Jones scores 21, KSU falls to third in conference

Taisja Jones had another 20-plus

point game Saturday against Eastern

Michigan, but the Flashes

could not overcome an 18-point

deficit in the second half, falling

78-72 to the Eagles.

Jones led Kent State with 21

points. Junior guard Jamilah Humes

added 17 points while senior forward

Yoshica Spears added 12, but

it was not enough.

The Flashes narrowed the deficit

with a 20-5 run, pulling within three

of the Eagles with 5:47 left to play.

Kent State coach Bob Lindsay

said the team’s comeback fell short

because of its struggles on defense.

“The comeback was offensive

in nature, it wasn’t because of our

defense,” Lindsay said. “We’ve tried

to win with offense before, and it just

doesn’t work for us. Our defense was

non-existent today.”

Although Kent State held Tavelyn

James, the Mid-American Conference’s

leading scorer, to seven points

in the first half, James and her teammates

shot 52 percent from the field.

James finished with 19 points

and sank a three-pointer at the firsthalf

buzzer to finish off a 9-2 run

Eastern Michigan.

The Eagles held a 62-44 lead

with 11:47 to go but failed to convert

a field goal over four minutes

of play, allowing the Flashes to pull

within seven.

After Kent State narrowed the

deficit to three, Eastern Michigan

junior guard Sydney Huntley

intercepted a Flashes pass and converted

on a layup with 2:01 left in

the game and gave the Eagles an

eight-point lead.

After the steal, Kent State

could not cut the lead to any less

than four.

Huntley added 12 points on

5-for-9 shooting.

The Flashes continued

their dominance on the

boards, finishing with a plus-

10 rebound margin.

“From a rebounding standpoint,

we had a couple players

that really went after the ball,”

Lindsay said. “But I think the

defensive effort is an indicator of

how hard you are playing. We

needed to hustle at both ends of

the court today.”

The loss drops Kent State

down to third in the MAC East

division, but with six games left,

the Flashes will have plenty of

opportunities to draw closer to

first-place Bowling Green.

Kent State will get its first

opportunity at 7 p.m. on

Wednesday when the team travels

to Western Michigan.

Contact sports reporter Lance

Lysowski at [email protected].