Kent State University at East Liverpool Women's Basketball

The Fran Recchia era began on April 1, 2026, as the long-time assistant coach officially took over as the seventh head coach in Kent State women’s basketball history. Recchia transitions to the head coaching seat after being the Golden Flashes’ lead assistant for the previous 10 seasons, including eight in the associate head coach position. Kent State totaled five postseason appearances and 179 victories, the second most among Mid-American Conference schools in the state of Ohio, during her decade in Kent. A MAC Tournament championship and return to the NCAA Tournament in 2024 highlight the program's success, which also includes two MAC East Division titles and four 20-win seasons. She has been instrumental in rejuvenating Kent State’s recruiting efforts and helped land two of the highest-touted signing class in school history in 2018 and 2019. Both classes had two student-athletes earn spots on the MAC All-Freshman Team, while only one other school had multiple honorees over the two seasons. Nila Blackford led all conference freshmen in rebounding during the 2019-20 season. Led by Asiah Dingle and Lindsey Thall, the 2018 class ranked second nationally with 964 points. Overall, these two classes have combined for four All-MAC honors and a pair of MAC All-Defensive Team nods. In 2021-22, the Flashes beat two Power 5 teams (Penn State and #19 UCLA) and picked up a win over Youngstown State in the WNIT for just the second postseason WNIT win in school history. Their overall reco

Former Kent State standout Alexa Golden enters her third season as an assistant coach for the Golden Flashes in 2022-23 and mentors the team’s wing players. One of the fastest-rising coaches in women’s college basketball, Golden filled three different roles on the coaching staff during the first 20 months after putting on the blue and gold for the final time. Hired as a graduate assistant by head coach Todd Starkey, she was promoted to the director of operations position in December 2019. The same selfless, gritty attitude that allowed Golden to have a successful career on the court made her the right fit for another promotion in September 2020. The 2021-22 season saw the Flashes end up with a 19-12 record. After leading the Flashes to their first postseason WNIT win as a player, Golden helped the Flashes win their second postseason WNIT game as a coach. Kent State beat Youngstown State 68-59 in that game. Golden concluded her career on the court as the only player in Kent State women's basketball history to total 500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 steals and 100 three-point field goals. She was voted as the Golden Flashes’ Most Valuable Player following her senior season after playing a vital role in a 20-win campaign that included the program’s first ever Postseason WNIT victory. Golden was selected to the Mid-American Conference All-Defensive Team as a senior and finished 19th in the nation in steals (91) and 24th in steals per game (2.76). She was also highly deco

Mary Dunn enters her first season as an assistant coach for the Kent State women's basketball program in 2025-26. Dunn previously spent two years the UAB coa...

Former Kent State women's basketball student-athlete Paige Salisbury was promoted to Assistant Coach in July 2023. Salisbury, who played for the Golden Flash...