BAYAMÓN, Puerto Rico – Kent State led by 14 at the end of the first quarter during a 74-51 wire-to-wire victory over Brown in its opening game of the Puerto Rico Clasico on Thursday afternoon.
The Golden Flashes (4-3) shot 25-of-49 from the floor in the contest and have beaten three consecutive Division I non-conference opponents by at least 20 points for the first time since the Mid-American Conference began sponsoring women’s basketball for the 1981-82 season.
The backcourt of sophomore Mya Babbitt and junior Dionna Gray led the way early, scoring Kent State’s first seven points and combining for 13 in the opening period, which the Flashes led 25-11.
Babbitt added seven more points in the second quarter to help Kent State lead 42-29 at halftime.
After being whistled for her second foul just 82 seconds into the game and sitting on the bench for the remainder of the first half, senior Jenna Batsch scored nine points in the third period. Batsch’s second three-pointer with 3:55 left in the quarter started a 9-0 run that gave the Flashes a 60-39 advantage heading to the fourth.
Six different players got in the scoring column during the final 10 minutes as Kent State extended its leads to as many as 24 points.
Babbitt finished with a game-high 16 points and was one of four Flashes in double-figures. Batsch scored all 13 of her points after halftime, while Gray and junior Tatiana Thomas added 12 points each.
Kent State defended the arc well against a team that likes to launch from deep, as the Bears went just 5-of-27 from three-point range. The Flashes held a 32-30 rebounding advantage. Sophomore Riley Rismiller led the way with eight boards and senior Bridget Dunn grabbed seven.
The Flashes will be right back in action Friday against Colorado State at 1:30 p.m. ET.
