Thursday's Scoreboard
Central Michigan 81, Dayton 80
Ohio State 75, Kent State 65
Buffalo, San Jose State -- 10:00 PM
Story Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Central Michigan 81, Dayton 80
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich -- A freshman point guard took some big steps, so did a team under a first-year coach.
And in the end, it was the seasoned veteran who delivered when her team most needed her.
Micaela Kelly scored 10 of her career-high 29 points in overtime as the Central Michigan women's basketball team rallied past Dayton, 81-80, before 4,324 on Thursday afternoon at McGuirk Arena.
It was the first win of the season for CMU (1-3), which has played a brutal nonconference slate of ranked teams and mid-major heavyweights. It was also Heather Oesterle's first win in charge of the program.
"We beat a very, very good Dayton team that's going to win a lot of games this year," said Oesterle, whose team lost in double-overtime to Green Bay in its season opener, and then fell at No. 9 Louisville and at Western Kentucky.
"Our team knows that we schedule like this for a reason, and that reason is to get us ready for the (Mid-American Conference)," Oesterle said. "I just wanted this so bad for them because they've been working their butts off, and they've been working so hard even though the other games maybe haven't gone our way. But they realize the bigger picture is March. We're learning lessons right now that are going to help us in the MAC.
"To win in overtime against a team like that is pretty special."
Ohio State 75, Kent State 65
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – The largest crowd for a Kent State women's basketball game this century witness sophomore Lindsey Thall drain a single-game record eight three-pointers and score 32 points in the home opener against Ohio State at the M.A.C. Center on Thursday night. The Golden Flashes were defeated 75-65 in front of 4,272 fans in attendance.
"The atmosphere was great tonight and we really appreciate people coming out to support our team," head coach Todd Starkey said. "I'm proud of the way we fought all the way through. Obviously, we were a little bit overmatched. Ohio State has a lot of talent and their size is a lot to deal with. It seemed like they hit every mid-range jump shot, contested or otherwise, and we have to get better defensively."
Thall went 8-for-13 from long range and converted all six of her attempts from the free throw line to best her previous career-high by 10. Five different players shared the previous school record of seven three-pointers, with Larissa Lurken being the most recent to do so on January 27, 2016.
"Lindsey got a little bit frustrated in the third quarter because she missed a couple layups," head coach Todd Starkey said. "I just told her to keep playing through that and to have a short-term memory. If her shot was there, I wanted her taking it. And she did. That's something she'll remember the rest of her life, setting a school record against Ohio State.
Kent State committed a season-low 10 turnovers but had trouble hitting shots from inside the arc and finished 7-for-35 on two-point tries. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes converted on 54.2-percent of their field goal attempts.
Redshirt senior Megan Carter scored 13 points and led the Flashes with three assists. Thall, freshman Nila Blackford and senior Sydney Brinlee shared the team lead with five rebounds apiece, as Ohio State held a 43-30 advantage on the glass.
Kent State will continue its three-game homestand against Robert Morris on Sunday, Nov. 24. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Buffalo, San Jose State -- 10:00 PM
Box Score
