KSU forward McKenna Stephens, who scored a career-high 22 points, rings the victory bell. (Photo from KSU athletics website.)

KSU leading scorer Jordan Korinek was having a rough night physically.

So her teammates stepped up, three of them joining Korinek in double figures as the Kent State women beat Detroit Mercy 82-74 in their home opener Thursday. The victory moves Kent’s record to 5-3 on the season.

Korinek struggled with a tight hamstring, especially in the first half and went an uncharacteristic zero for her first six shots. She had been making 62 percent of her field goal attempts, second in the MAC and 20th in the country.

Korinek still ended up with 17 points, but Ali Poole and Alexa Golden stepped up with big first halves, and McKenna Stephens had an even bigger second half. Stephens finished with a career-high 22 points on 10 of 17 shooting. Golden also had a career high with 18 points. 10 in the first half. Poole had 14, with 12 in the first half.

It was the first time this season four Kent State players had scored in double figures. The 82 points was KSU’s high for the young season, and the 156 points between the two teams were by far the most in a Kent State game this season.

“We can’t expect Jordan to score 30 points every night,” Stephens said. “It’s just not going to happen. So you just have to pick up. Someone has got to hit a couple of shots to open things up inside.”

That someone was Stephens in the second half, when she scored 16 points, often taking advantage of Detroit’s attempt to crowd Jordan.

“McKenna made some great reads,” Starkey said, “and our guards did a good job of getting the ball there on those plays.”

Basketball people call them “backdoor cuts,” when a player breaks to the basket on the opposite side of the court of where the ball is. Stephens said it was open all night.

“We weren’t really seeing it in the first half,” she said. “And then in the second half, I told (point guard Naddiyah Cross) what they were doing. I kind of yelled it. Everybody could hear it. And they didn’t figure it out until six times later.”

Korinek, who went to the exercise bike to loosen up her leg every time she came out of the game, played better in the second half, too.

“I kind of jumped on her in the locker room at halftime” Starkey said. “I said, ‘Listen. Either you’re hurt, or you’re going to play, and you’re going to play the level of your ability. We’re counting on you. She responded with a much better second half, and because of that, everybody else played played well at the same time.”

Detroit made eight of 13 first-quarter shots, including three three-point baskets, and led by as much as nine in the quarter.

“Detroit played harder than we did in the first quarter,” Starkey said. “They were playing with some desperation to get a win.

“We were able to match their intensity in the second half, and I was happy with that. But we need to find a way to overcome some of the lapses in focus and intensity that we’ve had all season.”

The second thing Starkey grumbled about in his postgame press conference was KSU turnovers late in the game.

“We’ve got to make sure that we don’t we don’t make runs and then give it back,” the coach said. “We did twice in the fourth quarter. We had a 10-point lead, and they cut it to three or four, and then we pushed it out again. It’s kind of us getting in our own way.”

Box score

Video highlights, including postgame interview with coach Todd Starkey.

Game story from Kent State website, including links to statistics, roster, record book, etc.

Game story from Detroit Mercy website.

Notes

• Kent State took the game over in the last five minutes of the third quarter. The Flashes outscored Detroit 18-4 in the paint in that time as Korinek started to get untracked. and Stephens was scoring on layups set up by passes from Korinek and Kent’s guards.
• The Flashes had a season-high 18 assists on 28 baskets. Korinek had four assists, one off her career high. Cross had seven and Poole and Golden three each.
• Golden made five of nine shots, two of four three-pointers, had nine rebounds and two steals to go with her three assists. We used to always put “defensive specialist” in front of her name. She’s much more than that this season.
• Poole was six of 14 from the floor with two three-pointers and six rebounds.
• Cross spent nine minutes on the bench in the first half with foul trouble. Without her, the Flashes played point guard by committee, with Poole, Golden, freshman Erin Thames and redshirt junior Tyra James all spending time leading the offense.
• James gave the Flashes a single-handed four-point turnaround in the last minute of the first half. She blocked a shot, was fouled and made two free throws. It gave Kent State a 38-37 halftime lead.
• Kent shot a season-best 46.9 percent from the floor and 51 percent over the last three quarters. Detroit Mercy made 43.6 percent of its shots.
• Kent State outrebounded Detroit 37-31, climbing out of an 11-5 disadvantage after the first quarter. It was the sixth time in eight games KSU has outrebounded its opponent.
• Detroit is 0-6 but looked like an awfully good team to be winless. The Titans have lost to teams with a combined 24-10 record. Senior Brianne Cohen, an all-Horizon player a year ago, led them with 21 points and eight rebounds.
• Attendance was 493, about the same as last season despite the Flashes winning the the MAC East and having their best record in six seasons in 2016-17. The game had a full contingent of dancer and cheerleaders and a very loud (in music and cheering) band.

The Flashes go back on the road next week for a Tuesday game at Eastern Kentucky, which is 2-4 and has lost to three other MAC teams — Bowling Green, Akron and Ohio. KSU has only one other non-conference home game against Wright State on Thursday night, Dec. 7.

Four Kent State players scored at least 14 points and the Flashes scored their highest total of the season in beating Detroit Mercy 82-74 Thursday at the M.A.C. Center.

It was KSU’s first home game after two road wins and a five games at neutral-site tournaments. The Flashes are now 5-3 while Detroit is 0-6.

McKenna Stephens led Kent State with a career-high 22 points. Alexa Golden had 18, Jordan Korinek 17 and ‘Ali Poole 14.

The Flashes fell behind by nine in the first quarter but battled back to take a one-point lead at halftime. The led throughout the second half, though Detroit closed the margin to two points several tames.

Golden and Korinek each had nine rebounds, season highs for both.

Box score

Detailed story with quotes from players and coach Todd Starkey upcoming.

Those are Kent State’s four seniors — McKenna Stephens, Jordan Korinek, Zenobia Bess and (kneeling) Naddiyah Cross in the KSU photo Tweet promoting Thursday’s home opener. Game is at 7 p.m.

Three things are notable about Kent State’s home opener against Detroit Mercy:

1. It’s the Flashes’ first game in front of home fans. KSU has opened with two games on the road and five at neutral sites. The Flashes are 4-3.
2. It’s their fifth game against teams with a weak record. Detroit Mercy is 0-5, though against overall better competition than Kent State has played.
3. The Flashes have some revenge incentive. Detroit Mercy beat them 73-52 in Detroit last season in Kent State’s worst game of the season.

The game is at 7 p.m. in the M.A.C. Center.

Detroit Mercy returns three starters and eight players from that team, which went on to 18-14 and finish second in the Horizon League at 12-6. The Titans lost leading scorer Roxanna Reynolds (16.2 points per game) from that team but return their No. 2 player, 6-foot senior forward Brianne Cohen, who averaged 15.2 last season and 18.0 this season.

The Titans’ competition has been solid. They lost to Power 5 teams Michigan State (4-1) and Clemson (4-2) by about 30 points each, to the MAC’s Miami (3-3) by 33 and Bowling Green (6-1) by four, and to North Texas (2-1) by six. Those teams have a combined record of 19-8. Detroit’s schedule strength is 90th in the country (of 349 teams).

Kent State’s schedule strength is 309, according to RealTimeRPI.

Cohen is the only Detroit player taller than 5-11, so the Flashes will have a distinct height advantage. So far KSU is outrebounding opponents by 3.1 a game.

The Flashes have lost to three good teams — No. 16 Stanford. Florida Gulf Coast (fourth in this week’s Mid-Major Top 25) and Gonzaga (the No. 21 Mid-Major). But the teams they’ve beaten have a combined 3-18 record. (Here’s link to KSU’s scores/schedule.)

Kent State’s Jordan Korinek is second in the MAC in scoring at 21.3 points per game, second in field goal percentage at 62.8 percent and second in three-point percentage at 58.8 percent. She leads the conference in made foul shots.

A year ago Kent State was first in the country in free throws made and second in free throws attempted, in large part because of Larissa Lurken, who set an NCAA record for free throws made in a season. Lurken graduated in May.

Here’s a statistic I didn’t believe when I first saw it:

This season Kent State is third in the nation in free throws made with 127 (18.1 a game). (The NCAA website on free throws attempted is messed up. It has KSU taking the same number of shots it has made.) Korinek is ninth in the country individually in foul shooting.

Kent State statistics, including links to roster, schedule, record book, etc.

MAC statistics, including standings.

NCAA statistics

To follow the game

The game starts at 7 p.m. at the MACC.

The game is on ESPN3. You can watch it online if you subscribe to ESPN on cable or satellite TV.

Audio starts at about 6:45 p.m on Golden Flash iHeart Radio.

Live statistics will be available through the Kent State website

Preview from the Detroit Mercy website, including links to its roster and schedule.

I’ll post the link to the preview from the KSU website when its posted.

Kent State isn’t going to play much better defense this season than it did in the fourth quarter against Memphis Saturday.

Tied 50-50 going into the last 10 minutes, the Flashes held Memphis to two of 15 shooting and five points. They forced six turnovers and beat the Tigers 70-55 in their last game of the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas.

The win leaves Kent State at 4-3 going into its first home game of the season Thursday night against Detroit Mercy. The Flashes were 1-2 in Las Vegas, losing to No. 14 Stanford and Gonzaga, which was ranked seventh in this week’s Mid-Major Top 25.

The fourth-quarter defense was sparked by a tall lineup that had 6-2 senior Jordan Korinek and 6-4 junior Marissa Barber-Smith playing extended minutes together for the first time this season.

“We went with more size and did a great job of talking on defense,” Starkey said. “Merissa did a great job of really contesting a lot of shots and keeping them off the offensive glass.”

Barber-Smith had five points and four rebounds in 10 minutes.

The Flashes got unexpected offense and rebounding from their shortest player, 5-foot-5 point guard Naddiyah Cross, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double in college. She had been averaging 4.2 points and 2.2 rebounds. She also had five assists against one turnover, had two steals and played every second of the game.

“I didn’t realize I played 40 minutes until they told me,” Cross said. “I just work on playing until I get pulled out and don’t pay attention to how much I’m playing.”

“A big point the coaches make is that when some people aren’t playing well, others have to step up,” Cross said. “My job was just to go in get a lot of defensive rebounds when our bigs were getting boxed out.”

In the three games in Las Vegas, Cross had 17 assists and played 108 of a possible 120 minutes.

Korinek led the Flashes with 25 points, making 9 of 13 field goals and six of seven free throws. She had one three-point basket. For the tournament, she made seven of 12 three-pointers and now has 10 in 16 attempts this season (62.5 percent). That’s as many three-pointers as she made all last season, when she hit 29 percent. She is averaging 21.3 points a game, which should put her in the top three in the MAC. (Conference stats aren’t updated after every game.)

Saturday’s game plan, Starkey said, was “to be relentless from start to finish.”

“Everybody is tired in the third day,” he said. “We talked about how the team that’s mentally and physical toughest was going to win.”

Going into the weekend, Starkey said, the Flashes knew they were gong to face top competition.

“The goal was to make sure we found a way to get at least one win,” he said. “Now we get to go home and finally play in front of our own fans.”

Box score

Game story from the Kent State website.

Game story from the Memphis website.

Notes

Freshman guard Kasey Toles played 20 minutes — by far her career high. She scored four points on her first college three-point basket and a free throw, and had four rebounds. “She played much more composed and much more controlled,” Starkey said. Toles’ extended minutes partially due to some first-half four trouble to Ali Poole and Alexa Golden and partially due to the absence of junior Tyra James, who missed the last two games of the tournament with a minor injury.

Kent State made 44 percent of its field goal attempts — .6 of a percentage point off its season high against Southeastern Louisiana, and a season-best 36.8 percent of its three–point shots (seven of 19). Memphis was 22 of 59 for 37 percent and just 29 percent in the second half.

The Flashes outrebounded Memphis 37-32, outscored the Tigers off turnovers 17-10 and made 19 free throws to Memphis’s five. For the season, the Flashes have outscored their opponents at the foul line, 117-67. They were third in the country in made and attempted free throws going into Saturday’s game.

The Flashes led by five points after the first quarter but saw Memphis take a four-point halftime lead and led by 11 with 5:51 to go in the third quarter. The Flashes tied the score at 43-43 on a 13-2 run keyed by three-pointers by Poole, Korinek and McKenna Stephens.

Golden had nine points with two three-pointers, six rebounds (four offensive) and three steals. Poole had eight points with two three-point baskets and three assists.

Memphis coach Melissa McFerrin, as quoted in the Memphis team website:
“In the fourth quarter, there were several defensive possessions that we did a really nice job, but then they would get an offensive rebound. We missed a bunch of shots in the fourth, and at the end of the day, the fourth quarter was the difference. I thought our kids fought and played hard.”

Playing some of its best defense of the season, Kent State held Memphis to 2 of 15 shooting and five points in the fourth quarter and won its last game of the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas, 70-55.

Naddiyah Cross, KSU’s 5-foot-5 point guard, had the first double-double of her career with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She also had five assists and just one turnover in playing every second of the game.

Jordan Korinek had 25 points on 9 for 13 shooting to lead the Flashes.

Kent State is now 4-3 on the season. Memphis is 1-6.

FULL STORY TO COME

Kent State’s 77-57 loss to Gonzaga Friday solidified what we know about the Flashes so far this season:

1. Kent State may well be a good team this season, but it’s not there yet.
2. The Flashes have yet to put four good quarters together.
3. KSU can play well for considerable periods of time against top competition.
4. And if the Flashes don’t start to control turnovers against good teams, they will have a tough time approaching last season’s 19-13 record.

In Friday’s loss to Gonzaga, No. 7 in this week’s Mid-Major Top 25, Kent State outscored the Bulldogs in the second and third quarters. But they had spotted Gonzaga a 32-15 first-quarter lead, largely due to eight turnovers that led to 18 Bulldog points.

Kent State (6-6) has had at least one weak quarter in each of its first six games. Against weaker competition (the three teams KSU has beaten have a combined record of 1-13), the Flashes have overcome their flaws.

Against quality competition, the Kent State has had two good quarters but has been thoroughly outplayed the other half of the game. The teams that have beaten KSU are Stanford (3-2 and ranked No. 14 in the country), Florida Gulf Coast (6-1 and No. 2 in the Mid-Major Top 25) and Gonzaga (now 2-2).

In the three games the Flashes have lost, opponents have scored an average of 23 points off turnovers.

“Our margin for error this season is really small,” coach Todd Starkey said in his postgame interview on Golden Flash Radio. “We can’t make the kind of mistakes that we’re making and expect to be in games against Stanford and Gonzaga, which are two of the best teams on the West Coast. We’ve got to put 40 minutes together if we’re going to compete in these kind of games.”

“I’m proud of the fact we fought. We didn’t give in.”

Kent State was within 10 points when a three-point shot by Ali Poole bounced away with 29 seconds to go in the third quarter.

“When you’re trying to battle back, you need a little bit of luck,” Starkey said “I think it’s a different ball game if that shot goes down.”

At the end of the first half, KSU missed a shot with 15 seconds to go instead of holding for the last shot. Gonzaga rebounded and pushed the ball up the court and scored on an offensive rebound at the buzzer. “That’s a big swing,” Starkey said.

Gonzaga had 16 steals.

“Our guard play just has to get better,” Starkey said. “We’ve got to take care of the basketball. It’s something that we’re working on every day in practice.”

Gonzaga junior forward Jill Barta had 30 points, including a brilliant first quarter when she scored 19 points and made four of five three-pointers. Barta has been all-Western Athletic Conference first team her first two years playing for Gonzaga.

Kent State was led by graduate student forward McKenna Stephens, who had 18 points and five rebounds. Jordan Korinek had 14 points on six-of-seven shooting, and Alexa Golden had 11 points. Point guard Naddiyah Cross had six assists for the second straight game.

Saturday: Memphis (and Danny O’Banon)

Kent State plays its last game in Las Vegas Saturday against Memphis, which lost to No. 21 DePaul 81-67 Friday. Memphis is 1-5 and has lost five straight since its opening victory over Tennessee State. The Tigers had 30 turnovers against DePaul, so whichever team corrects that problem Saturday is likely to win.

Memphis’s associate head coach is Danny O’Banion, who was Kent State head coach until her contract wasn’t renewed in 2016 after going 18-95 over four years. KSU’s entire starting line-up was recruited by O’Banion and her staff.

To follow the Memphis game

• The game starts at 3:30 p.m. Kent time.
• You can buy online video access through FloHoops. It costs $30 for the entire tournament. It’s a monthly subscription that’s automatically renewed. Be sure to cancel after you watch.
• Audio is on Golden Flash Radio, starting at about 3:15 p.m.
• Live statistics are available free through FloHoops.

Box score

Notes

• Kent State made 38 percent of its shots, about its season average. Gonzaga made 50 percent of its field goals, including 13 of 16 in the first quarter. Four of those were three-pointers, but most were layups off of steals.
• Kent State outrebounded the taller Bulldogs 32-28. Leading rebounding for KSU was “team,” which is recorded when the ball goes out of bounds off a rebound to Kent State (seven times Friday). After Stephens’ five, Cross and freshman Monique Smith had four each.
• Korinek blocked three shots, which equaled a career high. She made one of two three-point shots and now has made nine of 15 this season.
• All five Kent State starters played at least 30 minutes. Center Merissa Barber-Smith (11 minutes) was the only other player with more than seven. The Flashes have struggled to develop depth in their rotation, though that’s difficult against teams like Stanford and Gonzaga.
• Walk-on freshman Margaux Eibel scored her first college points on two free throws in the final 90 seconds.

Other Play4Kay scores Friday

• No. 9 Ohio State (6-1) 104, Florida Gulf Coast (6-1) 62.
• No. 14 Stanford (3-2) and Belmont (3-1) were tied at 37 at halftime at midnight Friday. Ohio State will play the winner for the tournament championships Saturday night. Loser will play No. 21 DePaul for third place. Gonzaga will play Florida Gulf Coast for fifth place.

Kent State handed Gonzaga 31 points off 20 KSU turnovers Friday and dropped its second game in the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas, 77-57.

Gonzaga ran to a 32-15 lead in the first quarter behind 19 points from Jill Sparta, a 6-3 all-Western Athletic Conference forward last season. She finished with 30.

Kent State outscored the Bulldogs in the second and third quarters but never got within 10 points.

McKenna Stephens led the Flashes with 18 points and five rebounds. Jordan Korinek had 14 and Alexa Golden 11.

KSU drops to 3-3 on the season, with two of its losses to teams ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 and the third to No. 14 Stanford. Gonzaga is 2-2.

The Flashes play Memphis at 3:30 in their final game in the tournament. Former KSU head coach Danny O’Banion is associate head coach at Memphis, which is 1-5 and lost to No 21 DePaul 81-67 Friday.

Box score

UPDATED STORY WITH QUOTES FORM KSU COACH TODD STARKEY WILL FOLLOW.

The final margin was 25 points, but Kent State’s 79-54 loss to No. 14 Stanford Thursday was a very different game than the score.

The Flashes played the Cardinal, a Final Four team last season, more than evenly in the first and third quarters. They led Stanford by five with 6:23 to go in the first half. Then  Stanford went on a 24-0 run.

KSU outscored Stanford 16-9 in the third quarter and were down 59-49 with 9:13 to play. But the Cardinal finished on a 20-5 run as Kent State made only one of its last 10 shots.

“In spots, we outplayed them — no question about it,” coach Todd Starkey said in an interview relayed through assistant sports information director Jay Fiorello. “I thought we really competed. I was happy with our toughness, and we learned a lot about ourselves.

“But over the course of the game, their size and talent just caught up with us.”

Stanford starts forwards who are 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-3; Kent’s front line is 6-2 and 6-0. The Cardinal have one of the nation’s top programs — seven Final Four appearances in the last 10 years –– and at least two McDonald high School All-Americans on their roster.

Stanford used its size to outscore Kent State in the paint 40-10. They blocked nine KSU shots, and several of those came on three-point attempts.

Kent State’s game plan didn’t try to take on the Cardinal inside. The Flashes took 30 three-point shots — more than double their average in their first four games and more than in any game last season. They made 11, triple their average this season and their most in at least six seasons.

The Flashes worked to get senior forward Jordan Korinek open on the perimeter, where she made a career-high five three-pointers in eight attempts. Both Starkey and former coach Danny O’Banion had always said Korinek was a good distance shooter, but she had made a total of just 16 three-point baskets in her first three years at Kent State. She had never attempted more three in a game.

Korinek had 21 points, five rebounds and a blocked shot.

Sophomore guard Ali Poole had 14 points and led the Flashes with six rebounds, which equaled a career high.

Naddiyah Cross and Alexa Golden each had six assists as the Flashes had assists on 16 of their 20 baskets. Golden’s total was a career high. She also had two steals, three rebounds and five points in 37 minutes.

Box score 

Gonzaga ext for Kent State

In its second game in the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas, Kent State will play Gonzaga at 6 p.m. Friday (Kent time). Gonzaga (1-2) lost to Belmont 71-63 Thursday. Gonzaga was ranked seventh in the most recent Mid-Major Top 25; the Bulldogs were 26-7 and won the West Coast Conference regular season and tournament championships last year.

Belmont (3-1) will play Stanford.

Other scores from the tournament Thursday:

• Florida Gulf Coast (6-0) 89, No. 21 DePaul (3-2) 84 in overtime. FGCU beat Kent State 80-62 last weekend in the Akron Classic.
• No. 9 Ohio State (5-1) 100, Memphis (1-4) 69.

Florida Gulf Cost will play Ohio State Friday. Depending on Friday results, Kent State will play the loser of that game, DePaul or Memphis on Saturday.

To follow the Gonzaga game:

• The game starts at 6 p.m. Kent time.
• You can buy online video access through FloHoops. It costs $30 for the entire tournament. It’s a monthly subscription that’s automatically renewed. Be sure to cancel after you watch the tournament.
• Audio is on Golden Flash Radio, starting at about 5:45 p.m.
• Live statistics are available free through FloHoops.

Stanford game notes

• Stanford and Kent State are both now 3-2 on the season.
• Kent State made 20 of 57 field goals for 35 percent. The Flashes shot 48 percent in the first half and 42 through three quarters but were three of 17 in the fourth quarter. Stanford shot 56 percent for the game and 35 percent on three-point shots.
• Stanford outrebounded KSU 36-28 and outscored the Flashes 22-9 off turnovers, although total turnovers were about even. Kent State had 12 (nine of them Stanford steals), Stanford 11. Twelve was a season low in turnovers for the Flashes.
• Stanford had four players in double figures, led by 5-11 guard DiJonai Carrington, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds. She averages a double-double.

Fourteenth-ranked Stanford went on huge runs at the end of the second and fourth quarters and beat Kent State 79-54 in the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas Thursday.

Stanford outscored KSU 24-0 in one stretch in the second quarter and 20-5 over the last nine minutes of the game.

In between, KSU played Stanford quite evenly at times. They led Stanford by five before the second-quarter run and outscored the Cardinal 16-9 in the third quarter.

Jordan Korinek had 21 points, including a career-high five three-point baskets. Ali Poole had 14 points.

LONGER STORY, WITH COMMENTS FROM COACH TODD STARKEY, TO COME

A year ago Kent State faced such a powerful field in a Thanksgiving tournament that I feared it would destroy its season.

Instead, it made it.

The Flashes faced Baylor, then No. 4 in the country. They lost by 40 points, but they weren’t destroyed. Then they took Western Kentucky, eventually champion of Conference USA, to overtime. Then they beat Florida Gulf Coast, eventual champion of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

And then they went on to go 19-13 and win the MAC East.

This Thanksgiving Kent State will try to do it again.

The Flashes open the Play4Kay Showcase Thursday night in Las Vegas against No. 14 Stanford, a Final Four team a year ago.

Friday they’ll play the winner or loser of a game between Gonzaga (seventh in the current Mid-Major Top 25) and Belmont (eighth in the same poll).

Saturday they’ll play No. 21 DePaul, No. 9 Ohio State, Memphis or Florida Gulf Coast (No. 2 in the Mid-Major Poll).

There’s even an interesting match-up between the two that aren’t ranked. Kent State (3-1) could face Memphis (1-3) on Saturday. Memphis’s associate head coach is Danny O’Banion, the former KSU head coach whose contract wasn’t renewed in 2016 after she went 18-95 in four years.

“Playing good competition, win or lose, helps you out,” Kent State coach Todd Starkey said on KSU’s Flashtalk broadcast last week. “For me, it’s a matter of iron sharpens iron. You play against the best, and you get a true sense of who you are and where to make improvements.

“A lot of times playing a lot of lesser opponents is fool’s gold. You can get the false sense that you’re something that you’re not. I’ve always liked challenging myself against the best. It helps the profile of the school, it helps the players have pride that we’re playing Power 5 Schools and creates excitement about the program.

“I’m not saying we’re equal to the task against a Stanford at this point, but we’re going to lay our ears back and see what we come up with.”

Stanford is 2-2, but its losses are to No. 9 Ohio State (85-64) and No. 1 Connecticut (78-53). It easily beat UC Riverside and Cal State Bakersfield, teams with a combined record of 1-6.

Stanford has 10 players but just two starters returning from the team that went 32-6 last season. They’re led so far by 5-11 sophomore guard DiJonai Carrington, who is averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Cardinal starts 6-3 and 6-4 forwards and has two McDonald All-Americans in its freshman class.

Kent State is 3-1, but its wins have come against teams with a combined 1-10 record. The Flashes’ only loss was to Florida Gulf Coast, 80-62, at the Akron Classic. In that game, the Flashes were pounded in the first half but outscored FGCU by eight in the second. It’s possible KSU could play the Eagles again Saturday in Las Vegas.

The full field:

• Belmont (2-1 and eighth in current Mid-Major Top 25), 2017 Ohio Valley Conference Champions (27-6 record).
• No. 21 DePaul (3-1), 2017 Big East Champions (27-8).
• Florida Gulf Coast (5-0 and second in current Mid-Major Top 25), 2017 A-Sun Champions (26-9).
• Gonzaga (1-1 and seventh in current Mid-Major Top 25), 2017 West Coast Conference Champions (26-7).
• Kent State (3-1), 2017 MAC East Champions (19-13).
• Memphis (1-3), 2017 fifth place (tie) in American Athletic Conference (14-16).
• No. 9 Ohio State (4-1), 2017 Big Ten Champions (28-7).
• No. 14 Stanford (2-2), 2017 NCAA Final Four (32-6), second in the Pac 12.

The tournament is named after Kay Yow, a former North Carolina State head women’s basketball coach who went through three bouts with breast cancer before she died in 2009. Kent State and almost every other women’s team in the country has a “Play4Kay” game during the season that raises money for research and honors cancer victims, survivors and their families.

To follow the game

The Stanford game is at 8:30 p.m. (Kent time) Thursday (Thanksgiving).

You can buy online video access through FloHoops. It costs $30 for the entire tournament. It’s a monthly subscription that’s automatically renewed. Be sure to cancel after you watch the games.

Audio is on Golden Flash Radio, starting at about 8:15 p.m.

Live statistics are available free through FloSports.