Nila Blackford leads Kent State in scoring (14.6 points per game) and rebounding (9.4 a game). (Photo from KSU website.)
11 months ago, Kent State’s women and Eastern Michigan were supposed to meet in the MAC Tournament semifinals.
The game never happened; it was one of the first 2020 games canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saturday Kent State will play at Eastern in the first game of calendar 2021. The game starts at noon on ESPN+. ESPN+ costs $5.99 a month. It streams most MAC men’s and women’s games.
The Flashes (3-2 overall) have won three in a row and are tied for first place in the MAC with Central Michigan, Buffalo and Bowling Green at 2-0.
Eastern Michigan is 1-1 in the MAC and 4-3 overall.
“Even though we won three straight games, there was room for improvement, and I think our team recognizes that,” coach Todd Starkey told Allen Moff of the Record-Courier this week “We want to continue to expand on some of the good things we were doing.”
Among the good things:
- The Flashes have made 45.7% of their 3-point attempts in the last three games and averaged 10.7 3-pointers per game.
- They’ve outrebounded their opponents by almost 10 a game in that time.
- They’ve had six players score in double figures in a game at least once this season.
Sophomore forward Nila Blackford has had 37 rebounds in her last three games and is second in the MAC in rebounding at 9.4 per game. She also leads Kent State in scoring at 14.6 points per game.
Lindsey Thall averages 11 points a game, Katie Shumate 10.6 and Mariah Modkins 9.8. Thall also leads the MAC in blocked shots at 2.5 per game.
Eastern is led by two transfers. Areanna Combs was a second-team all-MAC selection last season after transferring from Oklahoma State. A 5-10 guard, she has averaged 18.1 points a game so far this season. Ce’Nara Skanes, a 6-foot post transfer from Florida International, leads the MAC in rebounding at 10.0 per game. She grabbed a school-record 23 rebounds against Tarleton State in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
Notes
- Kent State has won six of its last seven games against Eastern but fell 74-69 in Kent last season.
- Audio on the game starts at 11:45 a.m. David Wilson is the announcer.
- Live statistics are available during the game on the EMU website.