Casey Santoro had 14 points and three 3-pointers against Ohio in the third game of her freshman season. (KSU photo by Bob Christy.)
The Kent State women play their second MAC game in three days when they visit Toledo for a 2 p.m. Sunday game.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, which costs $5.99 a month. Click on the link and it will send you to a page where you can sign up. Most women’s away games are on ESPN+, as well as many men’s games and many other MAC basketball contests. An audio stream starts at 1:45 p.m. on the Kent State Radio Network.
The Flashes (1-2 on the season) are coming off a big — and somewhat unexpected — 84-80 win over Ohio Saturday at the M.A.C. Center. The Bobcats (now 2-1) had been ranked fifth in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
Toledo is coming off a big victory of its own, beating Northern Illinois 82-79 at Northern behind a 42-point game by sophomore guard Sofia Wiard. The Rockets are 3-0.
The Rockets start three sophomores and two freshmen. Wiard, who averaged only 3.8 points a game last season, is third in the MAC scoring at 23.7 points a game. Fellow sophomore Quinesha Locket averages 18 points a game and 5-10 freshman forward Sammi Mikonowicz averages 10 points and 9.3 rebounds.
Story on how Kent State beat Ohio Saturday.
Six Kent State players scored in double figures in the win over Ohio, and the Flashes set a school record with 16 3-point baskets. The game was a major step forward from KSU’s opening loss at Ohio State and road loss to Saint Francis last week.
“We just need consistency moving forward,” coach Todd Starkey said after the OU game. “I think (the Ohio victory) proves who we’re capable of being. But you have to do that every single game.
So, he asked, “Are you a one-hit wonder?”
“Or what’s going to happen when you don’t have good shooting nights like that. So we have to continue to get better defensively. We have to continue to work on our rotation and our connectedness on the court.”
Through three games, Nila Blackford leads the Flashes in scoring at 11.3 points a game and in rebounding at 7.7. Lindsey Thall averages 11.0 and Mariah Modkins 10.7.
Modkins has stepped up her play in a major way when since she took over as KSU’s primary point guard this season. (She split the job with Asiah Dingle last season.) She leads the Flashes in 3-point shooting percentage (54.5) and in assists (3.7).
- Link to preview on KSU website, which in turn links to record, schedule and statistics.
- Link to Toledo preview.
The undefeateds
Toledo and two other MAC teams are unbeaten in the early season. They’re all surprises. Toledo (3-0) was picked seventh in the conference coaches’ preseason poll. Akron (3-0) was picked 10th, and Bowling Green (4-0) was picked 11th.
The top teams in the preseason poll were Central Michigan (2-1), Ohio (2-1) Ball State (1-3) and Buffalo (2-2).
Kent State was picked sixth.