For Kent State, the big question after an 0-2 start in the Mid-American Conference is simple:
Where has all the shooting gone?
For the second-straight game, the Flashes shot far below their season average and fell on the road to Western Michigan 55-51.
In their 8-1 non-conference season, Kent State made 43.5% of its shots and 42% of its 3-point attempts. The 3-point average was third in the country.
But in its two MAC games, the Flashes have shot just 29.2% from the field and 27.6% on 3-pointers. KSU scored 60 points in its Wednesday loss to Toledo and 51 against Western Michigan. A week ago, they were averaging 77.8 points a game, second on the conference.
Against Western, the Flashes made 16-of-55 shots and 8-of-27 three-pointers.
Key things to know:
- Kent State shot more than 10 percentage points below its average in field goals and on 3-pointers while scoring its fewest points of the season.
- Western Michigan scored the first nine points of the game and led 13-2, but KSU came back to lead 51-50 with 16 seconds left. A 3-point basket by the Broncos won the game.
- Western outscored Kent in the paint 34-14. The Flashes missed 11-of-18 layups.
“We’ve got to put the ball in the basket,” coach Todd Starkey said. “We’re just missing good looks. We have to be better at finishing around the basket. We’ve got to be better at knocking down shots. We practice these things every day. I don’t have any magical solution.”
A very slow start
Kent State missed its first three shots of the game and turned the ball over three times in the first 1:49. Western made four of its first five shots.
After a timeout and some stern words from Starkey, the Flashes closed the margin to 15-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The teams played evenly — 41-40 KSU — for the rest of the game. After Kent tied the game 16-16, neither team led by more than four points.
In the fourth quarter, the Flashes took a 49-48 lead on a four-point play by Kelly, then made it 51-50 on a pass from Katie Shumate to Nila Blackford for a basket with 1:16 to go. After both teams missed shots and turned the ball over, Western’s Abby Voss hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds to go to give the Broncos the lead. The Flashes missed a 3-pointer on their next possession, and WMU clinched the game with free throws.
Clare Kelly’s best game of the season
Kelly, who started 13 games last season, had averaged only two points a game this year off the bench. On Saturday, she led the Flashes ith 17 points, making 6-of-12 field-goal attempts and 4-of-9 three-pointers. She played a season-high 34 minutes.
“She was just doing what she’s capable of doing,” Starkey said. “She played well last game as well, especially defensively. She’s been putting a lot more effort and energy into it, playing through mistakes. She just played well. We didn’t have a whole lot of people really join her as far as playing well.”
Kent’s leading scorers, Shumate and Casey Santoro, went a combined 3-for-23 shooting. Hannah Young, who had posted double-doubles in KSU’s previous two games, scored two points and had one rebound. Shumate did have four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Santoro had nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. An 83% foul shooter going into the game, she made only 3-of-8 as KSU went 11-for-19 from the line.
Blackford had 10 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.
“She had a lot of rebounds, but we need her to score more,” Starkey said.
Blackford led KSU in scoring last season at 15.5 point per game, made the all-MAC second team and was a second-team preseason pick this year. She is averaging five points fewer ths year.
Blackford had five offensive rebounds. Kent State had 11 offensive rebounds total but scored only eight points from them.
Starkey said the team needed to do better converting rebounds into points.
“We’ve got to get more offensive rebounds, flip backs, easy baskets,” the coach said. “We’re struggling to score easy baskets right now.”
Kent State struggled inside, making only 7-of-18 layups. Western outscored the Flashes in the paint 34-14.
KSU outrebounded the Broncos 40-25. The Flashes have beaten every team they’ve played this season on the boards.
Lindsey Thall misses her first game in four years
Thall, KSU’s third-leading scorer and rebounder, had started all 83 games in her career. But she missed Saturday’s game “for medical reasons,” Starkey said.
Western Michigan was missing one of its best players, too. Sophomore Taylor Williams was out with COVID-19. She was one of the MAC’s best freshmen last season and has averaged 13.4 points and 9.0 rebounds this season.
Freshman Bridget Dunn started in Thall’s place. She scored nine points and had four rebounds.
Next: Miami at home on Wednesday
Kent State is now 0-2 in the MAC and 8-3 on the season. The Flashes will play Miami (0-1 MAC, 4-6 overall) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the M.A.C. Center. Miami lost to first-place Buffalo (2-0, 8-4) 88-83 at home Saturday. Buffalo ran out to a 29-12 first-quarter lead, but Miami outscored the Bulls the rest of the way.
Other MAC scores
- Central Michigan (1-1 MAC, 3-8) 72, Northern Illinois (0-1, 3-6) 68 at Central.
- Bowling Green (1-0, 6-4) 82, Ball State (0-1, 7-4) 58 at BG.
- Toledo (2-0, 8-3) 64, Akron (0-1, 3-4) 58 at Toledo.