Box Score KENT, Ohio -- The Western Michigan women's basketball team trailed at halftime, but used a big second half to pull away and defeat Mid-American Conference (MAC) East foe Kent State 65-53 Saturday afternoon.
The win improved the Broncos to 13-8 overall and 5-4 in the MAC while the Golden Flashes fall to 4-15, 1-8 in the MAC. The win also improved WMU to 5-5 on the road this season and snapped a brief two-game losing streak.
Junior Meredith Shipman found her stroke from beyond the arc early, going 4-for-6 at the midway point and finishing 5-for-8. She came in ranked No. 25 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage. As a team, WMU went 10-of-20 from 3-point range, surpassing its total made from the last two games combined and making it the second highest total this season. It was the fifth time this season the Broncos shot 50-percent or higher in a game.
At the end of the first quarter, Kent State held a 17-15 lead after shooting 61.5-percent from the floor (8-of-13). KSU had 12 points in the paint in the quarter while WMU had four. The teams traded leads in the second quarter but the Golden Flashes went into the half with a 31-28 advantage. WMU scored all 13 of its points in the second quarter off of 3-pointers and free throws.
To start the second half, senior Alex Morton scored the first five points to give the Broncos a lead they would not surrender. The Broncos pulled away by outscoring the Golden Flashes 16-8 in the third quarter and 21-14 in the fourth including a 13-1 run to start the fourth. Morton was a big part of the turnaround in the second half, where she scored all 10 of her points.
Shipman led all scorers with 19 points while senior Jessica Jessing and freshman Breanna Mobley each scored 11. Mobley led the team with seven rebounds while Jessing led with six assists, setting a new career-high.
The Broncos won the rebounding battle 32-31 and also had 18 assists on their 21 field goals. WMU went 13-of-20 from the free-throw line as Shipman went a perfect 4-for-4 and Mobley went 5-of-7.
WMU returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 3 where Toledo will be coming to Kalamazoo. The Broncos will look to avenge an earlier loss to the Rockets with game time scheduled for 7 p.m. at University Arena.
