MOON
TOWNSHIP, Pa. -
The Kent State women's basketball team (1-0) rallied from a 12-point
second-half deficit with stingy defense and timely free throw shooting to
defeat Robert Morris 62-57 Friday night at the Sewall Center.
Ellie Shields
(Warren, Ohio) and
Rachel Bennett (Marion, Ohio) led the way with 14 points
apiece, while
Stephanie Gibson (North Canton, Ohio) added 12 points off the
bench, all on three-pointers.
Yoshica Spears (Nome, Texas) had a solid
performance with seven points with a game-high eight rebounds.
"First
games have a tendency to be ugly, and this one was ugly," said head coach Bob Lindsay. "But it was a win. And I like the way we won. To be down on someone
else's home court and to come back was a credit to our players."
Down 52-40
with 5:25 to go in the game, Kent State's defense clamped down, holding the
Colonials to 2-of-8 shooting and forcing a pair of turnovers the rest of the
way. On the offensive side of the ball, the Golden Flashes were turnover-free
during the home stretch while shooting 7-of-8 from the field and 5-of-5 from
the free throw line in the final 1:20 to seal the come-from-behind win.
Despite
being out-rebounded 35-32 for the game, Kent State out-caromed Robert Morris
8-4 during the final spurt.
Robert
Morris (0-1) started the contest on a torrid pace, firing 8-of-9 from the
field, including 4-for-4 from three-point range, to take a 21-12 lead with just
over 10 minutes to go in the first half.
Trailing
23-12 with 8:46 to go in the first stanza, Kent State slowly chipped away at
its deficit, closing to within three, 25-22, at the 3:44 mark. With two free
throws by Shields, thanks to a re-try on an RMU lane violation, Kent State
pulled to within one, 25-24. A basket by Spears with just over a minute to go
again had the Flashes within a point of knotting the contest, but a
buzzer-beating three-pointer by Robert Morris' Vega Gimeno-Martinez gave the
Colonials a 30-26 lead at the break.
Despite
the momentum from the late first-half surge, lead Kent State was slow out of
the gate in the second half. Robert Morris bolstered its lead to 10, 36-26,
with the first six points of the second half. KSU broke out of its slump with a
short jumper by Chenel Harris (Mississauga, Ontario), but RMU's ensuing
possession produced a three-pointer for a 39-28 lead with 12:21 to play.
"We were
lethargic to start the second half. We played really hard in the last eight
minutes of the first half, and we came out really sluggish in the second half.
We tried to pick it up full court defensively and attack off the dribble on
offense."
Both teams
swapped baskets, with Robert Morris twice taking a 12-point lead, including its
52-40 advantage after a pair of free throws by Angela Pace.
A pair of
baskets by Bennett and a bucket by Shields pulled the Flashes to within five,
and a long three-pointer by Gibson with 2:44 to go keyed a 7-0 streak, which
was capped by a baseline pull-up jumper by Bennett, tying the game at 55-55
with 1:43 to play.
Robert
Morris responded by breaking a Kent State press with a full-court layup by
Pace, but Kent State took its first lead of the game - which it kept for good -
with a natural three-point play by Shields with 1:20 on the clock. From there,
sure hands by Harris and Spears at the free throw line fluffed the cushion to
five, and a late block by Spears on a three-point try by RMU's Kristine Silaraja
sealed the win.
"Ultimately,
we made plays at the end," said Lindsay. "It was a battle of wills; we made
some shots down the stretch and made some plays."
Robert
Morris was led by Pace's 13 points, while Monica Jones and Silaraja added 12
and 10 points, respectively.
Kent State returns to action Wednesday, Nov. 18
when the Flashes travel to face Youngstown State at 5:15 p.m.
Courtesy: Tim Cammett/Diamond Images, Inc.
