KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team suffered its first home loss since Nov. 18 as Kent State downed the Broncos 71-67 at University Arena Wednesday night. The Broncos fall to 13-4 overall and 4-2 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) while the Golden Flashes, who were coming off a road win over MAC East favorite Ohio, improve to 9-9 overall and 3-3 in the MAC.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @WMU_WBB
The Broncos controlled the game for much of the way, leading by as many as 14 points on three different occasions in the third quarter. WMU led 17-10 at the end of the first quarter and pushed that lead to 35-24 at halftime. Kent State made a 10-0 run late in the third quarter to cut the lead to three points, the same margin as the Broncos led going into to the fourth. With 6:28 to play in the game, the Golden Flashes took their first lead since 7:39 in the first quarter. The teams battled back-and-forth in the final five minutes, with the Broncos cutting the Kent State lead to one point with 43 seconds to play on a Meredith Shipman 3-pointer, her second one that came with under 1:00 to play. Kent State iced the game away at the free-throw line, where the team scored its final five points.
The Broncos had been unbeaten this season with a lead going into the fourth quarter, but the team now falls to 13-1 when entering the fourth with a lead. WMU finished 15-2 last season in the same category.
WMU went 26-for-63 from the floor, taking 13 more shots that Kent State (21-for-50). However, the Golden Flashes went 23-for-31 from the free-throw line while the Broncos went 8-for-11. Kent State won the rebounding battle, 41-28 while the Broncos finished with more assists (17-8). The Broncos are now 10-0 when they outrebound their opponent and 3-4 when they don't.
Shipman led the way for the Broncos with 21 points and went 6-for-14 from beyond the arc, a season-high for 3-pointers made. She moved into sixth place all-time in WMU history with 138 3-pointers made, passing Brenna Bankston (2007-11). Sophomore Deja Wimby was all over the stat sheet, scoring 17 points and finishing with seven assists, five steals and three rebounds. Redshirt junior Marley Hill scored 13 points and is still the only player to score in double-figures in every game this season while sophomore Breanna Mobley scored 10 points.
Larissa Lurken of Kent State led all scorers with 26 points, she came into this game as the MAC's overall leading scorer, the nation's leader in free throws attempted and was tied for the nation's lead in free throws made.
The Broncos will now go on the road for two straight games, first at Akron on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. and then heading to Athens to battle Ohio on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. WMU returns home on Saturday, Jan. 28 and battles Buffalo at 2 p.m.
