With two minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Kent State women’s basketball team trailed Xavier 43-37.

Over the next 12 minutes, the Flashes (2-1) outscored the Musketeers 29-14 en route to a 64-57 victory Tuesday in Cincinnati.

 KSU was led by sophomore Corynne Hauser and redshirt senior Katie Shumate, who each scored a team-high 15 points. 

The two Flashes outscored Xavier 12-11 in the fourth quarter alone.

Hauser added five assists and tied her career high with three steals. Shumate recorded three blocks, tying a career high. 

As a team, KSU shot 34% from the field, converting on seven of its final 15 shots. 

Kent State had a 21-5 advantage on second-chance points, led by junior forward Bridget Dunn, who grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. 

The Flashes outrebounded Xavier 43-21 overall. 

At the end of the first quarter, KSU was 0-of-6 from behind the arc as XU converted on three shots from three. 

The score after was 15-10. 

The Flashes’ shooting struggles continued into the second quarter as they made only three shots, leading to a 28-22 Xavier lead at halftime. 

This was the first time this season KSU scored under 30 points in the first half. 

In the final two minutes of the third quarter, the Flashes outscored Xavier 8-3, cutting the deficit to 46-43. 

During the quarter, Shumate was 4-of-4 from the field, scoring nine points. 

Kent State tied the game 48-48 with eight minutes remaining in the game – this was the first tie since the second quarter. 

Two possessions later, junior Jenna Batsch started an 8-0 scoring by converting on two free throws, taking a 56-50 lead with three minutes remaining in the game. 

During this time, Xavier missed six consecutive shots and committed four turnovers. 

Over the final three minutes, the Musketeers scored four points from free throws, and their only basket came on a 3-pointer with eight seconds left. 

During the final quarter, the Flashes converted on nine of their 13 free throws and made two shots from behind the arc. 

Batsch (10) joined Hauser and Shumate, scoring 10 or more points. 

The Flashes outrebounded Xavier on the offensive side 17-5. 

KSU’s bench outscored XU 10-5. 

Kent State totaled 13 fast break points – the Musketeers had three. 

Up Next

The Flashes will now compete in the Daytona Beach Classic in Florida, taking on Chattanooga (Friday at 5:45 p.m.) and Missouri (Saturday at 5:45 p.m.).

Both teams come into the weekend 4-1.

This will be the first time in program history that Kent State will face either team. 

Emily Lowen is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].