Women’s basketball now second in East

Junior forward Lakeshia Levi goes up for a basket during Saturday’s game in the M.A.C. Center. Kent State defeated Eastern Michigan 84-52. Glennis Siegfried | Daily Kent Stater

Credit: DKS Editors

Yoshica Spears found her sweet spot on the court against Eastern Michigan on Saturday – just behind the 3-point arc, close to the sidelines.

“My teammates, they’ve been yelling at me because I haven’t been shooting open shots or shooting whenever I had the opportunity,” the junior guard said. “(Saturday) I just knocked it down from my corner. As (coach Lori Bodnar) says, that’s my spot, so I guess it is.”

From that spot, Spears devastated the Eagles’ perimeter defense, hitting a career-best 4-of-5 3-pointers.

INFOBOX GAME NOTES An unwanted double-double: Eastern Michigan sophomore guard Sydney Huntley-Rogers earned the double-double no player ever hopes to earn. Along with her team-high 17 points, she turned the ball over 11 times. Now boarding: After being outrebounded in each of the last three games, Kent State recorded a positive rebound margin against Eastern Michigan. The Flashes held the Eagles to just eight boards in the second half, while collecting 16. Still perfect: After hitting 11 of 11 free throws last week against Western Michigan, sophomore guard Jamilah Humes continued her streak at the foul line by making all four of her attempts Saturday. The selfless stat: Along with a record shooting night, Kent State served up 26 assists, its most since December of 2005. Humes and sophomore guard Stephanie Gibs on led the team with nine and eight respectively. Alone near the top: With losses by Miami and Ohio this weekend, Kent State sits alone at second in the MAC East. Division leader Bowling Green survived overtime against Northern Illinois to stay perfect.

Her effort, however, was just one part of the Flashes’ best 3-point shooting game in school history and an 84-52 stomping of Eastern Michigan.

“We made some shots,” Kent State coach Bob Lindsay said. “We made some shots out there. Finding the open player is part of it, and making the shots at the end of it is part of it. We found the open players and made the shots at the end of those passes.”

Kent State (15-4, 4-3 Mid-American Conference) set a season high in field goal percentage in the win over the Eagles. Nearly overshadowed by the Flashes’ 58.8 percent shooting from the field was their school record 64.7 percent performance from 3-point land.

“We got some open shots (in the first half),” said sophomore forward Chenel Harris, who shot 2-of-5 from the perimeter. “Luckily we hit them, which opened up (senior center Anna Kowalska’s) post game and everyone else to drive as well.

INFOBOX BREAKING DOWN THE GAME Players of the game: Senior center Anna Kowalska (19 points, 10 rebounds): The 6-foot-4 center had her way with Eastern Michigan’s front court in the second half, scoring 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting. Junior guard Yoshica Spears (12 points): Spears hit a career-high four 3s in five attempts to lead Kent State’s long-range shooters. Sophomore guard Jamilah Humes (10 points, 9 assists, 5 steals): Humes demonstrated her play-making ability on both offense and defense over the weekend. The game was over when. Kent State completed a five-minute, 20-1 run with 10:32 left in the first half. The Flashes shot 7-of-10 from the field during the stretch that included five 3-pointers. Stat of the game: 64.7 percent – The Flashes hit 11 of 17 shots from the arc for an all-time best 64.7 percent. In the first half, Kent State knocked down 7 of 10 shots from downtown. –>

“We just made some shots and opened up the penetration for us.”

After shooting 7 of 10 from the perimeter in the first half, the Flashes pushed the ball inside for the second half, resulting in 22 points in the paint – including 10 for Kowalska.

“Anna had some nice minutes in there,” Lindsay said. “She got some offensive rebounds. She got some putbacks. There were places where she played really hard on the inside and was very productive.”

On the night, six Flashes scored in double figures – a feat which hasn’t happened since 2000.

Saturday night’s game differed greatly from last season’s 71-59 loss to Eastern Michigan.

“Last year we were playing at their house,” Harris said. “It was a tough game for us. From the beginning they intimidated us, which they tried to do as well today, and I think we handled it a lot better than last year.

“We’ve grown as a team. We have new additions like Yoshica that really stepped up to help us win (Saturday).”

Kent State will continue its run through the MAC West at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Central Michigan.

Contact sports reporter Josh Johnston at [email protected].