Through its 8-1 non-conference schedule, Kent State had been one of the best shooting teams in the Mid-American Conference.
But in its MAC opener Wednesday, all of that shooting was missing as the Flashes fell to Toledo 69-60 at the M.A.C. Center.
Kent State had been third in the country in 3-point shooting, making 42% of its long-range shots. Wednesday the Flashes were 5-of-20 for 25%.
The team had been making 43.5% of all of its shots, fifth in the MAC. Wednesday its shooting percentage was 33.3%.
Toledo’s record is 7-3. Wednesday was the first time this season the Rockets had beaten a team with a winning record.
Key things to know about the game:
- After trailing most of the game, Toledo outscored KSU 26-15 in the fourth quarter.
- KSU’s four top scorers made only 9-of-39 shots.
- Senior guard Hannah Young had her second straight double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
- The Flashes outrebounded their opponent for the 10th time in 10 games.
But KSU’s shooting problems were the story of the game.
“We had good looks from 3 from good shooters, and they just didn’t go down,” coach Todd Starkey said. “But we looked out of rhythm most of the game. A lot of that comes from not playing for three weeks. You can’t just stop playing, and then turn it back on in a conference game.
“It definitely showed on the offensive side. We’re better than scoring 60 points. We’ve been averaging 77.
“Toledo played two games last week. So they were in a better rhythm.”
Kent State missed 10 days of practice to a COVID-19 outbreak that sickened half the team before Christmas. A Dec. 21 game against Florida State was canceled.
Fourth-quarter failure
Kent State led 45-43 going into the fourth quarter and trailed 59-57 with three minutes left.
But over the next minute, Toledo pounded the ball to 6-5 Hannah Noveroske, a junior transfer from Indiana, who scored on three layups. The Flashes never got within six points after that.
Senior forward Lindsey Thall, a two-time all-MAC defender, was on the bench four fouls when Noveroske took over.
“So,” Starkey said, “we had Bridget Dunn, a freshman, trying to guard a Big Ten transfer. They executed, and it hurt us.”
Starkey emphasized that Dunn, who scored 13 points, played a good game.
“She just doesn’t have game experience at this level, with the intensity in conference play,” Starkey said. “Lindsey’s been doing this for four years.”
Toledo made six of its 12 shots in the fourth quarter and hit two 3-pointers. Kent State was 5-of-13 and 0-for-3 from distance.
The Rockets also made 12 of 14 free throws in the last quarter.
Four of the foul shots came on a KSU foul and a technical on Starkey for protesting a call.
“We were trying to get downhill to the basket,” he said. “I thought there was a lot of contact on our shooters — five straight possessions.”
Kent’s scorers weren’t scoring
Katie Shumate, Casey Santoro, Thall and Nila Blackford all had averaged more than 10 points a game before Wednesday. But Shumate went 3-for-13 shooting, Thall 3-for-12 and Santoro 3-for-9.
Nila Blackford, KSU’s leading scorer last season and a preseason all-MAC second team member, went 0-for-5 and played only 13 minutes.
Shumate, Santoro and Young went into the game making more than 50% of their 3-point attempts. Young made 2-of-2, but Shumate, Santoro and Thall combined to go 0-for-8. (Thall had been making 44% of her 3s.)
“Toledo had a really good game plan for us,” Starkey said. “They played really tough physical defense and took us out of our stuff.”
Toledo leads the MAC in scoring defense and field-goal defense.
Young continues to sparkle
Young had 16 points, 14 in the first half, and led KSU with 11 rebounds. It was her second-straight double-double. She had 16 points and 13 points against Clarion Dec. 11. The two games were the first double-doubles of her career.
She made 7-of-10 shots and 2-of-2 three-pointers.
The MAC’s best rebounders
Kent State outrebounded Toledo 43-33 with 19 offensive rebounds. The offensive total is second only to KSU’s 24 against Division III John Carroll. The Flashes have outrebounded every team they’ve played this season and average 10 more rebounds a game than their opponents.
Against Toledo, KSU scored 18 second-chance points off of those offensive rebounds. The Rockets scored 13 after nine offensive rebounds.
Next: A trip to Kalamazoo
COVID permitting, the Flashes play at Western Michigan at 1 p.m. Saturday. Western’s opener at Ball State was postponed “due to the guidelines and safety protocols of the COVID-19 global pandemic.” The announcement from both teams and the MAC didn’t say which team (or both) had COVID problems.
Western was 6-3 in non-conference play with losses to Purdue, USC and Indiana. Of thes teams it beat, only St. Mary’s of the WAC had a winning record (6-5).
Other MAC action
The Western-Ball State game was one of four MAC games postponed by COVID Wednesday. In the only other game played, Buffalo (7-4) outscored Central Michigan (2-8) 22-11 in the fourth quarter on the way to a 72-75 victory.
Comments
I bet Dunn could have covered our most recent transfer from Indiana with no problem. Also is Blackford playing through an injury. It seems her offense has been down all year.
Author
Blackford is healthy as far as I know. She’s had a disappointing season so far, especially on offense. Same struggles she’s had on and off: she can force plays and commit turnovers, get crowded in the paint, struggles finishing close to the basket. Starkey didn’t mention her by name after game but talked about players “having to show up.” If they’re going to compete for the MAC title, she has to approach last season’s form.