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KSU’s 3 freshmen score 42 as Flashes win big again in Vancouver

By on Sunday, August 11, 2019

Flashes Earn 90-68 Victory to Begin Canadian Tour

KSU’s Lindsay Thall goes to the basket in Saturday’s game. (Photo from KSU website.)

Five Kent State players — including all three freshmen — scored in double figures as the Flashes overpowered the University of British Columbia 94-54 Sunday.

It was the second straight win on the team’s exhibition tour of Vancouver. Saturday the Flashes beat VK Select, a club team, 90-68.

Freshman Katie Shumate led KSU with 19 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes. She made 9 of 18 shots, had seven offensive rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

Sophomore Asiah Dingle scored 17 points for the second straight game and added six assists and six steals. Saturday she had nine steals and seven assists.

Freshman Clare Kelly had 12 points on 4-of-8 three-point shots, and freshman Nila Blackford scored 11 and had five rebounds. 6-foot-4 transfer Linsey Marchese, who isn’t eligible to play until the 2020-21 season, had 10 points and four rebounds in 13 minutes. She’s allowed to play on a summer exhibition tour.

All 13 Flashes played at least six minutes. Eleven scored. No one played more than 25 minutes; only three played more than 20.

“We did much better from start to finish,” coach Todd Starkey said in an interview relayed through assistant sports communication director Jay Fiorello “I was really pleased with our defensive focus. We had a lot fewer lapses and letdowns.

“Everybody’s kind of still trying to figure out what their role is and how to play with and off of each other. So it was nice to see some good offensive flow and better execution.”

On Shumate, a 5-11 guard from Newark, Starkey said:

“She’s just such a versatile player. She really can score on all three levels, and it’s also a nice to have a guard leading you in  rebounding as well. She did a really good job of just being active all over the court and just making plays, worrying less about making mistakes and just going out and trying to make something happen.”

Shumate, who scored 11 points with six rebounds Saturday, said she was especially happy with her offensive rebounding.

“I need to work on my decision-making after I crash and just keep trying to get extra possessions,” she said.

Shumate said a new rule this season that resets the shot clock to 20 seconds (instead of 30) after an offensive rebound changes strategy.

“I can’t pull it out,” she said. “There’s not enough time. So I have to look for a quick score after getting a rebound if I can or hit someone that’s wide open.”

Box score

Dingle the thief

Dingle’s nine steals Saturday would have tied for fourth place in school history had it happened in the regular season. The record is 10.

“I like disrupting the ball, making them speed up,” she said.
Dingle said she liked the 24-second clock of international rules. “I’m a fast bird,” she said.

Of her near triple-double Saturday: “I did OK. I definitely have to get better — getting into the floor a little earlier and do some more finishing (around the basket).”

Notes:

  • Kent State beat its first two opponents by 22 and 40 points. Alabama played the same two teams last week and beat VK Select by by 40 and the University of British Columbia by 30. The Flashes led VK Select by 38 going into the fourth quarter.
  • KSU has outscored opponents 106-53 combined in the first halves in its two games. The Flashes have had 33 steals and forced 50 turnovers.
  •  Sophomore Lindsay Thall, who led the MAC in blocked shots last season, blocked four on Sunday. Her teammates blocked four more.
  • Kent State will play the final game of the trip at Vancouver Island University Monday.

Live action

The KSU Twitter feed had a lot of video from Sunday’s game. Here are some:

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