Although the Kent State University Golden Flashes snagged an early lead by knocking down two three-pointers, the Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team clinched another victory by defeating KSU by a score of 83-47 on Saturday.
The Eagles now have a 9-2 record in the Mid-American Conference league.
Tavelyn James wowed the crowd at the Convocation Center by scoring 40 points during the game, almost half of the team’s total points. James scored ten three-pointers, setting a new all-time record, and finished 10-of-18 from behind the arc. This was the second time that James had scored 40 points in a game.
Paige Redditt also used her low-post moves to score 15 points against the Golden Flashes. Taylor Bird pitched in with seven points and Natachia Watkins scored six.
Watkins cleaned up the glass and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Eagles. Redditt hauled down 10 and Olivia Fouty grabbed seven.
The team shot 45 percent from the field goal area on the court and 44 percent from beyond the arc. They had a total of 10 steals and 50 rebounds.
The Golden Flashes shot 33 percent from field-goal range and shot 32 percent from the three-point arc. They sunk 88 percent of their free throws and only snagged 26 rebounds.
KSU found its leading scorer in Itziar Llobet when she came away with 13 points.
Diamon Beckford and Tamzin Barroilhet each scored 10. Beckford hauled down five rebounds for the Golden Flashes and Jamie Hutcheson grabbed four.
When the game began, Itziar scored a three-pointer for KSU and a minute later,
Trisha Krewson sunk another, giving the Golden Flashes a six-point lead at the beginning of the game.
With 16:00 minutes left on the clock in the first half, KSU had an 8-2 lead. With 11:50 left, the Eagles had a 10-0 run and quickly boosted their lead. EMU used their offense to stop KSU and give them the lead at halftime with a score of 37-23.
KSU scored the first basket of the second half, one minute into the game. The Golden Eagles continued to work hard and cut the Eagles’ lead down to only seven with 17:11 left to go in the game. However, the Eagles would not let KSU get any closer and brought their lead back up. With 12 minutes left, the Eagles led KSU, 54-36.
The Eagles travel to Kalamazoo, MI on Feb. 15 to play Western Michigan. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
