Graduate student Annie Pavlansky had scored only 26 points in her first four years with the Kent State women’s basketball team. Abby Ogle, also a grad student, played only six games last season before being sidelined with an injury. Freshman Corynne Hauser was playing her first college game.
The three helped lead the Flashes to a 72-40 exhibition game victory over Division II Mercyhurst Thursday at the M.A.C. Center.
The Flashes never trailed but looked lackluster for 20 minutes in the middle of the game. But they overpowered Mercyhurst 24-3 in the fourth quarter.
Pavlansky Power
In four years at Kent State, Pavlansky had averaged fewer than five minutes a game. Thursday she led KSU with 12 points and seven rebounds, both career highs. She didn’t miss a shot — 4-of-4 from the field, 1-of-1 from 3-point distance and 3-of-3 from the foul line.
“Annie has been playing really well lately in practice and got good results in the game,” coach Todd Starkey said. “She’s been working hard every day since she’s been here. She’s one of those players that just has been such a steady force for us for, four years going on five now. She does everything we ask her to do. She’s a straight-A student, a great teammate, and has developed a great voice.”
Pavlansky agreed that “number-wise,” it was her best game.
“I was taking what was given to me and made simple shots,” she said. “A lot of that came from my teammates finding me when I was open, and then I was just making simple plays.”
Ogle’s return
Ogle was a third-team all-American at Hutchinson Junior College in Kansas. She spent the 2020-21 season at West Virginia, then transferred to Kent, where she was expected to be a spark off the bench.
When Kent State was floundering early in the third quarter, Ogle had two baskets, a free throw, and a steal. She finished with nine points.
“Abby can be a really a real spark plug for us, and that’s something I wish we would’ve had last year in conference play,” Starkey said. “She’s definitely an energy player — she kind of plays with her hair on fire a little bit sometimes.”
Hauser’s hello
Hauser is a two-time all-stater in Pennsylvania and averaged 25 points a game her senior year.
Starkey said she is a player “who’s got the ability to score 20 points a game for us.”
Hauser said she was generally happy with her first game.
“I came in with a lot of nerves, but once we started playing, I settled down,” she said. “Once I got the ball in my hand the first time and took one dribble, I felt everything around me just got quiet.
“The coaches expect me to be aggressive and get other people involved, So whether it was finding my shot or finding my teammates’ shots, I think I did pretty well.”
Hauser tied Lindsey Thall for second on the team with 11 points and tied Casey Santoro with four assists.
A first start and a fast finish
The Flashes led 18-3 seven minutes into the game, then went into a funk for the rest of the first half and the first seven minutes of the third quarter.
But after Mercyhurst pulled within six points, Kent State scored seven in a row, then held Mercyhurst to just a basket and a free throw in the fourth quarter.
“I think we all just decided that we were going to try and play our basketball — getting stops, not doing anything too complicated and really pushing the issue in transition.”
Running the numbers
Kent State had 21 turnovers — “way too much,” Starkey said, though the team had only three in the fourth quarter. “It had a lot to do with carelessness with the ball and other self-inflicted things that we have to get fixed,” he said.
The Flashes were 1-for-13 on 3-point shots in the first half and 5-for-26 (19.2%) for the game. Mercyhurst made three 3-point shots in the first quarter, then missed 21 straight for the rest of the game.
For the game, KSU made 40% of its shots; Mercyhurst made 26%. The Flashes outrebounded the Lakers 54-29, led by nine from sophomore Bridget Dunn.
All 14 KSU players got in the game, and 10 players more than 12 minutes. No one played more than 22 minutes.
The starting lineup was Thall, Santoro, Katie Shumate, Clare Kelly, and Hannah Young, though Starkey shuffled KSU’s on-court combinations all game.
A big-time opener next week
The Flashes’ first regular-season game is next Thursday against Florida State. The Seminoles are the first Power 5 team to visit the M.A.C. Center since Ohio State in 2020. The game is the second of a doubleheader with the men’s team, who play Baldwin Wallace at 5 p.m. The women’s game will start a half hour after that game, probably about 7:30.