Sunday's Scoreboard
Kent State 73, Northern Illinois 58
Eastern Michigan 69, Toledo 59
Story Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Kent State 73, Northern Illinois 58
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. — One day after needing to rally in the fourth quarter, Kent State made nine three-point field goals in the first quarter to build a double-digit lead in an impressive 73-58 wire-to-wire victory at Northern Illinois on Sunday afternoon.
The Golden Flashes (9-6, 8-4 MAC) looked like the fresher team from the tip, despite playing their eighth contest in the past 19 days. Kent State led 8-0 just two minutes in on a layup by sophomore Katie Shumate and back-to-back three-pointers by junior Mariah Modkins. The Huskies answered with a triple of their own to get within five but never got any closer the rest of the game.
Clare Kelly got a friendly bounce from the rim inside of the Convocation Center as the first period buzzer sounded to give the Flashes a 33-17 lead and set a new record for most points scored in a quarter. The previous record was 31 during a fourth-quarter comeback against Robert Morris last season. Kent State's shooting performance over the first 10 minutes was nearly perfect, shooting 9-of-10 from long distance and 12-of-14 overall from the field. Four of the five starters contributed to the three-point barrage, with Kelly and junior Lindsey Thall both making all three of their attempts. Kelly scored 11 points in the quarter, which was more than all but two NIU players had for the entire game. The Flashes had 10 assists in the period, with Modkins and Shumate registering three each.
Although hot shooting is what allowed Kent State to build a comfortable lead, it was stellar defense that prevented the Huskies from putting together a run to get back into the game. Northern Illinois scored its fewest points of the season and shot just 19-of-50 from the floor for 38 percent, it lowest against a Mid-American Conference opponent. The Flashes dominated the rebounding battle, 42-23, against a team that entered the weekend with the best rebounding margin in the conference. The Huskies had just four second chance points on four offensive rebounds, and half of those came in the final minute once the benches were cleared.
Clare Kelly scored a game-high 19 points and matcher her career-best with five three-point field goals. Lindsey Thall finished with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots. Nila Blackford recorded her 10 double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Shumate was the fourth Flash in double-figures with 12 points. Junior Hannah Young matched her season-high with eight rebounds. Young provided great energy and tracked down four key offensive boards during the third period when shots were not falling.
Kent State will host the annual Play4Kay game against Buffalo on Wednesday, February 24.
Eastern Michigan 69, Toledo 59
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – After more than a three-week hiatus from game action, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team was able to continue its winning ways by knocking off the University of Toledo, 69-59, Sunday, Feb. 21, inside the Convocation Center.
The Eagles (10-6, 7-4 MAC) have now won six of their last seven contests and extended their winning streak over the Rockets (9-11, 5-11 MAC) to three games. The win also marked the 400th combined victory in the Convocation Center for the men's and women's hoops programs. The venue opened at the start of the 1998-99 season.
The Green and White were paced by junior Jenna Annecchiarico (Baldwin, N.Y.-Baldwin), who scored 17 points and knocked in a season-high five three pointers. Redshirt senior Corrione Cardwell (Cleveland, Ohio-New Tech East) and redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Florida International)) both added double-doubles, with Cardwell collecting 16 points and 11 rebounds and Skanes posting 13 points and 12 rebounds. The double-double was the first for Cardwell in her career, while Skanes recorded her 10th double-dip of the season.
Junior Natalia Pineda (Miami, Fla.-John A. Ferguson) also hit the double-digit points mark, pouring in 11, while knocking home three shots from deep. Redshirt senior Areanna Combs (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Oklahoma State)) added eight points and nine rebounds, and now sits three points away from 1,000 in her career.
After Pineda opened the game with a three pointer, Eastern struggled to hit the mark the rest of the period, knocking in just one other field goal and shooting 16.7% from the field. The Eagles and Rockets combined for 10 turnovers in the quarter, with each giving it away five times.
The sluggish shooting did not last long, however, as the Eagles found their range in the second period. The Green and White were 8-of-18 (44.4%) from the field and 7-of-12 (58.3%) from deep in the second quarter. Annecchiarico knocked down four of those triples, while Combs added two more.
The barrage of shooting by the Eagles helped turn a 10-point Rockets lead into a one-point advantage heading into halftime. The Eagles closed the final two minutes of the quarter on an 8-0 run, with Combs drilling a three to close the period and giving the Green and White the lead, 31-30.
The Eagles' attack carried over into the third quarter, and the lead they claimed heading into halftime was never relinquished. By the end of the third quarter, Eastern's lead had ballooned to 49-40. EMU shot 46.7% from the field and 40% from deep in the period.
While the hot shooting helped Eastern get back in the game, it was the same that allowed them to close it out. What was once a double-digit deficit turned into hard-fought victory. After Toledo brought the lead to within four late in the game, key made free throws by Pineda put the comeback hopes to an end.
As the top defensive team in the league in terms of points allowed per game, the Green and White stifled the Rockets' offense, holding them to 10 points under their season average. A critical piece to the puzzle was the defense played on Toledo's leading scorer Quinesha Lockett. She entered the game as a top-10 scorer in the league, but couldn't get much going against the Eagles, finishing the contest with 13 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the field.
Overall, Eastern was able to lead Toledo in several statistical categories, including field goal percentage (37.9%-32.8%), made 3-pointers (11-4), 3-point percentage (39.3%-19%), rebounds (44-39), assists (12-5), and blocks (2-1).
Eastern will remain in the friendly confines of the Convocation Center when it squares off against rival Western Michigan University Wednesday, Feb. 24. The Eagles lead the all-time series against the Broncos 50-38. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
