Kent State (3-14, 0-6 Mid-American Conference) lost at home to Central Michigan (10-8, 6-0 MAC) 87-54 in an up-tempo, high-scoring contest Wednesday night.

“They average nine made three-point shots a game so they were pretty much on pace for the game, the problem is that they made seven in the first half,” Kent State coach Danielle O’Banion said.

“I thought our players made a good adjustment in the second half and communicated better, particularly in transition defense covering out to three point shooters,” O’Banion said. “That was something we did not do as well in the first half. We saw a lot of missed coverage in the first half simply because we weren’t communicating with each other.”

Senior guard Amber Dunlap set a career high with 22 points and finished the game as the Flashes’ leading scorer. Senior Ashley Evans chipped in with seven points and three assists of her own.

“I’m just pretty much trying to stay aggressive. I’m just out there trying to be a leader and lead my team,” Amber Dunlap said.

The Flashes finished the game shooting 37 percent from the field hitting on 20 of 54 attempts. Central Michigan finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field, connecting on 12 of 30 attempts from behind the three-point arc.

“Central Michigan was as good as advertised tonight, I thought they did a very nice job of setting the tone early with their full court pressure,” O’Banion said. “On the one hand I’m frustrated that we didn’t play very well, on the other hand you do have to give a lot of credit to Central Michigan because they are a very good and well coached basketball team.”

The Chippewas used the full-court press to their advantage, causing 21 Kent State turnovers.

The Flashes found themselves in a bit of a hole going into the halftime locker room, trailing Central Michigan 45-27.

Kent State went into the locker room shooting 44 percent from the field, while Central Michigan shot it at 50 percent for the half.

The Flashes will hope to rebound this Saturday when they travel to Oxford, Ohio, to take on MAC foe Miami University.

“Saturday is a very competitive game for us and we are excited about the opportunity to go on the road,” O’Banion said. “It’s kind of ironic; sometimes our team focuses better away from home. That time on the bus just to kind of lie around and chat with each other, I think, will be helpful for us this weekend.”

The contest will feature two teams at the bottom of the MAC standings, with the two teams combining for one conference win between them. Tip-off is at two p.m.

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