We could be in for quite a stretch run in the Mid-American Conference.
Kent State beat Central Michigan 78-67 Wednesday for its fourth-straight victory. After a start of the MAC season that saw KSU go 2-6, the Flashes are 6-6 and in a three-way tie for sixth in the conference.
Only two games separate third-place Ball State (7-4) and ninth-place Northern Illinois (6-7). Akron is in fourth at 7-5 and Bowling Green fifth at 6-5. Kent State and Western Michigan are 6-6, and Ohio is 5-5.
Kent State plays six of its eight final regular-season games against those six teams. The top eight teams make the MAC Tournament in March.
“I’m not really concerned about the standings yet,” coach Todd Starkey said. “There’s a lot of basketball to play. All of our losses are by nine points or less, and they came when we weren’t at our best health-wise.
“So we’ll see how things develop. We just have to stay focused on the next game. That’s what’s got us to this point.”
4 quarters, 4 stars
The Flashes led for 38 minutes of the game, but each quarter had its own star.
Quarter 1: Nila Blackford and KSU’s defense
Blackford had four points, four rebounds and a steal as the Flashes jumped to a 15-7 lead. She and the Flashes held Central Michigan to 3-of-15 shooting and scored nine points off of five CMU turnovers.
The 6-2 forward from Louisville, Kentucky has regained her all-conference form of last season over KSU’s last seven games. She scored steadily against CMU and finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds, which is slightly below her averages for the MAC season. She also had an assist, two steals and a blocked shot, and drew five fouls on Miami players.
8:19 4Q | Kent State 62, CMU 45
Nila Blackford is on a personal 5-0 run and the Flashes have their largest lead of the night. #GoFlashes⚡️ pic.twitter.com/u4NtZfLYDk
— Kent State Women’s Basketball (@KentStWBB) February 10, 2022
Quarter 2: Bridget Dunn scores 11
Dunn, a 6-3 freshman from Carmel, Indiana, scored 11 of her 16 points in the second quarter, making 4-of-5 shots and both her 3-point attempts. She had three steals in the quarter. She finished with 16 point, making 3-of-5 three-pointers and 3-of-4 foul shots. Dunn averages 12.5 points in MAC play and leads the team in 3-point percentage and 3-point baskets made.
“She’s done a really good job,” Starkey said. “With freshmen, you not sure how well they’ll adapt to the college game. She’s playing within what we thought she was capable of doing.”
5:43 2Q | Kent State 24, CMU 13
Bridget Dunn’s 2nd triple of the night forces CMU to call it’s second timeout. #GoFlashes⚡️ pic.twitter.com/EBvu2m5Yjn
— Kent State Women’s Basketball (@KentStWBB) February 10, 2022
Quarter 3: Casey Santoro scored 9 in 11-0 run
Central Michigan had closed KSU’s nine-point halftime lead to 46-43 when Santoro, a sophomore guard from Bellevue, hit two foul shots. Then Katie Shumate scored on a pass from Lindsey Thall. In the last 1:39 of the quarter, Santoro hit a 3-point shot, then, on the next two possessions, blew by the Central defense for two layups. Kent State led 57-43.
“She’s our quickest player,” Starkey said. “She was being guarded by multiple players that were in foul trouble. So we really wanted to attack that and get her going downhill.”
Santoro finished with 11 points and four assists.
Quarter 4: Mariah Modkins caps season-high 15 points
When Kent State’s winning streak starter, Modkins, a senior guard from Solon, had scored 28 points in KSU’s first 17 games. In the winning streak, she has scored another 28. She scored 15 against CMU, her best this season by six points and one off of her career-high. In Wednesday’s fourth quarter, she hit two three-point baskets.
“She’s kind of got a renewed focus, just like everybody else has,” Starkey said. “The big thing for her was finally seeing the ball go through the basket. In the Eastern Michigan game, she went 3-for-4 from 3, and that kind of broke some things loose for her. She’s playing with a lot of confidence.”
Four wins in eight days
The Flashes’ win streak started last Wednesday with a 68-57 victory over Central. Then they beat Eastern Michigan 70-61 and Miami 83-61. Starkey said the packed schedule, caused by schedule changes after COVID-19 postponements, was a challenge.
“You could really tell that mentally and physically, they were really tired,” Starkey said. “They were dragging to do everything tonight. But they found a way to win, and that’s what you have to do on the road.”
Beating Central Michigan — finally
The win was Kent State’s first in Mount Pleasant since 2007. The Flashes’ victory last week was Starkey’s first over CMU in his six years at KSU and Kent’s first win over the Chippewas since 2012. The last time Kent State won two games in a season against Central Michigan was 2000. When the MAC scheduled by division, the teams rarely played twice in a season.
Central is going through its worst season since 2006-07. The Chippewas, who have won either the MAC Tournament or regular-season championship for six-straight years, are 2-11 in the MAC and 4-18 overall. CMU lost three key seniors, including league MVP Micaela Kelly, to graduation and have been hit by injuries and illness throughout the season. The Chipps had only seven players in uniform on Wednesday.
Running the numbers
- Kent State made 29-of-55 shots for 51.8%, its second highest percetnage of the season by just .1 percentage point. The Flashes were 8-of-19 (41%) from 3-point distance. Central shot 39.8% from the field and 45.5% on 3-pointers.
- The Flashes scored 25 points off turnovers, equaling its total of last week’s game against CMU. That’s the most points KSU has scored off turnovers against a Division I team this season. Central committed 17 turnovers, KSU 14.
- Kent State outscored CMU 38-24 in the paint. KSU’s bench players outscored Central’s 28-11.
- Clare Kelly started her first game of the season and scored nine points. She replaced Hannah Young in the lineup. Young, who has been fighting ankle problems, fell to the court as her team was ringing the victory bell Monday. She was on the bench against CMU but didn’t play.
Next: Ball State on Saturday
The Flashes play third-place Ball State (7-4 MAC, 14-7) at 1 p.m. Sunday on the M.A.C. Center. The Cardinals have won five games in a row and were idle Wednesday because of injury and illness at Ohio, their scheduled opponent.
The Bobcats didn’t have seven players available for the game, which is the minimum allowed by the MAC. Ohio ended its 80-70 loss at Northern Illinois Sunday with only four players on the court after leading scorer Cece Hooks went down with an injury with 3:31 to go.
Kent State beat BSU 54-51 on Jan. 9, but Ball State has won five games in a row.
Other MAC scores
- First-place Toledo (11-1 MAC, 17-4 overall) 86, Miami (3-8, 7-13) 63 at Miami.
- Second-place Buffalo (10-3, 16-7) 93, Eastern Michigan (2-10, 5-14) 68 at Buffalo.
- Bowling Green (6-5, 11-9) 81, Northern Illinois (6-7, 9-12) 52 at BG.
- Akron (7-5, 10-8) 86, Western Michigan (6-6, 12-9) 70 at Western.