Credit: DKS Editors

CHECK OUT photos of the women’s basketball game.

Bowling Green senior guard Whitney Taylor knocked down eight 3-pointers against the Kent State women’s basketball team last night, a new Bowling Green single game record, and led the Falcons to a 90-64 win at the M.A.C. Center.

Taylor said breaking Bowling Green’s single game record after coming off the bench in the first half was “overwhelming.”

“It’s definitely something I’ve dreamed about since I was a little kid,” Taylor said. “I’ve been to Kent State a lot for tournaments and things, so going lights out in a gym like this is awesome to me.”

Taylor was a perfect 8-8 from behind the arc, and 10-10 from the floor before missing her final shot of the game with 12 seconds left.

The loss was Kent State’s (4-11, 1-2 MAC) second straight in the Mid-American Conference. It was the seventh consecutive loss to the Falcons, a streak dating back to 2005.

The Falcons, who led by as much as 41 in the second half, dominated the inside and outside game all night, shooting 16-23 from 3-point range and 32-59 overall.

Leading the way for the Flashes in the loss once again was junior center Anna Kowalska who put up 18 points and 7 rebounds, a team high in both categories. Freshman forward Chenel Harris also scored in double figures for the Flashes with 16 points.

Coach Bob Lindsay said the team was “thoroughly outplayed” throughout the entire game.

“They shot the ball extremely well tonight and I didn’t think we defended particularly well,” Lindsay said. “I didn’t think we played particularly hard.”

By halftime the Falcons had secured a 31-point lead, 51-20, capitalizing on Kent State’s use of the 2-3 zone defense by hitting 11 3-pointers. By the second half, Bowling Green was playing with five players from its bench against a demoralized Kent State team.

With this win over Kent State, Bowling Green moves to 14-3 and 3-0 in the MAC.

Bowling Green coach Curt Miller said his recent dominance over Kent State is a tribute to the skills he learned under coach Lindsay during his time as a Kent State assistant coach in the 1990-91 season.

“I have a lot of coach Lindsay in me,” Miller said. “He’s taught me a lot how to prepare and not overlook opponents and give great effort. If there’s anything that I hope people say about our team it’s we play hard.”

The Flashes lost control of the game early by falling behind in the turnover battle, which led to most of Bowling Green’s first half points. The team’s 16 first half turnovers led to 32 of Bowling Green points.

Junior Asheley Harkins said the team realized Bowling Green would shoot the three well, but failed to execute on defense.

“In our scouting report, we knew they were going to be 3-point shooters,” she said. “I guess it was just a lack of concentration on our part.”

Kent State resumes play against the Akron Zips Saturday at 2 p.m. at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron.

Contact sports reporter Thomas Gallick at [email protected].