The Kent State women’s basketball team rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat Buffalo, 72-63, on Saturday.

The Flashes (11-3, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) slowly mounted a comeback and drew within 12 points with 10 minutes remaining in the game when senior guard Jamilah Humes took over.

Humes, senior guard Stephanie Gibson and sophomore guard Tamzin Barroilhet connected on three shots from behind the arc to spark a Flashes 15-0 run to give Kent State its first lead of the game.

Humes finished the game shooting 11-for-22 from field goal range and 3-for-3 from three-point range to finish with 27 points.

The senior guard continues to lead Kent State’s offense-averaging 14.8 points per game and her team-leading 38 steals makes her a threat on both sides of the court.

Lindsay said that while the team’s performance in the first half was disappointing, the Flashes’ determination led to the victory.

“I was proud of our effort as a team in the second half,” Lindsay said. “We played hard, we played as a team, we got the 50-50 balls, and we got the ball inside. They played for the name on the front of the jersey.”

A Buffalo (8-7, 1-1 MAC) layup pulled the Bulls within one, but Kent State’s defense responded. The Flashes surrendered just three field goals in the game’s final six minutes to clinch their second conference victory. Kent State recorded 13 steals and 24 points off turnovers to spark the late-rally.

Humes said the team’s deficit in the first half was the result of a lack of defensive effort.

Buffalo shot 47 percent from field goal range in the first half and 28.6 percent in the second half.

“We weren’t getting back on defense in the first half and they got easy looks,” said Humes. “We knew in the second half if we dug in on defense, the offense would come.”

The Bulls, a 25.7 percent shooting team from behind the arc this season, sank six three-pointers in the first half. The offensive effort led Buffalo on a 27-9 run amounting to a 17-point lead over the Flashes entering the second half.

The Flashes continue conference play on Wednesday when the team travels to Ohio (4-11, 2-0 MAC).

Contact Lance Lysowski at [email protected].