NIU women’s basketball suffered its third consecutive loss Wednesday after falling to the Kent State University Golden Flashes by a score 76-58. With this loss, the Huskies fall to 5-10 in the MAC, 12-15 overall while Kent State improves to 18-10 overall and 10-5 in the MAC.
“Obviously we couldn’t stick the ball in the basket in the third quarter, and then I thought we took some maybe quick and ill-advised shots, and that really led to opportunities for them in transition,” said NIU women’s basketball head coach Lisa Carlsen. “I think our offense in the third quarter really gave us problems that contributed to problems on both ends.”
The Huskies controlled this game in the first half, staying firm defensively. The second half was a different story, as the Huskies couldn’t get a rhythm offensively and the Golden Flashes could not miss.
Junior guard Alecia Doyle highlighted the Huskies’ scoring against Kent State, as she finished with 21 points and 5 rebounds. The team-leading scoring effort is Doyle’s third-straight game scoring 19 points or more.
“I know that my first step is pretty quick, and so whenever my matchup is against people that I feel like are a little bit slower, my main focus is to attack them,” Doyle said. That’s me being confident in my three-point shot and knowing that I’ve taken those shots before, and just having confidence in that.”
Graduate student guard Chelby Koker was the Huskies’ second leading scorer in this contest, finishing with 13 points, 4 assists, 1 steal and 3 rebounds.
Kent State’s victory was driven by a full team effort. The Golden Flashes had five scorers finish with double-digit points, with four of those scorers in their starting five.
Kent State senior forward Bridget Dunn dominated the glass, getting 15 rebounds – 11 defensive rebounds – while also chipping in 11 points.
Kent State junior guard Dionna Gray led the charge for the Golden Flashes, consistently finding open teammates and finishing with 9 assists. Gray also had 14 points and 2 steals.
Golden Flash senior guard Jenna Batsch found her rhythm in the second half, finishing the game scoring 11 points and dishing out 6 assists. Batsch’s game stretched beyond scoring, as she had a game-high 4 steals.
FIRST HALF
The Huskies attacked the paint in the first half, leading to 50% shooting from the field. While NIU was efficient from inside the arc, NIU only shot 1/5 from three in the first half.
“One of our main focuses was to be able to get into the paint, drive and kick,” Doyle said. “Honestly, we believe that we were the quicker team then Kent State so we believed if we were to get our first step to get to the paint that we’d be able to score.”
The Huskies were hot early, knocking down shots efficiently in the paint.
NIU graduate student forward Brooke Stonebraker got into foul trouble early with two fouls in the first five minutes, leading to redshirt sophomore forward Brooke Blumenfeld picking up extra minutes. Blumenfeld made her presence felt with back-to-back baskets after checking in.
Koker was also productive in the first quarter, knocking down three baskets. Koker’s 6 first half points helped the Huskies seal a three-point lead to end the first quarter.
Doyle’s dangerous mid-range jumper was working in the second quarter, leading to 8 points in the second quarter. Doyle finished the half as NIU’s leading scorer, totaling 10 points.
Doyle’s success helped NIU leave the first half with a 30-29 lead.
SECOND HALF
The Huskies went cold in the third quarter, giving up a 14-0 run and going scoreless for four-straight minutes.
NIU also failed to overcome the turnover bug, as they had 6 turnovers in the third quarter alone. Kent State shot 52% from the field and were 4/5 from three in the third quarter, propelling the Golden Flashes to outscore the Huskies 26-9 throughout the frame.
“Honestly, I think it almost started in the very beginning,” Doyle said. “We struggled with defensive transition and getting back and getting stops, and stopping them from easy buckets in transition. They would find the open person, and that open person would knock down that shot.”
The Huskies improved in the fourth quarter but the lead the Golden Flashes garnered was too much for NIU. Every run the Huskies attempted was answered by the Golden Flashes, leading to the double-digit defeat.
UP NEXT
The Huskies will host Bowling Green University for senior day at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center in DeKalb. Listening will be provided by WDKB 94.9 FM and live stats will be available through SIDEARM Sports.
