Trending
KENT -- Kent State ended the third period on a 12-4 run, and carried that momentum into a big fourth quarter, to defeat the Youngstown State women's basketball team, 75-60, at the M.A.C. Center on Saturday evening.
The Penguins led, 46-41, following a Mary Dunn basket with 6:06 left in the third period. YSU didn't score again for more than four minutes, as Kent State scored 10 straight points, giving the Golden Flashes a 53-50 lead, heading into the final period. Kent State then scored the first seven points of the fourth to go up 60-50, as YSU got no closer than eight points the rest of the night.
Alison Smolinski scored a season-high 16 points and made four of Youngstown State's 11 3-pointers. Dunn added 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting, and Natalie Myers had eight points and eight rebounds. Larissa Lurken, meanwhile, led Kent State with 18 points.
Youngstown State led, 18-16, at the end of the first period, and extended its lead to 28-20, following two Smolinski free throws with 4:49 left in the second. Myers' 3-pointer put the Penguins up, 36-29, with 1:45 left before halftime, but Kent State closed out the half on a 9-2 run to tie the score at 38 heading into the locker room.
After Ali Poole hit a 3-pointer for Kent State to put the Golden Flashes up 41-38, Youngstown State scored the next eight points on three's by Kelley Wright and Indiya Benjamin, plus, Dunn's basket, which put the Penguins ahead, 46-41. Kent State's 10-0 run followed, and the Golden Flashes also scored nine straight points in the fourth.
Youngstown State will now have a six-day break for final exams. The Penguins will then host Cornell Saturday at noon.