Poor shooting and plenty of turnovers proved to be Kent State’s unraveling in its 61-55 loss to  Wright State (5-3) Sunday.

This is the second year in a row the Flashes (3-4) have lost to Wright State. During the 2017 season, they lost 72-60 against the Raiders at home.

Kent State had excellent on-ball pressure throughout the first quarter, ending the first period with a 12-12 tie, with junior guard Megan Carter leading all players with four points.

Wright State came out of the gate scoring in the second, with a two-pointer from sophomore guard Tyler Frierson put the Raiders up 14-12. Kent State junior guard Allie Pool scored the first three-pointer of the game with 5:11 remaining in the second quarter to give Kent State a 21-20 lead. However, Wright State quickly powered ahead. A full court press from the Raiders sped up the game and forced the Flashes to commit eight turnovers. Wright State led 33-23 at halftime.

Kent State played with more energy in the third quarter, with Carter scoring a three-pointer with 3:39 to go to make it 32-37, which cut the Raiders halftime lead in half. The Flashes followed with an 8-2 run to finish out the quarter only trailing by four heading into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter saw scrappy playing from both teams, with both sides fighting hard into the final minutes. Both senior guard Alexa Golden and freshman guard Asiah Dingle fouled out for the Flashes in the fourth quarter.  The Flashes attempted to show full court pressure to force turnovers, but it ended up backfiring as the Raiders scored more than 20 points in the fourth quarter. 

Carter led the Flashes with 18 points, continuing her streak of scoring at least 14 points every game this season. Freshman guard Angel Baker led the Raiders with 25 points.

Kent State returns to action on Friday at the Charles L. Sewall Center vs. Robert Morris (1-6). Tip off is at 7 p.m.

Gina Butkovich is a sports reporter. Contact her at [email protected].