women's basketball campaign with an exhibition contest against Mercyhurst at 5:30 p.m. Thursday inside of the M.A.C. Center
Led by seventh-year head coach Todd Starkey, the Golden Flashes are ranked No. 20 in the preseason Mid-Major Top 25 poll that was released on Tuesday. Kent State won a Postseason WNIT game for the second time in program history last season and finished with a 19-12 overall record.
Guard Katie Shumate and forward Lindsey Thall lead a veteran group that brings back six of its top seven scorers from a year ago.