February 2022 - Page 2 of 2

*Guard Katie Shumate equaled her season-high of 21 points to lead the Flashes. She made 7-of-11 shots. (KSU Athletic Communication Department photo by Gabby Kingston.)*

Kent State has shot better than its Mid-American Conference opponents only three times this season.

The Flashes have won all those three games.

KSU made 45.8% of its field-goal attempts Wednesday as it beat Central Michigan 68-57 at the M.A.C. Center. The Flashes are 3-6 and in ninth place in the MAC; the win moved them a game closer to eighth and the final spot in the MAC Tournament next month. KSU is 11-7 overall.

Central Michigan, which has won either the MAC regular-season championship or the MAC Tournament for the last six years, is 2-9 (4-16 overall) and in last place in the league.

It was the first time Kent State has beaten CMU in 10 years and is coach Todd Starkey’s first over the Chippewas in his six years in Kent. Starkey now has beaten every other MAC team at least once.

Shumate the scorer

Junior guard Katie Shumate, who didn’t score at all in KSU’s 61-55 loss at Northern Illinois last week, made 7-of-11 shots and led the Flashes with 21 points. That equaled her season-high.

“I can’t say enough about how Katie played today,” Starkey said in his postgame press conference. “W really challenged her this week, and she absolutely responded.”

During the week after the NIU loss, Shumate said, “I just had to clear my mind and realize it was about focus.”

“I think it was easy for me and my team to lose focus when things weren’t going great,” she said. “So we got to practice and put our heads down and put in some work.”

Starkey said Shumate had been playing hurt since Christmas and KSU’s time off — the Flashes played only one game in the last 18 days — may have helped.

“She’s been playing on a bum leg,” the coach said. “It caused her some pain and, especially early in the conference play, affected her shot and affected her defensively. Hopefully we can continue to stay ahead of that. When she’s focused and determined, she’s one of the better players in the league.”

Shumate made the MAC all-freshman team and was honorable mention all-MAC her freshman and sophomore years.

The team’s shooting touch

KSU’s 46% shooting was, in MAC play, second only to a 52% performance in an 83-58 win over Eastern Michigan. It came mostly on 2-point shots. The Flashes 31.3% on 3-pointers, while better than they’ve been shooting in the MAC, was still far below the 42% they shot in non-conference play.

“We ran some different actions that were focused on getting the ball inside,” Starkey said. “We’ve been playing well recently when we’ve been playing through (forward Nila Blackford). 30 points in the paint were big for us.”

Blackford had 15 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double in her last four games (she had 11 points and nine rebounds in the fourth game). Blackford has averaged 16.3 points and 11.8 rebounds in that time, which is better than when she led the team in scoring and rebounding last season.

“When Katie and Nila are both working and stuffing the stat sheet like that, we’re really tough team to beat,” Starkey said.

Success on defense

Central’s Michigan’s 57 points were the fourth time the Flashes have held a MAC opponent below 60.

“We talk about that all the time,” Starkey said. “If they communicate and stay connected, we’re a really good defensive team.”

Central Michigan had 21 turnovers, the most by a Division I opponent against Kent State all season. The Flashes scored 25 points off of turnovers, a MAC-season best. CMU point guard Molly Davis, a preseason all-MAC selection, had nine turnovers.

“We did a good job of crowding her and, and forcing her into some tight spaces where she had to kind of fumble the ball,” Starkey said.

The player of 1,000 points

Lindsey Thall was honored before the game for becoming a 1,000-point scorer, something she achieved against Penn State in the Gulf Coast Showcase in November. Thall scored 11 points Wednesday and now has 1,085, which ranks 21st in KSU history.

Running the numbers

The Flashes were outrebounded for the first time this season, 31-30. “We weren’t missing as many shots, so maybe that’s a reason why we didn’t have more rebounds,” Starkey said with a smile.
Kent State had 14 assists on 22 baskets, equaling a high in MAC play. Thall and Clare Kelly had four assists; Blackford had three.
Kelly also had four steals to lead KSU’s total of 12. That’s Kent’s most against a Division I team. Blackford, Thall and freshman Bridget Dunn each had two steals.
KSU blocked four shots, its most in MAC play. Dunn blocked two.
Central Michigan made 41% of its shots but only four of its 16 three-pointers.
Kent State never trailed after early in the second quarter. Central led for only 55 seconds of the game.

Box score

Next: Saturday at Eastern Michigan

The Flashes play the Eagles, whom they beat by 25 points in Kent, for a 2 p.m. game. Eastern lost to second-place Buffalo 69-62 at home on Wednesday and is in 11th place at 2-8 (5-12 overall).

Other MAC scores

Toledo (10-1 MAC, 16-4 overall) 74, Miami (2-7, 6-12) 64 in Toledo.
Western Michigan (6-3, 12-6) 57, Akron (6-4, 9-7) 53 in Akron.
Ball State (6-4, 13-7) 84, Ohio (5-4, 11-7) 74 at Ohio.
Bowling Green (5-4, 10-8) 64, Northern Illinois (5-6, 8-11) at NIU.

MAC standings.

*Junior Clare Kelly has been one of KSU’s first guards off the bench this season. She averages almost 23 minutes a game. (File photo by David Dermer for KSU sports.)*

In every interview since Kent State played a week ago, coach Todd Starkey has proclaimed, “We’re going to have a really good month in February.”

The Flashes have no choice as they prepare to play last-place Central Michigan at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the M.A.C. Center on ESPN3.

The team is tied for ninth place at 2-6 in the Mid-American Conference. If the MAC Tournament started today, the Flashes would be sitting at home in Kent. They’re two games behind the Northern Illinois and Bowling Green, who are tied for the eighth and final spot in the tournament field.

Kent State (10-7 overall) is within striking distance. The Flashes lost five league games in February by fewer than six points. The Flashes had a chance to every one of those games in the last minute, either leading or being within two points. A few more shots fall, and they could be 4-4 or even 6-3.

But the shots haven’t fallen. After being one of the MAC’s best-shooting teams in non-conference play, Kent State has been one of its worst in league play. Before Christmas, the Flashes were making 45% of their shots and 42% of their 3-pointers. Since then, they’re shooting 37% from the field and 28% from behind the 3-point line.

There isn’t any clear explanation. Starkey says the team has never found its rhythm in conference play.

KSU was hit with a COVID-19 outbreak in December and wasn’t completely healthy in its first MAC games. Senior forward Lindsey Thall, the team’s leading scorer and a key on-floor leader, missed four games recovering.
COVID problems on other teams forced the Flashes to play four different different opponents than were originally schedued as the MAC scrambled to rearrange games to keep health teams playing.
When teams started making up games, KSU played four games in seven days, then had nine days off, played a game, then had another week off. But other teams’ schedules have been scrambled, too. Northern Illinois has played seven games in 12 days and has won three of its last four.

Starkey has promised that if the 3-point shots start falling, Kent State will start winning.

The Flashes have started to find scoring closer to the basket. Junior forward Nila Blackford, the team’s best inside threat, had been shooting 9 percentage points below her average of last season, when she was KSU’s leading scorer. Against Northern Illinois last week, she made 10-of-14 shots, scored 25 points, and had 15 rebounds. She is averaging 11.8 rebounds in MAC play, third in the league.

Kent State has had plenty of success in February in Starkey’s six years in Kent. They’re 30-20 in regular-season games after Jan. 31. That counts a 1-7 record in the 2017-18 season, Starkey’s only losing season.

Kent State will play seven of its last 12 games at home, including against Ohio, Buffalo and Northern Illinois — teams that beat the Flashes on the road.

About Central Michigan

The Chippewas have won either the MAC regular-season or MAC Tournament for the last six years. But they lost three of their best players to graduation and have struggled all season.

CMU is currently 2-8 in the MAC and 4-15 on the season. Even after a 70-59 win at Ball State last Wednesday, the Chippewas still are scoring 11.5 points fewer than their league opponents. That’s worst in the MAC by six points.

But the Ball State game shows why CMU is always dangerous. Central won without point guard Molly Davis, a preseason all-MAC selection who is fourth in the conference in scoring at 21.6 points per game. She played and scored 16 in CMU’s 70-60 loss to Akron at home on Saturday.

Central also has 6-1 senior center Jahari Smith, who leads the MAC in rebounding in conference play at 13.1 per game.

Central is giving up 72.5 points a game in MAC play, worst in the league. Kent State is allowing 61.4, third in the conference.

CMU is the only MAC team Starkey has not beaten in his time in Kent. The Chippewas have won 10 games in a row against KSU, going back to 2012.

Following the game

Besides ESPN3, the game is also on the Golden Flashes Radio Network. Statistics during and after the game can be found on the KSU website.

Preview on KSU website, including links to statistics, roster, schedule and more.

MAC standings.

MAC statistics.

Month: February 2022

Flashes and Katie Shumate find their shooting touch at KSU beats Central Michigan 68-57

Flashes host Central Michigan on Wednesday, looking to start February strong after tough start to MAC play