AKRON, Ohio — Hannah Young had 11 of her 16 points in the third quarter as Kent State used a big run to down Akron 57-55 Wednesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.
In the battle of Mid-American Conference rivals, it was the Golden Flashes (14-6, 6-3 MAC) who prevailed for their third straight win. KSU ended the third on a 17-4 spurt and withstood a late Zips comeback attempt.
Despite a rough shooting night overall (30.9% from the field), Kent State was able to clamp down defensively, notching 17 points of 18 Akron turnovers. After Molly Neitzel tied the game at 26 early in the second half, the Flashes took off, with Young making a trio of 3-pointers in the period.
Still, UA (14-6, 5-4) refused to go away quietly, with Neitzel and Reagan Bass both posting double-doubles to help trim a 13-point deficit to three in the final minute. However, Corynne Hauser made a jumper with 13 seconds left before Katie Shumate made a pair of free throws, and a layup by Tahmala Thorpe as time expired proved to be too little, too late.
With the victory, Kent State moves into fourth place all by itself in the MAC, and will stay on the road to face conference co-leader Ball State Saturday morning. Akron, which has now lost three of four, will be at Western Michigan later that afternoon.