NIU women’s basketball (15-16, 8-10 MAC) fell short in its upset bid against Kent State University (19-10, 13-5 MAC) as the Golden Flashes won 63-60.
The Huskies are now 1-10 against the Golden Flashes since 2019, including a first round playoff loss last season and a 25-point loss earlier this season.
NIU rushed to a 7-0 lead to begin the game, the largest lead for either side on the night, before Kent State would capture the upper hand with 45 seconds remaining in the first quarter and lead for over 23 minutes of game time.
BRIGHTEST FLASHES
A quartet of Golden Flashes powered Kent State as junior forwards Jenna Batsch and Bridget Dunn, redshirt senior guard Katie Shumate and freshman forward Janae Tyler all recorded 14 or more points.
Tyler led the Golden Flashes with 15 points, as well as leading the game with 3 blocks. The Golden Flashes recorded a season-high 8 blocks in the game.
Dunn excelled both from behind the arc and on the glass, leading Kent State with four shots from deep and 15 rebounds.
PACK LEADERS
Senior guard Kortney Drake led the Huskies with 17 points, her highest career total as a Huskie in the final game of her senior season. Drake shot 5-for-8 from three-point range.
“I wish we could have walked away with a win, but her (Drake) performance as a senior, potentially playing her last game, was pretty special,” said NIU women’s basketball head coach Lisa Carlsen.
Redshirt junior guard Sidney McCrea followed with 11 points, while also pulling down 6 rebounds.
Drake and McCrea collectively shot 7-for-13 from behind the arc. All other Huskies combined shot 0-for-12 from three.
FOUL PLAY
Senior forward Brooke Stonebraker committed her fourth foul of the contest with 6:50 remaining in the 3rd quarter, keeping NIU’s points and rebounds leader sidelined for over 10 minutes in the second half.
“We’re really not built to be super successful without Brooke (Stonebraker) on the floor,” Carlsen said. “We’re just not deep enough at that position.”
In just 23 minutes of play, Stonebraker accumulated 8 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
SEASON RESULTS
The MAC Tournament exit marks five consecutive seasons without a winning record or a first round win in the MAC Tournament.
The Huskies are now 3-9 in the MAC Tournament since Carlsen took over in 2015-16.
“The core of this team is back,” Carlsen said. “I don’t think we have huge holes to fill because of the culture that we’ve built in the connectivity that we have.”
