Nila Blackford takes at for two of her 18 points. With nine rebounds, she just missed her third-straight double-double. (Photo of team Twitter feed.)
In the first half, it was great 3-point shooting.
In the last quarter, it was strong rebounding.
In the end, the Kent State women won their third game in a row, beating Duquesne 73-66.
Kent State is 3-2 going into a 12-day break for Christmas. The Flashes return with a MAC game at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 2. Duquesne is 2-3.
Lindsey Thall and the 3-point barrage
4:19 1Q | Kent State 12, Duquesne 6
Lindsey Thall is feeling it early with 3️⃣ triples and Flashes lead by 6. pic.twitter.com/o73L7UeOA8
— Kent State Women’s Basketball (@KentStWBB) December 21, 2020
Lindsey Thall has been one of the best 3-point shooters in the MAC since she walked onto campus two years ago. But going into Monday’s game, she had made only 5-of-19 attempts this season.
In one game, she doubled that total. Thall made her first four 3-point attempts and finished 5 of 6. Most of her shots were three feet behind the 3-point arc.
“It’s always better when they go in,” Thall said. “I’m been struggling a little bit, but I’m just trying to get points for our team. The thought you want to have is, ‘The next one’s going in.‘”
Thall also had seven rebounds and four blocked shots. She has led the league in blocks for two years and leads it again so far at 2.0 per game.
Katie Shumate joined Thall in the 3-point binge with three 3-pointers in three attempts. Mariah Modkins made two and Hannah Young and Nila Blackford one apiece.
The Flashes made 9 of their 14 3-point attempts in the first half and 12 of their 22 attempts for the game. That’s 55%, the second-best performance in the MAC this season. The best was Kent State’s 57% against Ohio 12 days ago, when the Flashes made a school-record 16 3-pointers.
“We were moving the ball pretty well around the perimeter,” Thall said. “When you do that, you make them have some late rotations, then you make the extra pass, and you can connect (on the shots).”
The Flashes had assists on their first four 3-pointers.
“Our ball movement was phenomenal,” coach Todd Starkey said.
Duquesne’s fourth-quarter rally
For the second-straight game, Kent State had a big lead in the second half and almost lost it.
KSU led 57-45 going into the fourth quarter, but Duquesne started the period with 10 straight points. The Flashes responded with seven in a row of their own, but Duquesne closed it to two again with 2:06 to go.
“We’ve got to get some things solved as far as why we’re really playing well against teams and then they turn around and make a run on us,” Starkey said.
Kent State’s counter-rally
The Flashes’ game-ending push started with rebounding.
For three quarters, Duquesne had outrebounded KSU 25-20. The Flashes had only two offensive rebounds.
But the fourth-quarter backboards — especially at the end of the fourth quarter — belonged to Kent State.
The Flashes outrebounded Duquesne 13-5 over the last 10 minutes. They had eight offensive rebounds; the Dukes had zero.
After Duquesne had pulled closed to 64-62, the Dukes never got another rebound. Kent State got five over the last two minutes, with three key ones coming in the last 1:03.
With Kent State leading by one, Blackford grabbed the rebound off a missed 3-point attempt in heavy traffic. She put it back up, scored and was fouled.
She missed the free throw, but Clare Kelly grabbed the rebound. Then after the Flashes missed another 3-pointer, Shumate got that rebound and scored.
The sequence took 40 seconds off the clock and gave Kent State a seven-point lead with 23 seconds to go.
That rebounding “won it for us at the end — just toughness rebounds in the scrum,” Starkey said.
Earlier, however, Starkey said he had to challenge the team.
“They got an earful from me a couple of times,” he said. “I was not pleased with the way we are out in the third quarter and acted like we were just going to walk away with a win. Then later on, they were just out hustling us on certain things. That can’t be a theme going forward.”
Blackford is big again
Blackford led Kent State in scoring with 18 points and just missed her third straight double-double with nine rebounds.
“When she’s focused and determined like that, she’s a handful,” Starkey said.
Thall said Blackford is central to the team.
“We expect her to be like this,” she said. “Every game she’s been doing a great job of just staying with it, getting extra rebounds. That’s helping with a bunch of her points.”
17 points for Shumate
Shumate scored 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Her three 3-pointers brought her 3-point percentage to 57%, fifth in the MAC.
Starkey said she’s not fully back from off-season knee surgery.
“There’s a game fitness and strength that you have to develop,” the coach said. “You can’t simulate it in the weight room or in practice. It just comes from logging minutes on the court against other teams.”
But, Starkey said, “It’s kind of a scary thing when you say she’s not playing at 100%, and she’s still putting 17 on a good Duquesne team.”
Modkins gives the assists
Point guard Mariah Modkins had five assists and one turnover. Her assist-turnover ratio of 2.2-to-1 is third in the MAC. Her 4.0 assist-per-game average is tied for seventh in the conference. And her 45% 3-point average is 10th in the MAC.
Notes
- Kent State’s overall shooting percentage of 45.3 was its best of the season. Duquesne’s was 44.4.
- The Flashes scored 20 points off 13 Duquesne turnovers, all in the first half. The Dukes didn’t have a second-half turnover. Duquesne scored 12 off of 15 KSU turnovers.
- Duquesne forward Laia Sole showed strong moves in the post and led the Dukes with 23 points. Amanda Kalin had 15 for Duquesne; she had scored 32 against Toledo on Friday.
- Duquesne made the game’s first basket. 90 seconds later, Blackford hit a 3-pointer — her second of the season — and Kent State led for the last 38 minutes and 20 seconds.
- The victory is Kent State’s second straight over Duquesne, a program that has averaged 22 wins over the last seven years. Last season KSU beat the Dukes 77-75 in its season opener on a shot at the buzzer. Duquesne still leads in the series 5-4.
Replay on ESPN+ (subscription required)
Other MAC scores
Monday
- Central Michigan (4-2) 73, Loyola (2-2) 64 at Loyola.
- Toledo (5-1) 64, North Dakota (0-6) 49 at Toledo.
- Western Virginia (6-2) 88, Ohio (3-2) 79 at West Virginia
- Eastern Michigan (4-3) 65, Tarleton (3-6) 59 at Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
Sunday
- Ball State (3-3) 67, Akron (3-2) 60 at Akron.
- No. 25 Gonzaga (4-2) 77, Eastern Michigan 68 at Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
- Michigan State (6-0) 82, Northern Illinois (2-5) 70 at Michigan State.
Friday
- Buffalo (4-2) 71, St. Bonaventure (1-2) 52 at Buffalo.
- Bowling Green (5-1) 76, Morehead State (1-5) 61 at Morehead State.
- Evansville (3-1) 66, Miami (1-4) 60 at Evansville.