Kent State hit only two of the eight benchmarks on our weekly report, but the Flashes hit both of them big with a strong offensive showing. It was enough for a victory.
Kent State 78, Miami 75
GAME STORY: Flashes force 2 turnovers in last 18 seconds to claim 78-75 win
Score 70 points on offense: 78. Flashes have scored at least 75 three games in a row and have won all three. KSU, which ranks third in the MAC in scoring at 72.5 points per game, is now 8-0 when scoring more than 70. ACHIEVED.
Hold opponent under 70: 75. For second game in a row, Kent State’s opponent rallied in the fourth quarter. KSU defensive average is 68.8, eighth in the league. NOT ACHIEVED.
Make 40% of shots: 53.6. Flashes made many mistakes in the game, but shooting the lights out makes up for a lot of problems. It was the team’s highest shooting percentage of the season. ACHIEVED IN A BIG WAY.
Hold opponent under 40%: 45. Miami shot well, too — just not as well at Kent State. NOT ACHIEVED.
Outscore opponent by five on free throws: Flashes were 11 for 15 from the foul line, Miami eight of 14. A LITTLE SHORT.
Outscore opponent by five points off turnovers: Kent State 18, Miami 14. This despite the fact Flashes committed five more turnovers than Miami (20-15). Two of Miami’s turnovers came in the last 18 seconds. Kent turned both into scores to provide the margin of victory. NOT QUITE.
Have 14 assists: 10 on 30 baskets. Flashes had seven in the first half when they were able to get the ball to Nila Blackford in the post. Miami shut that down in the second half. NOT ACHIEVED.
Get 10 points from the bench: Eight, led by Hannah Young’s five. Close but NOT ACHIEVED.
BOTTOM LINE: They won, which is the only achievement that counts. The report card grade? More like a B or B-.
Around the MAC
Central Michigan, Kent State and Northern Illinois picked up wins on the road to advance in the “golf” standings (below).
Central outscored Western MIchigan 31-15 in the fourth quarter for its fifth straight MAC win. The Chippewas are the only team undefeated in league play. Micaela Kelly, the MAC’s leading scorer, had 31 points.
Northern Illinois won its first league game, winning at Akron 70-65. The Huskies rallied for the win from four points down entering the fourth quarter. Courtney Woods had 20 for the NIU; she’s 66 points from being a 2,000-point scorer.
Buffalo held off a fourth-quarter rally from Eastern Michigan to win at home 66-63. Eastern ended the game on a 7-0 run in the last 19 seconds. Dyaisha Fair led Buffalo with 22 points; she has scored 20 or more in 12 of Buffalo’s 16 games.
Ohio beat Ball State 79-71 in Athens. Junior guard Cece Hooks had 25 points and sophomore guard Erica Johnson had her third double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Toledo needed overtime to beat Bowling Green 79-72 at home. Despite playing without leading scorer and captain Nakiah Black, who was injured, the Rockets had 20 assists, highest of any team in MAC play this season. Freshman Quinesha Lockett had season-high 20 points.
The ‘golf’ standings
The “golf” standings concept is stolen from GFlash68 on the Flash Fanatics bulletin board. He has done this for men’s basketball for several years.
It gives a team -1 for a road win (a “birdie”) and adds a point for a home loss (a “bogey.” A home win or road loss gets zero (“par”).
-3
- Central Michigan (5-0, 12-4)
-1
- Buffalo (3-2, 12-4)
- Ball State (3-2, 11-6)
- Ohio (3-2, 10-6)
- Kent State (3-2, 10-6)
- Toledo (4-1, 9-7)
- Eastern Michigan (3-2, 8-8)
Even
- Western Michigan (3-2, 10-6)
+1
- Northern Illinois (1-4, 5-11)
+2
- Miami (1-4, 8-9)
- Akron (1-4, 8-8)
- Bowling Green (0-5, 7-10)