Kent State women's basketball

KSU breaks loose in 2nd half and whips Eastern Michigan 83-58

By on Saturday, January 15, 2022
Junior forward Nila Blackford had 15 points and 12 rebounds and made 7-of-8 free throws. (Photo by David Dermer for KSU athletics.)

For the first time in 2022, Kent State has played like the team that started the season 8-1.

With good shooting the entire game and great second-half defense, the Flashes overwhelmed Eastern Michigan 83-58 Saturday at the M.A.C. Center.

KSU had gone 1-4 to open the MAC season, never scoring more than 64 points and never making 40% of its shots. Against Eastern Michigan, the Flashes scored its most points against a Division I team this season and shot 51.9% from the field, its highest of the season.

Kent State held EMU to 18 points and 17.8% shooting in the second half while it scored 42 points on 13-of-21 shooting (61.9%).

The Flashes are now 10-5 on the season overall. Their 2-4 MAC record puts them in eighth place in the MAC. Eastern Michigan is 4-7 and 1-3 in the conference.

Besides the shooting and defense, other key points from the game:

  • Four Flashes scored in double figures, led by freshman forward’s Bridget Dunn’s career-high 19. Sophomore guard Casey Santoro had 15 points. Junior forward Nila Blackford also had 15, along with 12 rebounds.
  • Senior forward Lindsey Thall returned to the lineup after missing four games because of COVID-19. She had 12 points.
  • The Flashes led 41-40 at halftime, when coach Todd Starkey told them how weak their defense had been. Eastern Michigan made 2-of-13 shots in the third quarter.

“2-of-13,” coach Todd Starkey read aloud as he looked at the box score. “That will win you a lot of basketball games. I’m really proud of our defense in the second half against a good offensive team.

“It’s nice to see the offense flow come back together again. 10-for-22 from the 3-point line is how we were shooting it earlier in the season. I recognized the team that was on the court again in the second half.”

A shutdown second-half defense

Eastern Michigan had taken a 23-19 first-quarter lead and shot 45% in the first half.

That brought a stern lecture from Starkey at halftime.

“I had no idea how we were winning at halftime,” Starkey said. “It felt like we were down by 10 or 12 the whole first half.”

So the coach told them:

“We’re not playing defense at all. We’re not doing a great job of talking. We’re missing assignments. They’re getting straight-line drives to finishes.

“If you guys start playing on the defensive end, we’re going to be able to score the ball. We just have to make sure we’re getting some stops and playing connected defense.”

KSU’s Katie Shumate blocked Eastern Michigan’s first shot of the third quarter, and EMU missed nine of its next 10 shots.

Kent State, meanwhile, made 8-of-13 shots in the quarter, including 5-of-8 three-pointers.

“Getting stops gave us a lot more enthusiasm on the offensive end,” Thall said, “which is why we were able to pull away.”

Buffalo had averaged 73.3 points a game, fourth in the MAC, going into Saturday and was second in the league in field-goal percentage at 44.6%.

Lindsey Thall is back

Still not in full game shape, Thall played only 16 minutes. But she made 5-of-10 shots and 2-of-5 three-pointers and had three rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

“She gives the rest of her teammates confidence when she’s out there,” Starkey said. “She knows where to be and can tell people where to go when we’re setting up the offensive. She knows how to talk defensively and sees their plays coming early.

“I don’t think the only reason we won is because Lindsay miraculously showed back up on the court. But I think her presence has a lot to do with why we play well when she’s in.”

Thall said it had been “honestly, rough sitting out.”

“But I got to see a different perspective watching the games. I think that helped,” she said.

Thall said she felt “fine” and was “super excited to be out on the floor today.”

A 6-2 senior from Strongsville, Thall had started all 83 games of her career before COVID sidelined her. She is KSU’s leading scorer at 13.0 points per game, though Casey Santoro (12.8-point average) and Katie Shumate (12.5) are right behind her.

Saturday’s scorers

Freshman Bridget Dunn, who started when Thall was sick, posted her fourth straight game scoring in double figures. In the three games before that, she had 15, 13 and nine. She is KSU’s leading scorer in conference games at 13.7 points per game.

Saturday’s 19 points came from making 7-of-10 field-goal attempts, 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and 2-of-2 on the foul line. It was four points higher than her previous high, which she had reached three times this season.

“It’s been a great opportunity to be out there as a freshman,” Dunn said. “I’ve been learning from watching Lindsey — like they say, be like a sponge and absorb as much as you can. With her back now, I think me, Lindsey and Nila together are going to be a great trio.”

Starkey said he was looking forward to the three of them playing together.

‘I think the in-game experience for Bridget has been really good for her and her confidence, and she has a better understanding of what we’re doing on both sides of the ball,” the coach said.

Blackford had arguably her best game of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds. It was her fourth double-double of the season.

She made 4-of-8 field-goal attempts and went 7-of-8 from the foul line, where she had struggled last season and this. The game boosted her free-throw percentage from 47% to 52.5%.

She ranks third in the MAC in rebounding at 9.3 per game (11.7 in league games).

“Nila did a good job of not forcing things, especially in the second half when she was getting double team,” Starkey said. “She did a good job of not turning it over, not panicking, getting the ball back out. 15 points, 12 rebounds — that’s what we come to expect of Nyla, and she did it in a very efficient way today. She really had a great second half defensively as well.”

Casey Santoro had 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting, 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and 4-of-5 on foul shots. She led the Flashes in assists with four.

Clare Kelly just missed double figures with nine points. She led the Flashes with four steals, the most for any Kent State player this season.

Eight KSU players played at least 16 minutes. All of them scored.

Box score

Running the numbers

  • The 25-point win was KSU’s biggest margin of victory since 2017, when the Flashes beat Miami 78-51.
  • Kent State outrebounded EMU 31-30, the 14th time in 15 games this season the Flashes had beaten their opponent on the boards. (The 15th time was a 43-43 tie.)
  • The Flashes outscored Eastern 18-10 off turnovers. The Eagles had 16 turnovers, KSU 15.
  • Eastern had only one assist in the second half and six for the game.
  • Redshirt senior Areanna Combs led EMU in scoring with 13 points, four below her average.

Playing for Pat — and Alice Starkey

The game was part of a “We Back Pat” initiative, named after hall-of-fame coach Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee. Summitt was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease at age 59 while she was still coaching. She died in 2011. A Foundation named after Summitt supports research, resources for patients and caregivers, and education on Alzheimer’s.

Starkey’s mother, Alice, died on Tuesday after suffering from Alzheimer’s for several years.

In his postgame radio interview, Starkey dedicated the game to his mother, “his biggest fan.”

“It’s been tough,” Starkey said, “I’m grateful for the support from the Kent State family, my extended family and friends. You know, you feel like maybe you’re prepared for it to happen — until it happens, and then it just kind of hits you.”

The “Play for Pat” game was scheduled long before his mother’s final illness.

Next: a Monday game in Buffalo

The Flashes will play at 5 p.m. Monday in Buffalo. The game was postponed by COVID from Jan. 8. It will be KSU’s third game in six days. Buffalo has had its last three games postponed by health problems on the team.

The Bulls are in second place in the MAC with a 3-0 record (9-4 overall)

Other MAC scores from Saturday

  • Akron (4-1 MAC, 7-4 overall) 83, Ball State (2-3, 9-6) 76 at Akron.
  • Ohio (2-1, 8-4) 76, Central Michigan (1-5, 3-12) 65 at Central.
  • Toledo (6-0, 12-3) 73, Northern Illinois 52 at Northern.
  • Miami, Bowling Green, Buffalo and Western Michigan were idle because of COVID.

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