Hannah Young had eight rebounds in 17 minutes as Kent State outrebounded Northern Illinois 42-23. It was the first time NIU had been outrebounded by a MAC team. (File photo by Hayley Steffy of KSU Athletic Communications.)
Kent State went into this weekend’s two-day double header at Northern Illinois on a three-game losing streak.
The Flashes were coming off their worst loss of the MAC season on Wednesday.
They were mentally and physically tired after playing six games in 17 days, following 25 days without a game because of a COVID-19 outbreak on the team.
But they played their best basketball of the season, sweeping the second-place Huskies in Saturday and Sunday games. KSU won Saturday 69-65, and Sunday’s 73-58 victory was KSU’s largest margin of the year.
The victory gives Kent State an 8-4 record in the MAC and a tie for third place. The Flashes are 9-6 overall. The weekend dropped Northern from second place to a tie for fifth with a 9-5 record. Only two games separate second place from eighth in the league, and second-place Central Michigan only trails Bowling Green by a game-and-half.
Kent State made an astounding 9-of-10 three-point shots in the first quarter and led 33-17. The Flashes led by at least 15 points for the rest of the game.
“I think a lot of people counted us out after the way things have been going lately,” coach Todd Starkey said on a postgame radio interview with David Wilson. “This team showed tremendous resiliency against the odds being stacked against us to get back-to-back road wins.”
Four days ago, Kent State had lost by 13 points at 3-14 Western Michigan.
“After a performance like that, you always wonder how they’re going to respond,” Starkey said “They did a phenomenal job and really tried to reclaim our identity as a team. Our toughness really showed.”
“They played fearless and focused,” Starkey said in a later phone interview. “They really responded to our preparation and played the best defense we have all year.”
Northern had the third-highest-scoring average in the MAC. Kent State held them to 58 points, the Huskies’ lowest total of the season and 17 points below their average.
NIU had led the league in 3-point percentage and 39.8% and had been making more than nine 3-point baskets a game. The Flashes held them 10-of-34 (29.4%) over two days. The four 3s NIU made Saturday were its lowest total of the season; the six on Sunday tied for its third lowest. The Huskies 38% overall field-goal percentage Sunday was its lowest of the year against a MAC school.
“I just think (KSU players) were embarrassed by the way they had played and wanted to prove that they were better than that,” Starkey said. “They took some personal accountability, and it has to start there.
“And we as a coaching staff just kind of stayed on them and said, ‘Hey, this is not who you are. You’re better than this.‘”
Starkey especially credited point guard Mariah Modkins. She was the primary defender on NIU’s Cheryl Koker, who came into the weekend averaging 21 points, 48% shooting and 2.5 three-point baskets a game. Koker scored 15 on Saturday and 16 on Sunday. She made 11-of-27 field goal attempts (40.7%) and only one 3-pointer in six attempts.
“The defensive job that Mariah did on Coker really frustrated her,” Starkey said. “She was relentless.”
Modkins also hit two-straight first-quarter 3-point baskets after making two-straight 3s in the fourth quarter on Saturday.
The first quarter barrage
Kent State’s first quarter was one for the ages. The Flashes scored 13 seconds into the game on a pass from Lindsey Thall to Katie Shumate.
Then the Flashes made four-straight 3-point shots, missed one, then made five-straight more to end the quarter. They were 12-of-14 shooting (85.7%) in the quarter and 9-of-10 on 3s. KSU led 33-17 at the end of the quarter. The Huskies never got closer than 15 for the rest of the game.
After the first quarter, Kent made only 3-of-20 from 3-point distance. But the Flashes’ defense kicked on.
“An early lead like that can cause you to take your foot off the gas and give the other team an opportunity to come back,” Starkey said. “But our defense got better in the second quarter. They picked up the intensity.”
Northern scored just 12 points in the second quarter and eight in the third. The Huskies made 2-of-12 shots in the third quarter as KSU pushed its lead to 21 points, its biggest lead of the season.
Big-time rebounding
Northern Illinois and Kent State came into the weekend as the top two rebounding teams in the MAC. No. 1 NIU won the battle of the boards 41-33 on Saturday.
On Sunday, rebounding belonged to the Flashes. KSU had a 42-23 advantage, its second-largest of the season and NIU’s biggest deficit. Northern hadn’t been outrebounded by any MAC team before Sunday.
Kent State had 14 offensive rebounds to NIU’s four. On Saturday, the Huskies had 17 offensive rebounds. The Flashes outscored Northern 14-4 on second-chance points.
“We kind of called them out on that yesterday,” Starkey said. “Nila started the whole thing. Her relentlessness on the glass in the first quarter was phenomenal. A lot of her rebounds led to some of those 3s, and offensive rebound 3s can really demoralize the other team.
“Hannah Young off the bench was big time as well — eight rebounds in 17 minutes.”
Lexi Jackson, KSU’s 6-4 freshman center, had six rebounds off the bench for the second game in a row. Four were offensive rebounds.
The scorers
Clare Kelly led the Flashes with 19 points and made 5-of-8 three-point baskets. She also had two assists and two steals.
“Clare is continuing to come into her own,” Starkey said. “It’s nice to see a young person who puts in a lot of time and effort see stuff start to pay off for her.”
Thall had 14 points and made four 3-pointers. She had five assists, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
“Great balance and an incredible stat sheet for her,” Starkey said, “and a lot of composure, maturity and leadership.”
Blackford had her 10th double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, along with an assist and a steal.
Katie Shumate had 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
Casey Santoro and Modkins each had six points and combined for six assists.
The view from Northern Illinois
Coach Lisa Carlsen, quoted on NIU website:
“It was quite an offensive display from Kent State in the first quarter, to say the least. We put ourselves in a hole really early, and that’s tough to dig out of. When we were able to get stops, we couldn’t get our offense going consistently.”
Home at last
The Flashes took the seven-hour bus ride home last night. They had been gone since Tuesday, when they left for Western Michigan. They went straight from Kalamazoo to DeKalb.
“Back-to-back road wins makes the trip a bit easier,” Starkey said.
The Flashes host Buffalo at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Buffalo is 9-5 (12-7 overall) and tied with Northern Illinois for fifth in the MAC.
The Bulls and most of the MAC were off this weekend, which was designed for makeup games for COVID postponements.
In Sunday’s other game, Eastern Michigan beat Toledo 69-59 in its first game after six COVID postponements.
Notes
- The 33 points in the first quarter were the most Kent State has scored since NCAA women went from halves to quarters in 2015.
- Kent State had 17 assists on 25 baskets, its second-highest total of the season. In Sunday’s first quarter, it had nine assists on its 10 baskets.
- The Flashes had 16 turnovers to NIU’s 11. But KSU outscored the Huskies off turnovers 17-12.
- Kent State’s shooting percentage was 44.9%, five percentage points above its average.
- Every active player on the Kent roster got into the game.
- The back-to-back games on one site apparently were the first in MAC history. They happened because both January games between the teams were postponed because of Kent State’s COVID problems. Northern Illinois won a coin flip to host the two games.