There never was enough time on the clock for Kent State.
The BG women’s basketball team defeated Kent State by a score of 82-38 to advance to 24-3 overall and 14-1 in the Mid-American Conference. The Golden Flashes fell to 6-20 overall and 3-12 in conference play.
The Falcons forced several shot clock violations against the Golden Flashes and ran away with the game early. With the win, the BG senior class claimed their 100th victory of their collegiate careers.
In the first half, the BG defense forced 13 turnovers by getting in the passing lanes and holding the Flashes to the end of the shot clock. However, Kent State went 12-of-17 for 70.6 percent from the field to stay in the game.
BG Head Coach Jennifer Roos said that the turning point of the game came when her team closed out the half. Senior Jillian Halfhill made a three-pointer while falling to the floor after being fouled. Halfhill then missed the free throw for her and-one opportunity, but the Falcons got a series of two offensive rebounds that ended with an Alexis Rogers put back layup in the final second of the half.
The Falcons came out of halftime with a 41-26 lead. Facing a Kent State full-court press and with their defensive efforts, the Falcons were able to get out and literally run away with the game with several fast-break layups in the second half.
Rogers, a fifth-year senior, led the way for the Falcons with 18 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Halfhill finished with 15 points on the night, just two of those coming in the second half, as most of the starters were able to remain on the bench for much of the second half.
Junior Jasmine Matthews added 13 points for the Falcons, going 80 percent from both the field and from three-point range on 4-of-5 attempts for both. Redshirt sophomore Erica Donovan finished with 11 points on the night to round out the double-digit scoring effort for the Falcons.
Halfhill said she was proud of her team for holding Kent to the lowest point total the Falcons have allowed all season. The Flashes scored just 12 points in the second half. She attributed their defensive effort Thursday night to the vast amount of preparation the Falcons did for the Flashes’ offense.
“We really pride ourselves on our defense this year and being able to do that and get the 100th win tonight is just an amazing feeling,” Halfhill said.
Roos said that this game was a tale of two halves, with Kent State going from 70.6 percent from the field to just 15.4 percent in the second half. She said in order for her team to win tonight, she knew they would have to be effective on both ends of the floor.
“We had to be extremely focused at both ends of the floor tonight to be successful, and even though we took an early lead, I never felt comfortable in the first half,” Roos said. “I thought our kids did a much better job in the second half defensively, forcing contested shots and forcing shots at the end of the shot clock, and that was a big key in the game.”
The Falcons will return to the Stroh Center on March 2 for Senior Day as they host Ohio University. The seniors to be honored on Sunday include Jillian Halfhill, Jill Stein and Alexis Rogers. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
