A very rough opener against a very good team: Flashes fall 103-47 at Ohio State

If we look hard enough, we can find a few good things in Kent State’s 103-47 loss at No. 19 Ohio State Saturday.

1. The Flashes got to play at all. In this season of COVID-19, that’s an accomplishment. KSU’s scheduled opener last Sunday was canceled because of COVID problems on the team.
2. The second half was better than the first. The Flashes had 36 points and made 39% of their shots. In the first half, they made only four baskets, shot 11% and scored 14 points.
3. KSU rebounded pretty well. They had 41, including 18 offensive rebounds. Ohio State had 44, and just six offensive rebounds.

But the score definitely reflects the game. It was the first time since 2009 that Kent State has given up 100 points. The 56-point margin was the largest in coach Todd Starkey’s five years in Kent.

The Flashes were down 26-0 before freshman Casey Santoro made a foul shot with 1:18 to go in the first quarter. KSU had missed its first 15 shots before Nila Blackford made a layup with 10 seconds to go in the quarter.

The Buckeyes led 31-4 after the quarter and 52-14 at halftime.

No doubt Ohio State is really good. The Buckeyes have five starters back from a team that went 21-12 and tied for fifth in the Big Ten. They’re one of five Big Ten teams ranked in the Top 25.

OSU was playing its second game of the season, coming off an 82-47 win Sunday over Duquesne, a good mid-major. The Buckeyes hadn’t missed a practice because of COVID.

Kent State had had just three practices since they came off a 10-day “pause” because of COVID issues.

“Coming out of quarantine, we just weren’t ready for this game,” Starkey said in a phone interview after the game. “I can second-guess playing it. But the kids just wanted to play, and that was the only game we had available to take.

“We just scheduled the game five days ago, and we weren’t even practicing then.”

And Ohio State, Starkey said, “is better than us.”

“Based on what I’ve seen so far,” he said, “I think they’re going to be a Top 10 team and battle it out for the Big Ten championship.”

The Buckeyes shot 70% in the first quarter and 64% for the game. They made seven of their 14 3-point shots. All-Big Ten forward Dorka Juhasz had 16 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes. “A future WNBA player,” Starkey said.

Ohio State played very good defense, but Kent State also just missed shots. The Flashes made 7 of 29 layups, 3 of 17 3-point shots and 12 of 22 free throws.

“We got some decent looks early,” Starkey said. “If a few of those go in, it probably feels a little different. But I don’t necessarily think there’s going to be a significantly different outcome.

“We kind of gave in mentally at the beginning because nothing was going our way. I thought that at times, we did some much better things in the second half.”

The Flashes scored more points in the third quarter (16) than they did in the whole first half, and they made seven of their 14 shots in the fourth quarter.

“I thought in the second half we played with a lot more fight and a lot more poise,” Starkey said. 

Blackford led the Flashes with nine points. Mariah Modkins had eight, including two 3-pointers.

Sophomore guard Clare Kelly led KSU with seven rebounds (“a spark off the bench,” Starkey said.) Blackford, Lindsey Thall, Indiana transfer Linsey Marchese and Annie Pavlansky all had five rebounds.

Starkey thought the rebounding statistics were somewhat misleading. “When they shoot 60%, there aren’t a lot of offensive rebounds for them to get,” he said.

Still Kent State’s rebounding percentage (the number of rebounds divided by the number of missed shots) was 48.2%, Ohio State’s was 51.8%. Against Duquesne, which shot the 22% from the field as Kent, the Buckeyes’ rebounding percentage was 74%.

 Box score

Shumate in starting lineup

Sophomore Katie Shumate, who had practiced sparingly after off-season knee surgery, was a bit of a surprise starter. At one point, it was unclear whether she would play at all this year.

She had four points and two rebounds in 15 minutes.

“She’s not 100% and a bit of a work in progress,” Starkey said. “She’s going to have to continue to gain muscle endurance and strength.”

Shumate was second on the team last season in points, rebounds, blocks and steals and third in assists. She made the MAC all-freshman team and was honorable mention all-conference.

Notes

• The full starting lineup was Shumate, Modkins, Blackford, Marchese and Thall.
• Thall, who scored 32 points and hit a KSU-record eight 3-pointers against Ohio State last season, was 1 for 10 with one 3-point basket and two free throws.
• Kent State took more shots (68) than Ohio State (66).
• The Flashes had 14 turnovers, generally a good number. But Ohio State had three.
• KSU had five assists on 16 baskets. Ohio State had 23 on 39.
• Kent State’s two freshmen each played about 16 minutes. Center Lexi Jackson had two points and three rebounds. Santoro had one point, two rebounds and zero turnovers. Marchese, playing in her first KSU game, scored six points.
• Eleven Flashes played at least 11 minutes, and no one played more than 26. Every player who made the trip got in the game.
• Pavlansky played 21 minutes, more than double her previous high against a Division I team. Her five rebounds were three fewer than she had all last season. She scored three points and had an assist.
• Kent State is now 0-8 all-time against Ohio State. Against current Big Ten teams, the Flashes are 9-38.