Then Northern made 9 of its next 10 shots, including three three-pointers. The Huskies pressed, and while KSU made only one turnover, it was a struggle at times.

And Northern Illinois fouled, and fouled, and fouled. The Huskies committed 11 in that last seven minutes.

But Kent State kept making, and making, and making its free throws — 16 of 18 in that time.

The Flashes haven’t been a great foul-shooting team, shooting 66 percent or ninth best in the MAC going into the game.

But 22 of 24 for the game is 92 percent. It’s not in the top five in KSU history — there have been four games when the Flashes took at least 12 foul shots and made all of them. But it’s awfully good.

Just like the team felt after the game — “really, really good,” Lurken said.

Notes:

• KSU’s 95 points were 33 above its season average. NIU’s 85 points were 20 points above its average. Northern had been giving up 68 points a game.
• NIU and Kent State combined for 67 points in the fourth quarter — 37 for the Huskies, 30 for the Flashes.
• For the game, Kent made 33 of 63 shots for a season-high 52 percent. Its 50 percent three-point shooting (7 of 14) was also a season best. So was the 92 percent free-throw shooting.
• Northern made 44 percent of its 79 shots and 30 percent of 27 three-pointers. The Huskies had just seven foul shots.
• Kent State had a season-low 13 turnovers.
• Kent outrebounded NIU, 43-33. After Lurken’s 11, Tyra James had eight rebounds to go with 14 points, three assists and three steals.
• Korinek had six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block along with her 22 points.
• Freshman Paige Salisbury played a career-high 28 minutes. 

Kent State returns to action at 2 p.m. Saturday against Western Michigan at the MACC. Western (12-8, 4-4) lost by two points Wednesday. The Broncos beat Kent State 73-52 in Kalamazoo on Jan. 13.

Video highlights and interviews with Lurken and O’Banion.

Box score

Other MAC scores:

• Ohio (16-3, 8-0) 75, Akron (10-9, 4-4) 55, at Ohio.
• Bowling Green (8-9, 4-4) 67, Eastern Michigan (13-6, 4-4) 63, at Bowling Green.
• Central Michigan (12-7, 6-2) 53, Western Michigan (12-8, 4-4) 51, at Central.

MAC standings

 

 

This will be an abrieviated preview. I’m teaching a couple classes for the first time in a few years, and I’m swamped. I’ll try to add a little more during the day. 

The Flashes host Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. tonight at the MACC. 

NIU is 1-6 in the conference, the second worst mark in the league (to Kent State). Last year the Flashes beat NIU 54-52 in Kent on a last-second shot but Melanie Stubbs; it was one of three MAC wins and five wins overall for KSU. 

Overall NIU is 8-10. The Huskies beat Akron 65-58 at Akron to open the MAC season but have since lost six straight, including an overtime defeat at home against Eastern Michigan.

Kent State has lost its first seven conference games and 10 straight overall. The Flashes are 3-14 on the season. 

NIU averages 65.2 points per game, slightly more than Kent State and is third in the conference in rebounding margin and blocked shots. The Huskies are not a big three-point shooting team, a relief after the Flashes gave up a total of 32 three-pointers in losses last week to Ohio and Bowling Green. 

NIU  is led by Ally Lehman, who is averaging  12.2 points and 11.3 rebounds a game. 

You expect Ohio U to make lots of three-pointers and dominate Kent State, as the first-place Bobcats did Wednesday.

But for Bowling Green to do the same thing?

After the first quarter, it was a low point of a hard season as BG beat the Flashes 71-49 in Bowling Green.

It was the 10th loss in a row for Kent State, which is 3-14, 0-7 in the MAC. Bowling Green is 7-9 and 3-4. The Falcons are one of the teams KSU is most likely to beat in the league; only two other teams have losing records.

BG made 15 of 28 three-point shots, almost double their average per game and 22 percentage points above their season average of 31.9 percent.

That was almost as good as OU, which set a MAC record of 17 three-pointers in a game against Kent in the Bobcats’  93-54 victory in Kent. OU (15-3, 7-0 MAC) is the ninth best three-point shooting team in the country.

Kent State struggled on offense all game, making only 26.5 percent of its shots and only 22 percent of its two-point shots. KSU had just six assists.

Part of that was the absence of starting point guard Naddiyah Cross, who missed most of the game with an undisclosed injury. Cross played five minutes in the second half. Coach Danny O’Banion called her “day to day.”

Shooting guard Larissa Lurken started at the point and she and wing Tyra James handled most of the ball handling. They had one assist between them.

“I thought the tempo of the game was the difference, and their three point shooting was prolific,” said coach Danny O’Banion in her postgame radio interview. “The first half was Kent State tempo, and the remainder of the second half they turned us into a half-court team.”

Jordan Korinek led KSU with 14 points but scored only four in the second half and fouled out with about five minutes to go. No other Kent player scored in double figures.

KSU led 13-11 after a quarter, but Bowling Green made 5 of 9 three-pointers in the second quarter, including three straight at the end of the quarter.

Then the Falcons made 6 of 9 more three-point shots in the third quarter as they outscored KSU 25-11.

Notes:

• The 49 points ties KSU’s lowest total of the year. The Flashes were beaten 60-49 by Cleveland State in Dec. 2.
• BG had 20 assists on 24 baskets. Every team that has hurt the Flashes badly in three-point shooting has had huge assist numbers.
• Tyra James led Kent State with eight rebounds but was 0 for 8 from the field.
• Bowling Green scored only 12 of its 71 points in the paint.
• Freshman Paige Salisbury made her first collegiate three-point shot and had a career-high five points and five rebounds in 11 minutes.
• Sophomore forward McKenna Stephens had eight points and made 2 of 5 three-pointers.
• The Flashes had 17 turnovers, leading to 19 BG points. They scored 13 points off 18 Bowling Green turnovers.
• Bowling Green outrebounded Kent 38-34.
• BG freshman guard Sydney Lambert had a career-high 20 points for BG. She made six three-pointers. Rachel Myers had five three-pointers.

KSU is home at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Northern Illinois, the team with the second-worst record in conference play at 1-6.

Box score

Other MAC scores:

• Central Michigan (11-7, 5-2) 81, Akron (10-89, 4-3) 60, at Central Michigan.
• Miami (8-10, 2-5) 69, Buffalo (10-8, 2-5) 58, at Miami.
• Ohio (15-3, 7-0) 72, Northern Illinois (8-10, 1-6) 47, at Northern.
• Ball State (14-4, 6-1) 77, Western Michigan (12-7, 4-3) 53, at Western.
• Eastern Michigan (13-5, 4-3) 59, Toledo (9-9, 4-3) 41, at Eastern.

MAC standings

 

 

A year ago Kent State swept Bowling Green for the first time since 2002.

The Falcons were the only team who finished behind KSU in the MAC standings.

A win over BG in Kent last January marked a turning point in Kent’s season — or as much of a turning point as a 5-25 season can have. Whatever the record, the Flashes played much better for the rest of the season after they beat 55-48 behind 16 points and 20 rebounds by Cici Shannon, the 6-4 center who graduated in May.

That win was Kent State’s first MAC win of the season. It broke a three-game losing streak and a string when KSU had lost seven out of eight.

This season Kent (3-13, 0-6) hasn’t won a league game. It has lost nine in a row.

So the Flashes hope history can repeat itself Saturday at BG. The Falcons (6-9, 2-4) are one of three teams (besides Kent) in the MAC with a losing record. (Miami and Northern Illinois are the others.) Their best player — preseason all-MAC selection Erica Donavon — left the team over Christmas.

With Donovan out of the line-up, BG has lost seven of nine games, all by 11 points or more. The two teams they beat were Miami and NIU.

But…

BG has been a very tough place for Kent State to play. KSU had lost nine games in a row there before last year’s win, and BG holds a 25-11 all-time lead at home against the Flashes. Many of those victories came in BG’s dominance of the MAC between about 2005 and 2014, when the Falcons win nine conference titles.

And Bowling Green figured things out Tuesday — at least for a quarter. After NIU hit a three-point shot to start the second quarter, Bowling Green scored 21 straight points to finish the half on its way to a 58-43 victory at home.

BG is a low-scoring team that makes many of its points from outside. The Falcons are fourth in the conference in made three-pointers and fourth in three-point percentage (31.9 percent). But they’re last in the conference in total scoring (57.1 a game) and second to last in overall field goal percentage (38 percent).

Bowling Green is fourth in the conference in scoring defense (61.6), but aside from Tuesday’s Northern Illinois game, its best defensive games game early in the season when Donovan was in the line-up.

BG’s leading scorer is 6-4 center Lauren Tibbs, who averages 11.3 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game. She’s a transfer from Marquette under the NCAA rule that allows a player to transfer after they’ve graduated and become immediately eligible. Tibbs played sparingly at Marquette, averaging less than four points a game in four years there. (She missed almost all of her freshman season with an injury.)

The Falcons are an interesting match-up for Kent State, which has played well at times against three-point shooting teams but often has been hurt badly when opponents went inside against their match-up zone. BG fits the profile of a team that might be able do that.

Kent had a very rough time defending the three-pointer against league-leading Ohio Tuesday. The Bobcats, who are ninth in the country in three-point scoring, made a MAC-record 17 three-point shots on their way to a 93-54 victory.

The Flashes showed a new wrinkle Tuesday in that junior Larissa Lurken — a shooting guard and wing for her entire career — played at point guard when starter Naddiyah Cross was not in the game. KSU had gotten little offense out of freshmen back-up points Taylor Parker and Paige Salisbury, though Salisbury has been sure-handed running the offense.

But Lurken, Kent’s second leading scorer at 13.6 points a game, was 1 of 10 from the field against OH. She’s had games like that before, but it is a real question whether she can score and run the offense and not get worn down.

Sophomore forward Jordan Korinek continues to lead KSU in scoring (15.3 points per game) and rebounding (7.1). Tyra James averages 10.3. No one else averages more than six. Cross’s point production has dropped off substantially since early in the season. She averaged 10 points a game through KSU’s first seven but has scored only 17 points total in the Flashes’ six conference games.

The game is the first of a Kent at Bowling Green doubleheader. The men’s teams will play about a half hour after the women finish.

The women’s game starts at 2 p.m., with Audio for the game starts at 1:45 on WHLO 640 and Golden Flash iHeart Radio. Video is on ESPN3 and live statistics are on the Eastern Michigan website. You need to be a subscriber to ESPN to get the online-only broadcast.

Bowling Green team website

Kent State statistics

MAC statistics

MAC standings

Ohio is as good as advertised.

The first-place Bobcats made a Mid-American Conference record 17 three-point shots on their way to a 93-54 victory over Kent State Wednesday.

Ohio is  14-3 on the season, 6-0 in the MAC, and ranked ninth in the latest Mid Major Poll. It has won nine straight gameKent State is 3-12, 0-6 in the MAC, and has lost nine straight.

Ohio’s three-point barrage wasn’t terribly surprising; it was just bigger than usual. Ohio is eighth in the country in three-point shots attempted (30 per game) and ninth in three-point shots made (9 per game).

Tuesday they made 17 of 37 or 45 percent, which is 8 percentage points above their average. Ohio took more three-point shots (37) than two-point shots (30). It made 17 of each.

It wasn’t Ohio star Kiyanna Black leading the way. It was her mate at wing, Leixe Baldwin, who made 4 of 7 in the first half. She had 19 points for the game, 16 in the first half. Black, who is the conference’s leading three-point scorer, had 16 points and three three-pointers.

“Our players had a good idea of what to do,” coach Danny O’Banion said. “But they seemed very uncomfortable at really going after the three-point shooter. They were afraid of drives and passes inside. But you have to commit.”

Just as much damage was done by Ohio post player Jasmine Weatherspoon, who had 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. She did get the ball

The buried statistic that also cost KSU the game was that Kent State had 25 turnovers that led to 48 Ohio points. The Bobcats had 20 fast-break points, most on those turnovers. Some of the turnovers came on 12 Ohio steals; many others came on bad passing in their half-court offense.

When it kept the ball, Kent State’s offense could look decent. The Flashes made their first four shots of the game and scored 20 points in the first quarter.

But Ohio made 5 of 9 three-pointers in the quarter and scored 27.

Kent was led by forward Jordan Korinek, who had 14 points, and wing Tyra James, who had 12.

Notes:

• The game saw junior Larissa Lurken — almost entirely a wing or a shooting guard in her career at KSU — play some point guard. The Flashes have gotten very little point production out of their back-up points this season. Lurken,though, was 1 of 10 from the field and scored just three points. She had three assists and two turnovers. She is Kent’s second-leading scorer at 14 points per game.
• Junior college transfer Keziah Lewis seems to have moved firmly into Kent’s rotation. She played 18 minutes and scored three points on 1 of 5 shooting. Lewis was a big scorer in junior college.
• Freshman Alexa Golden, who played just three minutes in Saturday’s loss to Eastern Michigan, played 17 and scored four points.
• Kent State outrebounded Ohio, 41-36. James led the team with eight. Korinek, Golden, reserve forward Chelsi Watson and 6-4 freshman Merissa Barber-Smith all had five. Barber-Smith’s came in just four minutes.
• Ohio passed very crisply against Kent’s match-up zone and had 26 assists on 34 baskets. KSU had 11 assists on 18 baskets.
• Sophomore forward McKenna Stephens had 9 points on 4 of 7 shooting, including three jumpers from the foul line. “That’s her shot,” O’Banion said, “and her teammates are getting her the ball.”
• KSU shot just 25.9 percent in the second half and finished at 33.3, about 6 points below its average.

KSU plays at Bowling Green Saturday as part of a double header with a KSU-BG men’s game. “They’re another three-point shooting team,” O’Banion said. “We have another chance to make our defense work.”

BG is 6-9 and 2-4 in the MAC after beating Northern Illinois on the road 58-43 Wednesday.

Box score

Other MAC scores:

• Akron (10-7, 4-2) 81, Toledo (9-8, 4-2) 71, at Akron.
• Western Michigan (12-6, 4-2) 92, Buffalo (10-7, 2-4) 78, at Buffalo.
• Central Michigan (10-7, 4-2) 72, Miami (7-10, 1-5) 58, at Miami.
• Ball State (13-4, 5-1) 76, Eastern Michigan (12-5, 3-3) 54, at Ball State.
• Bowling Green (6-9, 2-4) 58, Northern Illinois (8-9, 1-5) 43, at Northern.

MAC standings

 

 

The Flashes finally get off the road this week, but it doesn’t get any easier.

Kent State hosts Ohio at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the MACC. That’s Ohio, as in defending MAC champs, only undefeated team in MAC play and ninth-ranked Mid Major team in the country.

The Bobcats are 13-3, 5-0 in conference play and have the 33rd highest RPI in the nation. That’s the highest ranking of anyone on the KSU schedule, including Minnesota, Wright State and Youngstown State.

Ohio has a lot of weapons, but it starts with returning all-MAC guard Kiyanna Black, who scored 39 points Saturday in OU’s 86-84 overtime victory over Central Michigan. Black averages 18.2 points a game, third in the conference, and leads the league in three-point shots attempted (10. per game) and three-points baskets (3.6).

As a team, OU ranks eight in the country in three-point shots attempted (30.19.0) per game) and ninth in three-point shots made (9.0).

The Bobcats also lead the MAC in scoring making, field goal defense and blocked shots.

Kent State is 3-12 on the season and is 0-5 in MAC games, four of which were played away from Kent. They’ve lost eight games in a row.

Audio for the game starts at 6:45 on Ton WHLO 640 and Golden Flash iHeart Radio. You can get video and live statistics through the Kent State website.

 

Seven seconds to go in the third quarter: Kent State’s Chelsi Watson puts back a missed shot and it’s 46-45 Eastern Michigan.

Six seconds later: EMU’s Phyllis Webb, who had taken just 11 three-point shots all season, throws one up from the wing at the third-quarter buzzer. It rattles around the basket, goes in, comes back out, bounces high off the backboard and falls back in.

That essentially ended Kent State’s night. 

Eastern scored the next 14 points and outscored the Flashes 23-6 in the fourth quarter.

The final score was 72-51. KSU drops to 3-12 on the season, 0-5 in the MAC. Eastern is 12-4 and 3-2 in the conference.

It was a game in which Eastern destroyed Kent State in the first and fourth quarters, while Kent State outplayed the Eagles in the second and third quarter.

After falling behind 22-10 after 10 minutes, KSU outscored Eastern 20-12 in the second and 15-12 for the first 9:57 of the third quarter.

“We got anxious,” coach Danny O’Bannioin said in her postgame radio interview. “We just settled for outside shots.”

And Kent State is not a good outside shooting team. They make an average of only 27  percent of their three-point shots this season.

In the fourth quarter, Kent was 2 of 7 from the field. And having being essentially even with EMU on turnovers and points off turnovers through three quarters, they committed eight that led to 15 points in the fourth.

Jordan Korinek led Kent State was 16 points and 9 rebounds. She fouled out with 1:45 to go. No other Kent State player scored more than 7 points.

“I thought the second quarter was a big set forward for us,” O’Banion said. “We were behind 22-10. That typically doesn’t end well for us.”

She said she didn’t think fatigue was the problem in the fourth quarter.

“We had a lot of players with minutes, but they were the right lineup in the game,” O’Banion said. “We need the best five on the floor to finish out the game.”

Tyra James played 35 minutes in her first start since Christmas. She had played well off the bench in the last four games. Against Eastern, she scored Kent’s first five points, then didn’t score again until the last basket. Larissa Lurken had six points on two three-pointers in 34 minutes. Naddiyah Cross played 33 minutes at point guard and scored two. Korinek play 29 minutes but lost time because of foul trouble.

Freshmen Alexa Golden, who had started seven of the last eight games, and Paige Salisbury, who had averaged about 10 minutes a game as back-up point guard, didn’t get into the game until late and played just three minutes each. Neither scored.

Junior college transfers Watson (6 points) and Keziah Lewis (7 points in a season-high 15 minutes) had the bulk of the time off the bench.

Notes:

• KSU shot 37.5 percent, about 2 percentage points under its season average. Eastern shot 45.1 percent, above 5 points above its average.
• Eastern outrebounded KSU 34-31. The Eagles had 11 offensive rebounds. They had 26 Tuesday against league-leading Ohio in a 71-64 loss. KSU had 10 second-chance points, EMU 9.
• Eastern’s Cha Sweeney, the MAC’s third-leading scorer at 19.3 points a game, didn’t score. She had three first-half fouls and went 0 for 11 from the field.

Kent State is home Wednesday to play Ohio, which beat Central Michigan 86-84 in overtime saturday. The Bobcats are 13-3 and the only undefeated team in conference play at 5-0. The game is at 7 p.m. at the MACC.

Box score

Other MAC scores:

• Ball State (12-4, 4-1) 67, Bowling Green (5-9, 1-4) 56, at Bowling Green.
• Western Michigan(11-6, 3-2) 80, Miami (7-9, 1-4) 66, at Western.
• Ohio (13-3, 5-0) 86, Central Michigan (9-7, 3-2) 84 in overtime at Ohio.
• Toledo (9-7, 4-1) 66, Northern Illinois (8-8, 1-4) 59, at Toledo.
• Akron (9-7, 3-2) 69, Buffalo (10-6, 2-3) 61, at Buffalo.

MAC standings