Gonzaga forces 20 KSU turnovers and beats the Flashes, 77-57, in Las Vegas

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.