McKenna Stephens takes aim. Photo from KSU website.

The win was five years coming, but the key was seven minutes in the second quarter.

After Akron had broken a first 15-15 tie at the quarter with a 7-2 run, Kent State’s Marissa Barber-Smith scored under the basket on a pass from Megan Carter.

Then the Flashes scored every way they could: A foul shot and a layup by Larissa Lurken. An offensive putback by Chelsi Watson. Two straight three-point baskets by McKenna Stephens off passes from Lurken and Carter. Then a three-pointer by Carter.

20 straight points later Kent State was on its way to its first victory over Akron since February 2012. The Flashes had lost eight straight to the Zips; senior Lurken had never beaten Akron.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Stephens, who had a career-high 20 points and four three-point baskets. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve lost, which has been” — she paused — “horrible.”

“We’ve been talking about Akron since the beginning of the season. But,” she said, looking at coach Todd Starkey as he whispered in her ear, “we’ve been trying to stay focused at one game at a time.”

The final score was 72-58.

Kent State is 14-11 and 8-5 in the conference. They’re in second place in the Eastern Divsion, a game and half behind Ohio, which beat Ball State, 72-68, Saturday at Ball State. Before that game, Ball State had the best record in the MAC.

The victory cemented Kent State’s spot in fifth place overall in the league. Buffalo, which had been a half game behind the Flashes, lost to Northern Illinois at home, 89-80.

Akron, struggling through its worst season since 2010-11, is 9-14 and 2-10 in the conference.

Korinek had 17 points and Lurken 14 for the Flashes. It was the lowest point total in the MAC season for Lurken, who leads the conference in scoring and was fifth in the nation going into Saturday’s game. It was only the third conference game where she scored less than 20 points. But she also had six assists, four steals, four rebounds and two blocked shots.

But it was Stephens’ game in many ways. Her four three-pointers were a career best. She now has 19 for the year on 52 shots — 35.2 percent. She had 12 all last season.

“I was just a midrange player, and I really wanted to expand my game,” she said. “It was a focus over the summer and preseason.”

Starkey said the Stephens’ scoring — almost double in conference play over the early season — has made a big difference in the Flashes’ offense.

“McKenna and Jordan have really come a long ways since our conference season started,” the coach said. “When we have three people who can score the ball like Larissa, Jordan and McKenna, it makes it so much harder to defend us.”

Before the league season, Stephens and Korinek were averaging about 16 points between them. In the MAC, they’re averaging almost 30.

Stephens said that setting screens for other players is key to her offense.

“Screens for Larissa get me pretty open because they’re so worried about her, they’re sending two people,” she said. “It’s leaving me wide open.”

“So you just screen…” Starkey said to her teasingly at the press conference.

 

“I screen, and I get open, and I shoot,” Stephens said.

Stephens made 8 of 13 shots Saturday. Her 52 percent shooting on field goals in MAC play ranks ninth in the conference.

Kent State had 20 assists on its 29 baskets, its second straight game over 20.

“Our offensive efficiency was really good,” Starkey said. “I thought we did a great job of finding the right person based on the way we were being defended.

“We’ve been a little stagnant offensively, so we try to put in a few different things that will counteract the way teams are beginning to defend us, especially Larissa and Jordan.

“We had some good looks at first and second options in the offense, but when we swung the ball to the other side of the floor, and found the third and fourth options, we really got some good looks. And we were patient enough to execute to get the ball where it needed to be and finish plays.”

Kent State now gets a week to prepare for first-place Ohio, which is in Kent for a 2 p.m. game Saturday. The Flashes beat OU in Athens 68-65 on Jan. 14. They’re the only team to beat Ohio at home this season. “They’re going to come in ready to fight,” Starkey said.

But in the meantime, the Flashes get some time off.

“We need it,” Starkey said. “We’re the third week of the byes, so we’re the last round. We kind of feel like getting to this point was survival for us. We need the rest. We’ve got players who have played significant minutes.”

Stephens put it like this:

“A lot of our players need some rest. The legs – and everything.”

Notes

• Kent State dominated the second and third quarters, outscoring Akron 44-24. In the fourth quarter, Starkey said, “We sort of took our foot off the gas.” A statistic that shows that: For three quarters, the Flashes outscored Akron off turnovers 26-12. At the end of the game, it was 26-22.
• The Flashes made 29 of 60 shots for 48.3 percent. Akron was 22 of 64 for 34.4 percent.
• The 58 points were the fewest Kent has allowed in the conference season and the third fewest of the year. It was 14 points below their opponents’ season average.
• KSU outscored Akron in the paint 34-24 despite Korinek’s missing the whole second quarter with foul trouble.
• Redshirt freshman Carter played a career-high 33 minutes, scoring nine points and having four assists. She came in when starting point guard Naddiyah Cross picked up her second foul two minutes in the game. Carter played so well that Cross couldn’t get back int he game.
• KSU shot only 13 free throws, making 8. Both were the Flashes second lowest totals of the year (they were 5 of 8 at Iowa). Kent had been leading the nation in made free throws and was third in attempts. Lurken was 6 of 8; she still leads Division I in free throws made and attempted.
• Hannah Plybon had 24 points and five three-pointers (out of 16 attempts) for Akron. No other Zip had more than six.
• The win gives Kent State a half point in the Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge, the all-sports competition between Kent and Akron. The Zips lead 3.5-2.0.

Box score

The view from Akron

Coach Jodi Kest

“Today Kent State was the better team and even beforehand, they had been playing better basketball than us. So we knew we had to do certain things in order to beat them, and we didn’t do those things.”

“We decided to take away things from one person and allow other people to score, and some of those people did that.”

“I think their seniors were tired of losing to us these last three years. I could see in their eyes when they came out for warmups that they were 100 percent focused on this game and their season.”

“Kent State did a really good job of executing their stuff — excellent job. When they had mismatches, they took advantage of it. They did a great job of sharing the ball. This team is not just about Jordan and Larissa. I think Larissa — yes, she is scoring a lot of points and all that, but she’s a very unselfish player. She’s always looking to pass to her teammates.”

“Those kids at Kent State just have a lot of confidence right now, and it shows in how they play. Right now we don’t have great confidence. All we can do is learn from this game and get back on Wednesday and regroup. It’s going to be about working a little bit harder than we have and fighting a little bit harder.”

“Hopefully we can learn from tonight because Kent State, regardless of whether things went good or bad, they fought for 40 minutes.”

“For us, it continues to be the same things. It’s not the X’s and O’s, it’s about doing the little things that we need to do. It’s about knowing what your role is. We just take too many bad shots and execute poorly. When we take bad shots, it doesn’t matter to me whether it goes in. It’s just bad. I’d rather we take good shots and it goes in and out. Because every time we take bad shots, bad things happen in transition.”

Game story from Kent State website, including video highlights and interviews with Stephens and Starkey.

Game story from the Akron website.

Game story from KentWired (the student newspaper website), which includes extra photos from the game.

Other MAC scores

Central Michigan (18-6, 10-2) 94, Western Michigan (14-9, 5-7) 83 at Central. The victory moves Central into a tie for first in the West with Northern Illinois.

Northern Illinois (17-6, 10-2) 89, Buffalo (16-7, 6-6) 80 at Buffalo.

Ohio (18-5, 9-3) 72, Ball State (17-8, 10-3) 68 at Ball State.

Miami (9-16, 3-9) 79, Eastern Michigan (6-18, 1-11) 63 at Eastern.

Toledo (16-7, 7-5) 74, Bowling Green (6-18, 2-10) 59 at Toledo.

MAC standings

Game stories from MAC website.

 

 

It’s been six years since a lot of good things for Kent State’s women’s basketball team:

Six years since a winning season. Six years since more than seven wins. Six years since even getting to Cleveland for the second round of the MAC tournament.

Six years since the Flashes had a better record than Akron.

KSU takes a 4 1/2-game lead over the Zips in the MAC standings with it when it visits Akron this weekend, the first of two meetings between the teams this season.

The game is at 2 p.m. at the James A. Rhodes Arena. Here are directions if you’re interested in going.

Akron is 9-13 on the season, 2-9 in the conference. Kent State is 13-11, 7-5 in the MAC.

The last time Akron didn’t have a winning record was 2010-11, when it was 14-16. Kent was 20-10 that season. That was the last time KSU had a winning record.

Since then, KSU has beaten Akron once — 77-76 in Kent in February 2012. Since then, it’s been eight straight losses. No player on Akron’s team has ever lost to Kent State. KSU senior Larissa Lurken has never beaten Akron.

Akron went 11-7 in the MAC last season (19-14 overall), finishing a distant second in the MAC East to Ohio. The Zips lost three starters to graduation but were still picked third in the division this season.

But while things jelled for KSU this season, they never have for Akron. The Zips went 5-4 in the non-conference season but didn’t beat a team with close to a winning record. In the MAC they’ve beaten 1-10 Eastern Michigan and — in the biggest upset of the MAC season — beat Northern Illinois by 29 points at Northern Illinois. At that time, NIU hadn’t lost a MAC game; Akron hadn’t won one.

It’s hard to tell from looking at Akron’s results just what hasn’t worked this season. It looks as if Akron’s underclassmen don’t seem to have developed enough.

Senior guard Hannah Plybon, a preseason all-MAC East selection, has performed as expected. She’s averaging 17 points a game (14.4 in conference play, probably a better measure at this time of year). Plybon set a school record with 104 three-point baskets last season and has 61 so far this season. She’s making just 28 percent of her three-pointers in conference play, though. Plybon also averages 5 rebounds per game.

Senior Alex Ricketts, a reserve last season, is the only other Akron player to average in double figures at 10.7 points per game. Sophomore Megan Sefcik averages 9.7, mostly off the bench.

All three are guards. Akron’s tallest players who have seen significant action are three 6-1 forwards, led by junior Greta Burry, who averages 6.1 points and 5.4 rebounds.

Kent State’s 6-2 Jordan Korinek, who is from Akron St. Vincent St. Mary’s High School and was also recruited hard by Akron, played well against the Zips as a freshman and sophomore, averaging 14.5 points a game. This season Korinek is averaging 19 points a game in MAC play. Look for the Flashes to try to go inside to her.

Akron has never seen Larissa Lurken play as she’s done this year (of course, no one else has, either). Lurken scored 35 in two games against the Zips last season, but she has never had more than six foul shots against the Zips. She’s averaging 10 attempts a game this season (making about 85 percent) and leads the nation in free throws made and attempted.

The game is part of the Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge, the multisport competition between the two schools. Kent State won the challenge (with a different sponsor’s name) in its first four seasons but lost by a point last year and trails so far this season 3.5-1.5. In sports like basketball and volleyball, where the teams meet twice, each win is worth half a point.

Akron tends to rack up points in cross country and track (6 of its 7.5 points last year), so a game like this is significant in the competition.

If you can’t go to the game

• Online video starts at 2:02 p.m. on ESPN3. You’ll need a satellite or cable ESPN subscription to be able to see the game.
• Audio starts at at about 1:45 on Golden Flash iHeart radio and 640 AM WHLO.
• Live statistics can be followed though the Akron website.
• In-game updates on Twitter are at @KentStatwbb.

Game preview on the KSU website.

Kent State statistics, with links to roster and schedule/results.

Game preview from the Akron website, with links to roster, schedule/results and statistics.

MAC statistics and standings, with links both to overall and conference-only stats.

NCAA statistics

 

 

 

Senior Larissa Lurken                           Junior Jordan Korinek

This story is a big reason why I like women’s basketball in general and Kent State basketball in particular.

Senior Larissa Lurken and junior Jordan Korinek Tuesday were named to the College Sports Information Directors Academic All-District team.

Lurken and Korinek are star athletes by any reckoning. They both became 1,000-point scorers this season. Lurken may be the best player in the Mid-American Conference season; Korinek was a preseason all-MAC East selection.

And they’re both star students. Lurken has a 3.72 average in nursing (a 4.0 last fall). One day a week, she spends 12 hours doing a practicum at area hospitals. A year ago, she worked a 12-hour shift one Tuesday, then scored 37 points the next day.

Korinek has a 4.0 average in special education. That’s harder than it once was; even an A- destroys the perfect record. (When I first came to KSU, the university didn’t give pluses and minuses and a 4-point was easier to come by.)

Both are also very good people from the contact I’ve had with them.

Lurken and Korinek are student-athletes in the absolute best definition of the term. So are a lot of other women at KSU. The overall GPA of the women’s basketball team is somewhere around 3.3. Some of the team and individual grades on the gymnastics, soccer, softball, golf and volleyball teams have been spectacular over the years.

The two basketball players are now eligible for the Academic All-America team, which will be announced in March.

KSU has had three academic all-American women basketball players. Lindsay Shearer was academic player of the year in in 2006, the year she was the MAC player of the year on the court. Shearer was second team all-American in 2005 and third team in 2004. Like Korinek, she was an education major. She did get an A-. Her GPA was 3.97.

Kate Miller, a transfer who played just one season for the Flashes, was a first team all-American in 2002.

Carrie Templin was a second-team selection in 1997 and 1998 and on the third team in 1996.

The only other MAC player on the all-district team was Toledo junior guard Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott, also an education major with a 4.0 average.

 

 

Seconds after Jordan Korinek was presented with a blue-and-white basketball commemorating her 1,000th point, the junior KSU forward ran into the stands and handed the ball to her mother, who attends every game with her father.

Then Korinek went on the court and equaled her career high with 28 points to lead Kent State to an 83-65 victory over Eastern Michigan.

It was the most points Korinek has scored in an outstanding conference season for the Flashes, who moved past idle Buffalo into fifth place overall in the MAC standings at 7-5. KSU is 13-11 overall. Buffalo is 6-5.

Eastern is 1-10 in the MAC (6-17 overall) and last the conference.

Korinek had scored the 1,000th point of her career in Kent State’s 77-62 loss to Buffalo Saturday. She now has 1,039, 20th highest in KSU history. And she’s likely to play about 40 more games in a Kent State uniform over the rest of this season and next.

“Jordan is certainly one of the top five players in the conference in the conference season,” coach Todd Starkey said after the game. “She’s been playing very well.”

Korinek was fifth in the league in scoring in MAC games (19 ppg) going into Wednesday. The EMU game was the seventh time she’s scored more than 21 points in KSU’s 12 conference games. She’s also 12th in the league in rebounding at 7.2 per game. She had 10 Wednesday for her fourth double-double of the season, all in conference play.

Add to that the sixth best shooting percentage in the conference at 52.4 (she was even better at 12 of 18 against EMU) and the eighth best percentage in foul shooting at 83.4 (she was 3 of 3 Wednesday).

Korinek was averaging 11 points a game after the non-conference season, four below her average from last season. A preseason all-MAC East selection, she had struggled finding her place in the new offensive system Starkey put in place when he became head coach.

“Different players adjust at different rates,” Starkey said. “In the offense they ran last year, she sort of hung around the lane. We’ve asked her to move and screen and get the ball in different ways.”

One way was to shoot the ball from the outside. Korinek nailed her only three-point shot Wednesday and hit another from just inside the line.

“Coach has been telling me to look for my outside shot,” Korinek said on the postgame show on Golden Flash iHeart Radio.

“Other teams will see that and put it on the scouting report, and it will open things up more for everyone inside,” Starkey said.

Kent State went to Korinek from the beginning of Wednesday’s game. The Flashes had  23 assists on 30 baskets , many of then on passes inside to Korinek. Then when Eastern started to double team Korinek in the second half, she picked up two assists passing the ball to other scorers.

Larissa Lurken, the MAC’s leading scorer, still got her 22 points. But she also had a career-high eight assists.

“If she shares the ball like that,” Starkey said, “it makes her a more complete player and a better player.”

Lurken’s stat line was spectacular: 8 of 18 on field goals (6 of 8 in the second half), 3 of 6 three-pointers, 3 of 4 foul shots, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 0 turnovers, 2 blocks and 3 steals.

The number of foul shots made and attempted were her lowest since KSU’s game against Baylor in November. Lurken still leads Division I in free throws made and attempted. In second place for free throws made was Kelsey Plum of Washington, the nation’s leading scorer, who was 44 behind Lurken before this week’s games.

Eighteen of her 22 points came in the second half. In one way, that made Starkey happy, too.

“She didn’t press when she scored only four in the first half,” the coach said. “She let the game come to her and took what she was given.”

McKenna Stephens had 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting and 7 rebounds.

“When Jordan and Larissa are going, and McKenna or Megan (Carter) is scoring, we can be hard to beat,” Starkey said.

Carter, a redshirt freshman, played 23 minutes and had 4 points and 4 assists. She’s become the first player off the bench for the Flashes and has played shooting guard as well as sharing the point with Naddiyah Cross.

Starkey was highly critical of his defense in Saturday’s loss. He was happier Wednesday. “We played with more intensity and focus, especially after the first quarter,” he said.

Notes

• Kent State made 50 percent of its shots — 30 of 60 — and 60.7 percent of its shots in the second half. That’s highest of the conference season and second highest of the year. Best was 52.7 percent at Wright State.
• The Flashes hit 8 of 14 three-point shots, again second highest of the season after  Wright State. Stephens made 3 of 4 three-pointers.
• KSU was 15 of 17 on free throws, its third highest percentage of the year. Seventeen foul shots, though, were KSU’s third lowest number of the season and lowest since they played Iowa in December.  KSU had been leading the nation in free throws made and was third in free throws attempted.
• Eastern made 37.7 percent of its shots and 40 percent of its three-pointers. The overall shooting percentage is 5 points lower than Kent’s defensive average. EMU’s  65 points ties for the second lowest allowed by the Flashes in conference play.
• The Flashes’ 23 assists were their most of the season. They had assists on 76.7 of their baskets, also a season high.
• Eastern Michigan had 16 turnovers, and Kent scored 18 point off of them. The Eagles scored 15 off 16 KSU turnovers.
• EMU’s Phyllis Webb scored her 1,000th career point and got her 700th career rebound in the game. She led the Eagles with 21 points.
• All 13 active KSU players got in the game.

The Flashes head to Akron Saturday for their first game of the season against the Zips. Akron is having its worst season in years, sitting in a tie for 10th in the MAC with a 2-9 record (9-13 overall). The Zips lost at Miami, 54-49, Wednesday. Saturday’s game starts at 2 p.m. in the James A. Rhodes Arena.

Box score

Game story from KSU website, including video highlights and interviews with Korinek and Starkey.

Game story from Eastern website. I don’t find quotes for EMU coach anywhere online.

Other MAC scores

Ball State (17-7, 10-2) took over first place in the MAC West with a 91-70 victory over Bowling Green at home.

Northern Illinois fell into a tie for second with Central Michigan when CMU beat the Huskies in DeKalb, 109-94. Both teams are 9-2 in the conference. CMU is 17-6 overall, Northern 16-6.

It was Toledo (15-7, 6-5) 72, Western Michigan (14-8, 5-6) 66 at Western.

Ohio, which had Wednesday off, leads the East at 8-3, a game and a half ahead of KSU. OU is 17-5 overall.

MAC standings

Game stories from MAC website. 

 

 

 

 

When Kent State played Eastern Michigan a month ago, the Flashes were coming off of a 71-47 loss to Ball State, a game coach Todd Starkey called his team’s worst conference game.

Kent State routed EMU 86-67 and has played some of the best basketball in the conference since. The Flashes have won six of nine games and are tied for second place in the MAC East and fifth in the conference overall with a 6-5 league record. Overall they are 12-11.

As they prepare to play Eastern at home Wednesday, Kent State is coming off another tough loss — a 77-62 defeat at Buffalo. KSU was badly outplayed in the first half, and a rally in the fourth quarter never got within 10 points.

The game starts at 7 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center.

Eastern is 1-9 in the MAC and has beaten only 2-9 Bowling Green. The Eagles lost to Central Michigan 104-63 on Saturday, the most lopsided game in MAC play this season. Eastern dressed only eight players for the game; I assume most of that was because of injury and illness, but the story on the team website doesn’t say.

The Eagles’ four leaders all did play Saturday. Junior guard Sasha Dailey (17 points per game) scored 25 points on 25 shots from the field. Senior Phyllis Webb (14 points, 8.6 rebounds) had the 13 points and 11 rebounds, the 11th double-double of her career. She needs 19 points to become Eastern’s 21st player to score 1,000 points. She needs one rebound to reach 700 for her career. Guards Micah Robinson and Sheyna Deans average about 10 points a game.

Here’s a quick look at where Kent State fits in conference-only statistics:

Team

Scoring: Fourth of 12 teams at 74.1 points a game. NIU is first at 84.2.

Scoring defense: Ninth at 75.7. Toledo is first at 62.1.

Field goal percentage: Sixth at 39.8 percent. First is CMU at 45.8.

Field goal defense: Last at 43.9. Ohio is first at 35.6.

Three-point percentage: Seventh at 31.0. CMU is fist at 38.3.

Three-pointers per game: Ninth at 4.8. Ohio leads at 9.3.

Three-point defense: Last at 39.5. Toledo is first at 25.0.

Foul shooting: Third at 76.2 percent. CMU leads at 81.8.

Rebounding margin: Fifth at +1.7. CMU is first at +5.2.

Turnover margin: Seventh at +0.45. Ball State leads at +2.36.

Individual

Scoring: Larissa Lurken is first at 25.4 points per game. Jordan Korinek is fifth at 19.0. McKenna Stephens is 28th at 10.2.

Rebounding: Korinek is 12th at 7.2, Stephens 17th at 6.3.  First is Breanna Mobley of Western Michigan at 11.1.

Field goal percentage: Korinek is sixth at 52.4, Stephens ninth at 51.1. Fist is Kaayla McIntyre of Told at 64.2.

Assists: Lurken is tied for 14th at 3.4 per game. Stephanie Reid of Buffalo is first at 8.0.

Free throw percentage: Lurken is fourth at 87.3. Korinek is eighth at 83.1. Cassie Green of CMU averages 91.7.

Steals: Alexa Golden is tied for fifth at 2.3 per game. Lurken is tied for 12th at 1.8. Deja Wimby of WMU is best at 2.9.

Three-point shooting percentage: Lurken is 14th at 35.7. Mikayla Voigt of NIU is first at 48.6.

Three-pointers per game: Lurken is tied for eighth at 2.3. Moriah  Monaco of Ball State is first at 3.7.

Blocked shorts: Lurken is tied for fifth at 1.4. Korinek is tied for 14th at 0.8. Tinara Moore of CMU leads at 2.1.

Assist-turnover ratio: Naddiyah Cross is 12th at 1.2. Reid of Buffalo is first at 4.0.

Minutes per game: Lurken is first at 37.4.

If you weren’t counting, Lurken is in the top 15 in the conference in six of eight categories, in the top 10 in four, in the top five in three. (I’m not counting minutes, which aren’t an achievement statistic to me.)

If you can’t go to the game

• Video starts at 7 p.m. on the Kent State website.
• Audio starts at 6:45 on Golden Flash iHeart radio and 640 AM WHLO.
• Live statistics can be followed though the KSU website.
• In-game updates on Twitter are at @KentStatwbb.

Game preview on the KSU website.

Kent State statistics, with links to roster and schedule/results.

Game preview from the Eastern Michigan website.

MAC statistics and standings, with links both to overall and conference-only stats.

 

 

In the first half, Buffalo did everything it needed to do to win its battle with Kent State for second place in the MAC East.

Kent State did very little of its game plan, falling behind by 16 at the half.

The second half was better for the Flashes but far from enough as they lost on the road, 77-62.

The games leaves the two teams tied for second in the MAC East at 6-5. Overall Kent State is 12-11, Buffalo 16-6. Ohio beat Toledo 61-55 in Athens to stay in first place, two games ahead of Kent and Buffalo.

The Bulls held Larissa Lurken, the MAC’s leading scorer without a point in the first half, though she scored 21 in the second. Buffalo leading scorer JoAnna Smith, who went 1 of 17 against Toledo Wednesday, scored 16 in the first half and equaled her career high with 31 in the game.

When Buffalo plays well, it is one of the best defensive and rebounding teams in the MAC and scores well in transition. In the first half, the Bulls held Kent State to 30 percent shooting, outrebounded the Flashes 20-13, stole the ball 9 times and outscored KSU 9-0 on fast-break points.

The Flashes couldn’t get Lurken open and couldn’t find anyone else besides Jordan Korinek to score. Korinek had 13 points; no one else had more than two.

Meanwhile Buffalo shot 50 percent from the field and 55 percent on three-point shots. The Bulls had 12 assists on 15 baskets despite point guard Stephanie Reid going out with her second foul after three minutes.

“We got beat in every statistical category,” coach Todd Starkey said in his postgame radio interview on Golden Flash iHeart Radio. “We got beat in all the hustle stats.

“I’m disappointed in our effort. I don’t know if we got a little full of ourselves after winning the last two at home.

“There was no secret that Buffalo was going to play as hard as they did after going to Toledo and not playing well (in a 22-point loss). It’s a team with a lot of pride, and you knew they were going to defend their home court.

“We acted like we could just come in here and show up with 70 or 80 percent effort at the beginning and think we’re going to be in the game.”

Kent State trailed by as many as 24 points in the third quarter when Lurken started to find her stride and the Flashes some offense. Kent State outscored Buffalo 9-0 in the middle of the fourth quarter to bring the score to 69-59, but Kent State missed a layup and the score never got into single digits.

“When you’re playing out of that big a hole on the road, it’s difficult to come back — like pushing a rock uphill,” Starkey said. “And even when we played hard and got some momentum going, we had two or three people who didn’t box out, and they got some offensive rebounds and scored, and they got some transition buckets.”

Lurken got off only seven shots in the first half and didn’t get to the foul line at all. (She leads NCAA Division I in doing that.)

“The teams that have been successful against us have played Larissa physical in the first half,” Starkey said “When we allow that to happen and don’t play through other people, and she doesn’t become a screener to get open, we struggle offensively.

“It was a frustrating and and we’ll have to shake it off and definitely have to play better when we get back home on Wednesday.”

Last season Smith scored 25 points when Buffalo beat the Flashes in Kent. She did even better this game despite sitting out about half of the second quarter with foul trouble.

“We made it a lot easier on her than we should have,” Starkey said. “If a player is going to score 31 points, you don’t want them to do it on 13 of 21 shooting. The shots she was getting were way too easy. She had transition baskets, open jump shots, drives to the basket. Of the 21 shots she took, I’d would say we probably defended four or five of them well.”

Kent State is home Wednesday to play Eastern Michigan ((8-16, 1-9), who lost to Central Michigan 104-63 Saturday. The Flashes beat EMU 86-67 in Ypsilanti Jan. 7. The game is at 7 p.m. in the M.A.C. Center.

Notes

• Buffalo outscored Kent State 21-2 on fastbreak points. The Bulls outrebounded the Flashes 37-33, outscored them 10-8 on second-chance points and 18-13 in points off turnovers. KSU had 20 turnovers, Buffalo 16.
• Kent State made only 2 of 16 three-point shots and 20 of 53 overall (37.7 percent). Buffalo was 29 of 61 (48 percent) and 7 of 19.
• Lurken was 12 of 13 at the foul line, the 11th time this season she’s made more than 10. As a team, the Flashes shot 25, making 20. It was the 11th time in 12 league games they’ve shot at least 20. The other game they had 19. KSU is second in Division I in free throws attempted and first in free throws made.
• McKenna Stephens had a career-high 5 assists.
• Chelsi Watson had five rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench. Merissa Barber-Smith had five in eight minutes.
• Kent State had 15 assists on 20 baskets. Buffalo had 21 on 29. Those are impressively high numbers.
• It was sophomore guard Alexa Golden’s birthday but not a very happy one. She didn’t score and had two rebounds in 30 minutes.
• Cassie Ourseler, Buffalo’s 6-3 junior forward and third-leading scorer, didn’t play because of an ankle injury. Reid missed 17 minutes and Smith 6 in the first half because of foul trouble. Still Buffalo outscored KSU by 16 in the half. The Bulls’ bench outscored Kent State’s, 22-9 for the game.

Box score

Game story from Kent State website.

Game story from Buffalo website. Video highlights, including interviews with coach FelishaLegette-Jack and player JoAnna Smith are on Buffalo’s YouTube channel. 

The view from Buffalo

Coach Felisha Legette-Jack

“More players are stepping up. I love the way Liisa Ups came in and managed the game when Stephanie (Reid) got two fouls early. Courtney (Wilkins) did a great job too, coming off the bench, giving us 10 points in the first half. Now you have to play us straight up because everybody is out there doing their job.”

On shutting down Lurken in the first half: “We didn’t do it one person at a time. As a team, we collectively stopped a great shooter.”

Guard JoAnna Smith

On scoring 31 after going 1 for 17 on Wednesday: “It was just a matter of getting in the gym and having the confidence. I was just pushing what happened in Toledo out of my mind and doing what I had to do.”

“When we got back from Toledo, Coach Jack emphasized our transition defense and just “D” in general because it was horrible in Toledo. We locked down in practice and when the lights came on today.”

 

Korinek hits the 1,000-point mark

File photo from KSU website

Junior forward Jordan Korinek became the 21st Kent State player to scorer 1,000 points with a basket at the end of the first half.

She finished with 23 points — the sixth time in 11 conference games she’s gone over 20 and the ninth time she’s gone over 15. Going into the game, she was averaging 18.6 points a game in MAC play, sixth in the league.

She made 10 of 14 shots and 3 of 4 free throws, had 7 rebounds and a blocked shot.

“I think she’s one of the best post players in the league, and she’s proven that in conference play,” Starkey said. “She’s been playing so much better in conference play.

“Jordan’s been a great teammate and a great player, and she’s continued to improve all year.  I’m really happy for her going over that milestone.”

Korinek was Kent State’s leading scorer and rebounder a year ago but struggled some in finding her place in Starkey’s offense, which is quite different than what the Flashes ran before he arrived. She averaged 11 points a game in non-conference play. She’s up to 15.2 now, about her average last season.

Korinek, a preseason all-MAC East selection, now has 1,011 points in less than three years at Kent State.

Korinek is the 10th KSU player to hit 1,000 points as a junior and the first since Lindsay Shearer in 2006. Korinek’s career pace is only slightly below Shearer, who finished as Kent State’s fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,799 points.

Korinek is from Cuyahoga Falls and was an all-state player at St. Vincent St. Mary’s High School (yes, LeBron’s school). She’s a special education major with a 4.0 average.

Korinek’s teammate, senior Larissa Lurken, became the 20th player in school history to hit the 1,000-point mark earlier this season. Lurken now has 1,425 points, 13th highest in school history. She’s averaging 23 points a game, which would be the highest ever by a Kent State player by 1.5 points.

If she averages that for the Flashes’ next eight games (the rest of the season and the first game of the MAC Tournament), she’ll have 721 points — 14 off the single season record set in 34 games by Bonnie Beachy in 1980-81. If KSU plays a second tournament game, that’s when the record might fall.

Looking at the record book, I don’t think Kent State has ever before had two 1,000-point scorers on the floor at the same time. Dawn Zerman and Julie Studer came close in 1999-2000. But Studer didn’t score her 1,000th until the first game the next season, after Zerman had graduated.

Other Saturday MAC scores

• Northern Illinois (16-5, 9-1) 67, Western Michigan (14-7, 5-5) 62 at Northern.
• Ball State (16-7, 9-2) 81, Miami (7-16, 1-9) 60 at Miami.
• Ohio (17-5, 8-3) 61, Toledo (14-7, 5-5) 55 at Ohio.
• Bowling Green (6-16, 2-8) 86, Akron (5-12, 2-8) 50 at Bowling Green.
• Central Michigan (16-6, 8-2) 104, Eastern Michigan (8-16, 1-9) 63 at Eastern.

MAC standings

Game stories from MAC website.

 

 

If a Kent State goal was, as coach Todd Starkey said this week, to play “meaningful games in February,” how important is Saturday game at Buffalo?

This case for “meaningful”:

Kent State is in second place in the MAC East at 6-4 (12-10 overall). Buffalo, a preseason favorite, is in third at 5-5 (14-6 overall).

KSU is just a game out of first, where Ohio is 7-3. On Saturday, the Bobcats host Toledo, a  14-6 teams that has just beat Central Michigan and just beat Buffalo at Buffalo.

So it’s possible — though I wouldn’t say likely — that Kent State could be tied for first place on Saturday night. That hasn’t happened in February since 2005. Kent State had good teams after that under former coach Bob Lindsay, especially in the Lindsay Shearer era. But the Flashes were always chasing Bowling Green, which dominated the league in that period.

The Flashes have the fifth best record in the league. The top four teams get a first-round bye in the MAC tournament. One spot ahead of Kent State is Ohio.

The case that we’re premature:

It’s Feb. 3, not March 3.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re in second place in early February,” Starkey said on Kent State’s weekly Flash Talk radio show Thursday. “It’s where you end of the season.”

There are still seven league games to go after Saturday.

The Flashes a very good chance of winning at least two (1-8 Eastern Michigan and 2-7 Akron at Kent). They have a good chance of winning three more (at Akron, at 1-8 Miami and at 1-8 Bowling Green).

Their other games are home and away against Buffalo — still a better team on paper — and a home game against Ohio, which has the best overall record in the league at 16-4. But KSU beat Ohio in Athens last month.

So my estimation is that Kent State could end the regular season anywhere between 10-8 (losing one of the four games against Akron, Miami and BG) and losing all three to Ohio and Buffalo) and 12-6 (sweeping the “likely” games and winning one of three against the good teams).

If they take two of three against Buffalo and Ohio, they’re 13-5 and likely to be MAC East champions.

It’s astounding even to write that, but it’s been an astounding season. KSU was 6-23 and last in the MAC last season with essentially the same players.

The case that Buffalo is more than just another February game:

One reason is seeding for the MAC tournament and tie breakers. If teams have the same conference record, the tie breaker is head-to-head competition. If either Kent or Buffalo sweeps the series, that team will almost certainly get the higher seed.

If they split, then it gets complicated with things like divisional record (KSU is currently 3-0 and Buffalo 2-1), then record against conference teams with the best record.

Buffalo is 1-1 against 7-3 Central Michigan, KSU is 0-1. Kent is 1-0 against 5-4 Toledo, Buffalo 0-2. Kent State has beaten Ohio on the road while Buffalo lost in Athens. Both teams play the Bobcats again at home.

Then there’s the mental and momentum. Kent State is 6-2 over its last eight games, the only losses being to league-leading Northern Illinois. That’s the second-best record in the league in that time (8-1 NIU, of course, has the best).

So the league still doesn’t quite know what to make of the Flashes. They’re clearly not the league doormat of the last five years. But are they a contender or a good second-rung team? Nobody knows. I certainly don’t. I don’t think the team does.

“It’s important for the girls to understand what they’ve accomplished to put themselves here,” Starkey said. “It’s a great motivator and can give confidence. At the same time, we have to continue to focus on what’s the next step in front of us. It’s what can we control and how can we get better.”

Saturday will tell us something. It’s not make or break. Even if the Flashes lose — and they certainly aren’t favored — and even if they finish behind Buffalo in the standings, they’re still almost certain to get a first-round home tournament game. That hasn’t happened in six years.

And who knows? Nobody expected KSU to beat Ohio at Ohio. Or even Western Michigan at Western Michigan. We really don’t know how good this team is yet.

In Buffalo, Kent State plays a team that won its first nine games this season. At that point, the Bulls were in the top 20 in the country in RPI ranking. Then they lost to Harvard, which is currently 16-1. In the MAC, Buffalo has lost at Ohio and at Central Michigan. They’ve lost at home to Ball State, Toledo and Northern Illinois.

KSU’s league losses are to Northern (twice), at Ball State and to Central Michigan at home.

Buffalo went 8-10 in the conference last season but won the MAC tournament, losing  to Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Ohio had by far the best record in the league last season, but Buffalo beat the Bobcats three times.

“They have experience in these situations, and we don’t,” Starkey said after Wednesday’s win over Miami. “We’re going to have to earn everything we get up there. They’re going to come off the Toledo game (a 85-63 pounding), and they’ll be ready to play. And we’re going to have to execute a game plan, and we’re going to have to be good at in a tough place to play.”

Buffalo’s strength is defense and rebounding. The Bulls lead the MAC in scoring defense in overall games (59.8) and are fifth in conference games alone (66.7). They’re third in field goal defense and first in three-point defense overall (fifth and second in conference play).

They’re 10th in the nation in offensive rebounds. Again they’re much better overall (+8.5 in rebounding margin in all games, first in the MAC) than they are in league games (+2.7 and fourth).

Toledo solved the Bulls completely Wednesday, shooting 52 percent from the field and outrebounded them 44-34.

Statistically, Kent State is comparable in rebounding in conference games. The Flashes rank toward the bottom of the league in scoring defense at 75.6 points a game and are last in field goal and three-point defense. Part of that is skewed by the 191 points Northern Illinois scored in its two games against the Flashes.

KSU’s defense has been very good at times in the conference — at Ohio, at Western and against Toledo. But even outside of the NIU games, KSU gave up 54 percent shooting against Central Michigan and 50 percent against Ball State. On Wednesday Miami, a team near the bottom of the league is field goal offense, shot 57 percent in the first half. Kent State held the Redhawks to 35 percent in the second.

“The defensive side of the basketball is where games are going to be won and lost for us down the stretch,” Starkey said.

Buffalo’s top offensive threat is returning all-MAC guard JoAnna Smith, who is averaging 15.9 points a game. A year ago she scored 39 points against the Flashes in two games, both Buffalo wins. In Kent, Smith made 7 of 10 three-point shots. Stephanie Reid is one of the best point guards in the conference, leading the league in assists and assist-turnover ratio. Summer Hemphill, a 6-1 freshman, averages 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a game.

Larissa Lurken continues to lead Kent State and the MAC in scoring, averaging 25.8 in conference games (23.1 overall). Jordan Korinek averages 18.6 in conference games only, which is sixth in the league. She had 21 and 12 rebounds against Miami and, importantly, just two fouls for the second game in a row. Korinek has struggled with foul trouble for the last two years, and Kent State is a much lesser offensive team when she is on the bench.

“I’ve done a lot of one-on-one time in the film room with coach Starkey,” Korinek said after Wednesday’s game, “studying defense and how to defend without fouling.”

To follow Saturday’s game

• Online video starts at 2 p.m. on ESPN3.  (To watch, you’ll need to have a subscription to ESPN through cable or satellite TV.)
• Audio starts at 1:45 on Golden Flash iHeart radio and WHLO 640.
• Live statistics are available through the Buffalo website.
• In-game updates on Twitter at @KentStatewbb.

Preview from Kent State website, including links to statistics, schedule/results and roster.

Preview from Buffalo website, including links to statistics, roster and schedule/results.

MAC statistics, including standings. Page links to both full-season and conference stats.

NCAA statistics

 

 

 

 

 

Kent State led Miami 42-39 at halftime, but coach Todd Starkey was not happy.

Miami had made 57 percent of its shots in the first half.

“Coach really got on us,” junior forward Jordan Korinek said after the game on Golden Flash iHeart Radio. “And we started executing.”

The Flashes held Miami to 9 points and 29 percent shooting in the third quarter and went on to an 84-66 victory. Combined with Buffalo’s 85-63 loss Wednesday at Toledo, the win moves Kent State into sole possession of second place in the MAC East. The Flashes play at Buffalo Saturday.

KSU is now 12-10 on the season and 6-4 in the MAC. Miami is 7-15 and 1-8.

Starkey said the team was tired after an extended stretch of tough games without a homestand.

“So we made practice a little lighter in tone and in what we did in practice,” the coach said. “But we talked about defense. And then in the first half, we didn’t play passionate defense.

“So I kindly reminded them at halftime that unless they started doing something about that, they were probably going to have more difficult practices coming forward.

“They’re going to hear that when I talk into the locker room (after his interview): ‘When you play that way, we’re pretty good. And when you don’t, you can get beat by anybody.”

Korinek had 21 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, all in conference play. Larissa Lurken scored 30 points, had 6 assists, 6 rebounds, a block and a steal. She was 12 of 12 in foul shooting, the fourth time this season she’s been perfect at the foul line and th 10th time she’s made more than 10 foul shots. Lurken leads the nation in free throws made and taken.

Kent’s 84 points and 18 assists were both its third highest of the season. Its 45 percent shooting was 7 points above its season average.

“It’s a really good sign when Larissa had six assists,” Starkey said. “Our offense is doing pretty well.”

Starkey made it a point to try to get Lurken more rest. She had been averaging the most minutes of any MAC player in conference games.

“It was starting to show,” he said “She was averaging 38 minutes. Defensively her effort wasn’t as good at the end of the second quarter and at the end of the game. She was missing some shots.

“So we’re trying to find strategic points in the game where we can get her more rest.”

Starkey pulled Lurken out just before other breaks in the action. “We can use the media timeout or the end of the quarter to get her some extended rest and get her back in,” he said.

For the game, Lurken played 33 minutes. 

Kent State’s 6-4 conference record is the fifth best in the conference. Ohio, which lost  64-59 at Central Michigan Wednesday, is a game ahead of the Flashes in the East.

“It’s great to be in this position,” Starkey said. “We wanted to be playing games of significance in February and be a team that nobody wanted to face in the tournament in March. And we’re on that path.

“Can we get better? Absolutely. We still have yet to play 40 great minutes of basketball. We’re just interested in us becoming a better version of ourselves. There’s still room for improvement.”

Notes

• Kent State outrebounded Miami 41-26 and 13-6 on the offensive board. The Flashes outscored Miami 15-0 on second-chance points.
• Alexa Golden, who missed Saturday’s game against Bowling Green with a minor injury, started and played 31 minutes. She scored 5 points, had 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
• KSU committed 19 turnovers, Miami 21. The Flashes led in points off turnovers 18-16.
• It was the fifth time this season Lurken has scored more than 30 points. KSU’s record book isn’t that detailed, but I don’t remember either Amy Sherry or Tracy Lynn — the top scorers of the Bob Lindsay era — doing that. Bonnie Beachy, Kent’s all-time leading scorer, was well before my time.
• Miami freshman Lauren Dickerson had 14 points, 8 assists and 4 steals. Though she’s only 5-3, she’s a legitimate candidate for freshman of the year in the conference. Another Miami freshman, 6-2 forward Savannah Kluesner, led the Redhawks with 15.
• All 13 active players on the KSU roster got in the game.

Box score

Game story from Kent State website, including video highlights and interview with Korinek and Starkey.

Game story from Miami website.

 

Other MAC scores

Central Michigan (15-6, 7-2) 64, Ohio (16-5, 7-2) 59 at Central.

Toledo (14-6, 5-4) 85, Buffalo (15-6, 5-5) 63 at Toledo.

Ball State (16-7, 8-2) 90, Akron (9-11, 2-7) 63 at Akron.

Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan didn’t play.

MAC standings

Game stories from MAC website