The last time Kent State beat Duquesne was in December of 2001. Last year, the Flashes fell by five points in a 77-72 home loss. This year, they travel to Pittsburgh for their season opener. 

“It’s definitely a little bit of a revenge game,” senior guard Megan Carter said. “We honestly gave that game away to them. So this time around, we don’t want to beat ourselves.” 

Carter scored an average of 15.9 points per game last year and lead the team in points. She has been battling a thumb injury for the past few weeks, but expects to be on the court Tuesday. 

The Flashes are returning their top four scorers this year in Carter, sophomore guard Asiah Dingle, sophomore forward Lindsey Thall and senior guard Ali Poole. In fact, the Flashes are returning a little over 83 percent of their scoring from last year.

“I’m definitely trying to take (my game) to the next level,” Dingle said. “I’m trying to be better in certain aspects of my game.” 

Kent State has three incoming freshman who are eligble to play this season. Nila Blackford, Clare Kelly and Katie Shumate all had big roles during the team’s three exhibition games over the summer. Shumate was second on the team in scoring and Blackford led the team in rebounds. 

“We’ve been putting in a lot of work over the summer,” Blackford said. “I’m excited for the season and for us to win some games.”

Contact Gina Butkovich 

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