Kent State made only 1-of-11 shots in the fourth quarter as it saw a seven-point lead slip away.
But the Flashes didn’t miss from the field in overtime as they beat Coppin State 72-69 in their last game before Mid-American Conference play starts on Wednesday.
Graduate student Lindsey Thall hit a 3-point shot with 40 seconds to go in overtime to give Kent State the lead. Casey Santoro, who had an assist on Thall’s basket, hit a free throw 26 seconds later for the final margin.
Lindsey Thall’s go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of overtime is today’s @IBEW 306 Electrifying Play of the Game, courtesy of #GFTV.#GoFlashes⚡️ pic.twitter.com/DCZ5yZxY6g
— Kent State Athletics (@KentStAthletics) December 31, 2022
Kent State finishes its non-conference season at 8-3, the same record as MAC opponents Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois. Bowling Green had the league’s best record at 11-1. Akron and Toledo were 9-2 and Ball State was 10-3. Kent State’s non-conference schedule was by far the toughest in the league, ranking 36th in Division I by WarrenNolan.com, an analytics site.
The Flashes open conference play against Buffalo (5-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the M.A.C. Center.
“That was a really good test for us going into conference play — though a little tighter than I wanted,” coach Todd Starkey said. “We shot the ball horribly in the fourth quarter. Nine percent is not going to do it, so we have to get that fixed and not get stagnant offensively. But I’m really proud of our resilience.”
Kent State got contributions from many players.
“Lindsey’s game winner was a huge shot, obviously,” Starkey said, “but we had hustle plays by other people. Clare Kelly had a dive to save the ball going out of bounds. That gets us another possession. Abby Ogle makes a mistake at one end. Then she sprints 94 feet, contests a shot at the other end, and they don’t score. It’s those little things that really helped us win this game.”
Five Flashes scored in double figures. Thall had 15, made four 3-pointers and blocked two shots. Corynne Hauser had 12 on 6-of-9 shooting and had five assists.. Santoro, Kelly and Katie Shumate all had 11 points. Shumate had a double-double with 10 rebounds.
Ogle had five points and six rebounds while Bridget Dunn’s one basket — a 3-pointer — gave Kent State the lead at the beginning of overtime.
The game had 14 lead changes and was tied eight times.
KSU’s Hannah Young, who had started every game this season and last, missed Saturday’s game with an illness. She is the Flashes’ leading rebounder.
Coppin State is 3-12 and was playing its 11th-straight road game. The overtime loss was its second in a row; the Eagles lost in overtime at Akron 85-76 on Thursday.