A lot of things have changed since Kent State beat Ball State 54-51 back on Jan. 9.
It was the Flashes’ first victory of the Mid-American Conference4 season after four losses. BSU was 1-2 after the loss.
The teams meet again at 1 p.m. Saturday at the M.A.C. Center. Now they’re two of the hottest teams in the MAC. Ball State (7-4 MAC, 14-7 overall) has won five straight games and is third in the conference; Kent State (6-6, 14-7) has won four straight and is tied for sixth. Both are part of a jammed center of the standings that has only two games separating Ball State and ninth-place Northern Illinois.
Kent State’s winning streak has come against four teams below it in the standings. KSU won those games by an average of 13 points.
Flashes beat Central Michigan 78-67 to run winning streak to 4
Ball State’s last three wins have come at second-place Buffalo (72-70), at Ohio (84-74) and at home against fifth-place Bowling Green (91-80). OU is tied with Kent in the standings.
Bowling Green’s leading scorer, junior guard Anna Clephane, went down with a season-ending knee injury against KSU. But freshman guard Ally Becki has made up a lot of the difference since, averaging 20.5 points over her last four games. She is third in the MAC in 3-point percentage at .467. Another freshman, 6-2 Marie Kiefer, leads the Cardinals in rebounding at 6.6 per game and scored 24 points last week against Bowling Green. That was 12 more above here previous high.
Kent State’s streak has come behind much-improved shooting and a surging Nila Blackford, KSU’s 6-2 junior forward. The Flashes, after averaging less than 35% shooting in its first five games, have shot 48.9% in its winning streak.
Blackford, who led KSU in scoring and rebounding last season but struggled in non-conference and early MAC play, has averaged 17.5 points and 9.8 rebounds over the team’s last four games. In league play, she ranks third in rebounding (10.9 per game) and fourth in field-goal percentage (.512).
In MAC play, Kent State has allowed only 61.4 points per game and 38.6 shooting by its opponents. Both rank second in the league.
The Flashes are playing their fifth game in 11 games. Ball State’s Wednesday game against Ohio was postponed when the Bobcats didn’t have the league minimum of seven healthy players. So the Cardinals have had seven days off. Ball State will likely have to make up that game in what would otherwise by a bye day.
The game will be streamed at ESPN3 and the Golden Flashes Radio Network.
The game is Kent’s annual Play4Kay game, which honors hall-of-fame coach Kay Yow, who coached at North Carolina State and died of breast cancer in 2009. Games in her name are played across the country to honor women’s cancer victims and survivors and to raise money for her foundation, which funds support and research.
Kent State fans can donate money to the foundation for every free throw the Flashes make in February. Here’s link to donor page.
Preview from KSU website, including links to statistics, roster, schedule and more.