Kent State edges Northern Illinois 63-60, moves on to semifinal round

Lucas Kleimeyer, Falcon Media Sports Network

March 13, 2024

Cleveland%2C+OH+-+Golden+Flashes+Sophomore+Dionna+Gray+taking+a+3+pointer+being+contested+by+Huskies+defense+at+Rocket+Mortgage+FieldHouse

Cleveland, OH – Golden Flashes Sophomore Dionna Gray taking a 3 pointer being contested by Huskies defense at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

The number three seed Kent State Golden Flashes (18-10, 13-5 MAC) faced off against the sixth-seeded Northern Illinois Huskies (15-15, 8-10 MAC) to cap off the opening day of the 2024 Mid-American Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.

It was a back-and-forth contest from the opening tip, with nine total lead changes in the first half. Golden Flashes junior forwards Jenna Batsch and Bridget Dunn both scored six points in the first quarter. Meanwhile, senior guard Kortney Drake scored six points at the end of the first, which led the Huskies.

In the second quarter, both teams struggled shooting the basketball, with Kent State shooting 5-19 from the floor, and only hitting one three-pointer. Northern Illinois shot 5-15 and only made one three as well in the second.

Despite both teams having poor offensive performances in the first half, Kent State would go into halftime with a 28-27 lead over NIU.

Both teams continued to struggle to shoot from three in the third quarter, the Golden Flashes shot 35.7% from beyond the arch, while the Huskies shot 26.7% from three.

While Kent State struggled from three, they had more success shooting from the field, making eight of 16 shots in the third.

The Golden Flashes would head into the fourth quarter with a four-point lead, 47-43.

Northern Illinois would still have a chance to pull off the upset in the fourth, but Kent State wouldn’t let their lead slip as they would go on to defeat the Huskies 63-60 after senior guard Katie Shumate would make both free-throws from the charity stripe to ice the game.

Despite Kent State not being sharp offensively, four players still managed to score double-digit scoring. Freshman forward Janae Tyler led the way with 15 points for the Golden Flashes, Batsch and Shumate both tallied 14 points as well, and Dunn registered a double-double with 15 total rebounds and 14 points as well.

In a losing effort, NIU’s Drake scored a team-high 17 points, and junior guards Sidney McCrea and Laura Nickel both scored in double-digits as well, McCrea with 11 and Nickel with 10.

The Huskies finished the game shooting 36.8% from the field, and the Golden Flashes, despite winning, shot 39.7% from the floor.

Kent State will now go on to face the second-seed Ball State Cardinals in the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament on Friday, Mar. 15, with tip-off set for 12:30 pm.