WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Kent State was unable to overcome a scoring drought late in the second quarter and fell to Purdue, 77-64, at Mackey Arena on Sunday.
The Golden Flashes (5-3) were outscored 12-2 over the final 5:06 of the first half and trailed by 14 at halftime. The deficit reached 17 with 1:49 left in the third period but Kent State ran off eight in a row to get within single-digits before the Boilermakers made their second buzzer-beater of the day to end the quarter. The Flashes were unable to get closer than eight and Purdue put the game out of reach with a parade to the free throw lineup in the closing minutes.
Sophomore Asiah Dingle led Kent State with 16 points and three assists. Sophomore Lindsey Thall shot 3-for-5 from downtown and totaled 11 points. Redshirt senior Megan Carter added 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
Kent State will break for final exams and return to action at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic on December 19-20.
Sunday's Scoreboard
Western Michigan 80, UIC 52
Purdue 77, Kent State 64
Cincinnati 98, Miami 68
Butler 76, Akron 55
Story Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Western Michigan 80, UIC 52
Box Score
CHICAGO, Ill. –The Western Michigan women's basketball team dominated on the road with a night of career and season bests in its 80-52 win against the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Western Michigan, now 4-3 overall, shot 41.5 percent from the field, converting a season-high 34-of-82 field goals. WMU out-rebounded the Flames 47 to 42, notching a season-high 22 offensive rebounds. The Broncos' 25 assists and 15 steals were also good for new season bests.
It was a total team effort for the Broncos as all 11 active players saw time on the court with 10 scoring at least three points. The WMU bench came up big, outscoring the UIC bench 24-23. Aided by a strong defense, the Broncos tallied a season-high 22 points off turnovers, earning 17 fast break points with a season-low 13 turnovers.
Redshirt Senior Breanna Mobley continued to dominate, posting her fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 16 points along with 13 rebounds. Jordan Walker added 15 points for Western Michigan while pulling down eight rebounds and eight assists to fall just shy of a triple-double. Leighah-Amori Wool added six points and seven rebounds, while Sydney Shafer had 10 points and four rebounds, the third Bronco to score in the double-digits.
WMU broke out to an early 13-2 lead with a three-point jumper from Wool followed by threes from Walker and Sydney Shafer, in her first start in the Bronco uniform. Walker came in hot in the first quarter, hitting three shots in a row to force a UIC timeout with five minutes to play. The Flames answered with a pair of points, but ultimately the Broncos held strong as Mobley put up six points late in the quarter to push the lead going into the second frame to 22-9.
Western Michigan extended its lead early in the second quarter with a pair of shots off the bench from freshmen Aniya Walker and Ashley Konkle. Several Broncos continued to extend the lead as Jillian Fletcher scored from beyond the arc and Shafer pushed through the lane for a fast break layup. WMU tallied 11 points off the bench in the second quarter, capped off by a three from Kia Brooks with 1:12 left in the half. The Brown & Gold out-rebounded the Flames 25-20 while holding steady defensively with six turnovers to UIC's 13.
The Broncos opened the second half with a jumper from Aniya Walker, on her way to a new career-high seven points. WMU regained possession off a forced turnover, with Mobley taking control to score her 10thpoint of the game and earn a double-double. It was a quiet game in the remainder of the third, the Broncos outscoring UIC 17-11, assisted by points from Shafer and Walker late in the quarter.
The final frame began with a pair of jumpers from Mobley and Walker and WMU extending the lead to 60-36. UIC answered with a pair of made free throws followed by a fast break layup in a scoreless three minutes for the Broncos. Kamrin Reed broke up the drought with five straight points to force a timeout for the Flames with 3:53 left in regulation. WMU's largest lead of the game came with two minutes remaining as Konkle made a layup to score a career-high eight points and sophomore Hannah Douglas came off the bench with a swish from beyond the arc, her first career points as a Bronco.
Up next, the Broncos return to University Arena for their last home game of the year, hosting Chicago State University on Saturday, Dec. 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. with the game being broadcast on ESPN+.
Purdue 77, Kent State 64
Box Score
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Kent State was unable to overcome a scoring drought late in the second quarter and fell to Purdue, 77-64, at Mackey Arena on Sunday.
The Golden Flashes (5-3) were outscored 12-2 over the final 5:06 of the first half and trailed by 14 at halftime. The deficit reached 17 with 1:49 left in the third period but Kent State ran off eight in a row to get within single-digits before the Boilermakers made their second buzzer-beater of the day to end the quarter. The Flashes were unable to get closer than eight and Purdue put the game out of reach with a parade to the free throw lineup in the closing minutes.
Sophomore Asiah Dingle led Kent State with 16 points and three assists. Sophomore Lindsey Thall shot 3-for-5 from downtown and totaled 11 points. Redshirt senior Megan Carter added 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
Kent State will break for final exams and return to action at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic on December 19-20.
Cincinnati 98, Miami 68
Box Score
CINCINNATI – The Miami University women's basketball team (4-5) fell to Cincinnati by a 68-98 margin on Sunday, tying for the most points allowed this season.
Lauren Dickerson and Peyton Scott each had 13 points to lead Miami's offense. Savannah Kluesner and Kelly McLaughlin also scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Kenzie Schmitz led the 'Hawks with six rebounds.
The Bearcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead just two minutes into the game before the RedHawks could get on the scoreboard. Scott had Miami's first two baskets before a three from Dickerson cut UC's lead to 11-7 after four minutes of play.
Butler 76, Akron 55
Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Akron women's basketball team traveled to Indianapolis, Ind., to take on Big East opponent, Butler, on Sunday afternoon, but the Zips fell to the Bulldogs, 76-55, despite junior Jordyn Dawson (Huntington, W. Va.) tying a career-high 18 points inside the Hinkle Fieldhouse.
To go along with her 18 points, Dawson grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, shot 6-for-12 from the floor, knocked down a pair of three-pointers, ripped four steals, and dished out two assists. In the third quarter alone, Dawson scored 10 of the Zips 13 points and the first five points for either side.
Senior Shayna Harmon (Ashville, Ohio) and freshman Lonasia Brewer (Akron, Ohio) followed Dawson in the scoring column pitching in eight points each, which set a new career-high for the freshman forward. Harmon connected on two triples and grabbed a pair of rebounds, while Brewer went 3-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-4 from the charity stripe. Freshman Rachel Martindale (Pittsburgh, Pa.) continues to connect from long range knocking down two three-pointers for six points.
As a team, the Zips shot 18-for-52 (.346) from the floor and tallied seven three-pointers totaling 21 of the Zips 55 points. After shooting just three free throws in the first half, UA went on to shoot 16 free ones in the second half and made 12-for-19 for the game. The Zips bench chipped in 23 points and dished out four assists.
Butler opened the game with a 26-14 lead after 10 minutes of play built by a pair of scoring runs, points off eight Akron turnovers, and free throws.
While the Zips shot 38.5-percent from the floor totaling 14 points for the quarter, including three triples by Harmon, Reinoehl, and Martindale, the Bulldogs shot 61.5-percent from the field, connected on a trio of three-pointers, knocked down seven free throws, and scored 16 of its 26 points off turnovers.
Akron quickly turned a double-digit deficit into single digits out of the quarter break scoring five straight in just under two minutes. Brewer crashed the glass, gathered an offensive rebound, and immediately put a shot back up for two points. The Zips turned defense into offense the next possession as Akron worked quickly up the floor following a Butler miss and Dawson found the bottom of the net for three to make the score 26-19.
However, the Bulldogs countered Akron and would grow its lead to as many as +18 twice in the remaining 7:24 minutes of the period including into the locker room at halftime, 45-27.
In the first 20 minutes, the Zips shot 60-percent from beyond the arc (5-for-9) totaling 15 of Akron's 27 first-half points. Dawson led the Zips in scoring at the half with seven points and four rebounds.
The first five minutes of the second half belonged to Dawson and the Akron defense. Dawson scored all six of Akron's third-quarter points with 4:38 to play and UA's defense limited Butler to five points, forced two turnovers, and posted a pair of steals.
At the second media break in the quarter (2:01), Akron held a slight edge over the Bulldogs in the quarter, 12-9, before the Bulldogs closed out the period on a 4-1 run to even the scoring, 13-13.
As the third quarter came to a close, Dawson ended the period with 10 points, four rebounds, went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line, and recorded two steals. The Zips defense forced three turnovers and held the Bulldogs to a game-low 13 points.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle between the Zips and Bulldogs with Butler clipping the Zips, 18-15, in the period handing BU a 76-55 win.
Akron's bench scored nine points for the Zips in the final 10 minutes of play including three points from sophomore Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell (Solon, Ohio), two points by sophomore Colleen Neitzel (Rocky River, Ohio), and two points from sophomore Kendall Miller (Akron, Ohio).
The final home contest of the 2019-20 non-conference slate for the Akron women's basketball team is on deck for the Zips. Akron hosts North Carolina A&T on Monday, Dec. 16, at 6 p.m. inside James A. Rhodes Arena. Akron will then travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico to take park in the 2019 Puerto Rico Clasico to close out 2019 and the non-league schedule.
