The benchmark statistics we use in the scorecard were as close as the game, which the Flashes won by five points. But they won, and with four games to go, that’s more important than any other number.
GAME STORY: Megan Carter’s double-double on Senior Day leads Flashes past Miami
Kent State 80, Miami 75
Score 70 points on offense: 80, only the second time hitting 80 in the conference season. ACHIEVED.
Hold opponent under 70: 75. Probably Kent State’s least-effective defense in the last month. Miami scored 25 points in the fourth quarter. NOT ACHIEVED.
Make 40% of shots: 39.3. Not quite. Four-for-18 three-point shooting made held the percentage down. NOT ACHIEVED.
Hold opponent under 40%: 36.8. Only first-place Central Michigan has shot better than 40% in Kent’s last six games. ACHIEVED.
Outscore opponent by five on free throws: It was 28-19, which looks great until we remember the Flashes missed 18 free throws, including 10 in the last quarter. Otherwise the game wouldn’t have been close. But, ACHIEVED.
Outscore opponent by five points off turnovers: 13-12 for Kent State. The Flashes had 10 turnovers, Miami 13. NOT ACHIEVED.
Have 14 assists: Nine, on 24 baskets. Megan Carter’s season-high five were the highlight. (Miami, second in the league in assists, also had nine.) NOT ACHIEVED.
Get 10 points from the bench: 39, but it was Senior Day and only two of Kent State’s top five scorers started. ACHIEVED.
BOTTOM LINE: A win’s a win. B.
Around the MAC
Central Michigan beat Northern Illinois 70-66 on the road to clinch at least a share of the MAC regular season championship.
Second-place Ohio and Ball State both lost on the road and remain tied. Kent State, Western Michigan are still tied for fourth, the final position that gets a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament next month. Four games remain in the regular season.
Central won its eighth conference game by fewer than eight points to stay undefeated in the conference. The game was close most of the way. Central led by 10 with 6:12 to play, but NIU closed it to two with less than a minute to go. CMU hit five of six free throws in the last 53 seconds. Kyra Bussell had 25 for Central; Courtney Woods had 21 for Northern.
Akron won its biggest game of the season, coming from behind to beat Ohio 79-76 in Akron. A key play was a foul on Akron’s Jordyn Dawson with the scored tied and just over a minute to play. She was first charged with an offensive foul, but it was reversed on review. Dawson had 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Cierra Hooks had a school-record 41 points for Ohio.
Eastern Michigan beat Ball State 61-58, icing the game with two last-minute steals. Areanna Combs had 15 points and nine rebounds for Eastern; sophomore Juanita Agosto had nine points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Sydney Freeman led Ball State with 14 points.
Buffalo broke its six-game losing streak, its longest since 2012-13, with a 62-56 win at last-place Bowling Green. With 29 seconds to go, Buffalo leading by two and Ball State with the ball, sophomore guard Aireal Dickson stole the ball and fed Dyaisha Fair for a layup that clinched the game. Fair had 21 points for Buffalo. Madisen Parker had 14 for BG.
Western Michigan won its fourth straight game by beating Toledo 70-58 in Toledo. It was Western’s first victory in Toledo in six years. Sophomore guard Jordan Walker had 21 points and five steals for Western. Freshman guard Sydney Shafer had a career-high 17 points off the bench. Freshman guard Quinesha Lockett had 17 points to lead Toledo.
BEST GAMES THIS SATURDAY: Western Michigan at Central Michigan. Toledo at Ball State. Akron at Kent State.
The ‘golf’ standings
They give 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”).
-7
- Central Michigan (14-0, 21-4)
-3
- Ball State (10-6, 18-8)
- Ohio (10-4, 17-8)
-1
- Kent State (8-6, 15-10)
- Western Michigan (8-6, 15-10)
- Eastern Michigan (8-6, 13-12)
+1
- Akron (6-8, 13-12)
+2
- Buffalo (5-9, 14-11)
- Toledo (6-8, 11-14)
+3
- Miami (4-10, 11-15)
- Northern Illinois (3-10, 7-17)
+6
- Bowling Green (1-13, 8-18)