Kent State Women’s Basketball Loses To Canisius
Llobet scores career-high 19 points for Golden Flashes.
KENT, Ohio -- The Kent State women's basketball team could not overcome solid shooting and rebounding efforts by Canisius, losing an 81-64 decision Sunday (Nov. 18) in a non-conference game at the M.A.C. Center.
"The two things that stick out the most are the rebound margin and the fact that they shot 50% from the field," said 23rd-year head coach Bob Lindsay. "They (Canisius) shot it well and we defended poorly on a couple of different shooters, and that was the difference in the game."
Kent State (1-7) was led by freshman guard Itziar Llobet (Sant Cugat de Valles, Spain), who reached double figures for the fifth time in the last six games by tallying a career-high 19 points to lead all scorers while adding a game-high three steals on the defensive end. She was joined in double digits by junior guard Trisha Krewson (Sandusky, Ohio) and freshman guard Jamie Hutcheson (Ancaster, Ontario). Krewson added 14 points to hit double figures for the fifth time this season while Hutcheson matched her career best by chipping in 13 points to go along with a team-high seven assists. Junior guard Tamzin Barroilhet (Sainte Maxime, France) and junior forward Diamon Beckford (Upper Darby, Pa.) each added eight points apiece. Beckford led the Golden Flashes with six rebounds (three offensive, three defensive).
"I played well, but I'm just concerned about our team," said Llobet. "We need to play hard every day and try to improve. We have good players and a good team, but we just need to believe."
Canisius (4-5) enjoyed a strong shooting performance, firing at a 51% clip from the field and 56.3% from behind the arc as four Golden Griffins finished in double figures. Sophomore guard Jen Morabito knocked down four treys and led Canisius with 16 points while freshman guard Kayla Hoohuli added 15 points – including three threes. Sophomore forward Jamie Ruttle and junior guard Ashley Durham also finished with 15 points apiece. The Griffins outrebounded the Flashes by a 43-24 margin – including a game-high nine boards (two offensive, seven defensive) by Ruttle.
Two threes by Llobet and layups by Beckford, Hutcheson and Krewson helped Kent State open the contest with a 12-7 lead going into the first media timeout. A 9-2 run by the Golden Griffins gave Canisius a 15-14 lead with 11:49 to play in the first half. Kent State stayed step-for-step with the opposition, though, using threes by Krewson and Hutcheson and jumpers by Barroilhet and Schaefer to knot the contest at 26-all with 4:11 remaining in the opening stanza. Unfortunately for the Flashes, Canisius ended the half on a 10-0 run to take a 36-26 lead into the break.
Kent State came out firing in the second half, going on a 9-2 run to begin the final 20 minutes of play. Hutcheson knocked down a jumper, Barroilhet followed with a layup and Beckford got in on the act by sinking a three and hitting a jump shot on back-to-back possessions to cut the Canisius edge to 38-35 with 16:44 to play. The Golden Flashes shrunk their deficit to one point thanks to a layup by Barroilhet and a successful conventional three-point play by Llobet to make it a 41-40 contest with 14:55 left.
"Our main focus in the locker room was coming out in the first five minutes and really going at them hard," said Krewson.
That's as close as Kent State got to taking back to the lead, though, as the Golden Griffins went on a 20-4 run over the next six minutes to take a 61-44 lead and turn the tide of the game.
"We kind of got out of our game plan and left some good shooters wide open to hit threes, and they knocked down some big shots," said Krewson. "It's a disappointing loss for us."
Kent State plays its second game at the friendly confines in four days, welcoming Northeastern to the M.A.C. Center Wednesday (Dec. 21). Tip time is slated for noon. Stop by the Athletic Ticket Office in the M.A.C. Center or call (330) 672-2244 for more information.
