Despite big third quarter, Flashes fall to Akron, 70-60

Kent State played about as good a quarter as it has this season in cutting a 15-point Akron lead to 5 Saturday

But the Zips scored the first five points of the fourth and held that margin for a 70-60 win at the MAC Center Saturday.

The loss leaves Kent State at 5-20, 2-14 in the MAC. Akron is 15-12, 9-7 inn the conference.

Akron outshot KSU by 20 percentage points — 52 to 32 — to take a 40-25 halftime lead. The Zips held Kent leading scorer Jordan Korinek to 1 of 5 shooting and two rebounds.

But in the third quarter, Korinek scored nine points on 4 of 4 shooting, including a three-pointer. As  team, Kent State made 7 of 11 in the quarter and cut the lead to 49-44.

But 14 seconds in the fourth quarter, DiAndra Gibson hit a three-point shot. Then Anita Brown, the MAC’s leading scorer, scored the first of 12 fourth-quarter points to give Akron a 10-point lead. Brown, who had verbally committed to Kent State four years ago before coach Bob Lindsay was fired, also had four steals in the quarter.

“I like that players were committed to get the basketball to the paint in the third quarter,” coach Danny O’Banion said in her postgame radio interview. “And we took better care of the basketball. But we had to take better care of the basketball for 40 minutes.”

Akron scored just four points off KSU turnovers in the third quarter but scored nine off turnovers in the fourth quarter. For the game, they scored 31 points off 24 Kent State turnovers.

Larissa Lurken led the Flashes with 19 points. Korinek had 18 and eight rebounds.

“Larissa was very active,” O’Banion said. “She takes her role personally. She knew she underperformed on Wednesday (against Ohio), was aggressor tonight and knew what she needed to do.”

 

Box score

Video highlights, including O’Banion interview, and KSU website story

Other MAC scores

  • Buffalo (15-12, 7-9) 70, Ohio (22-5, 14-2) 58, at Ohio. Both of Ohio’s conference losses have been to Buffalo.
  • Bowling Green (10-15, 6-10) 76, Miami (9-18, 3-13) 56, at Bowling Green.
  • Ball State (19-8, 11-5) 67, Eastern Michigan (18-9, 9-7) 63, at Eastern.
  • Central Michigan (19-8, 13-3) 73, Western Michigan (15-13, 7-9) 61.
  • Toledo (16-11, 11-5) 89, Northern Illinois (11-16, 4-12) 83, in overtime at Northern.