The score was overwhelming.
So was the noise.
As 2,000 Kent elementary school students screamed for almost two hours, the Kent State women’s basketball team routed Otterbein 97-36 in a Tuesday morning “Education Day” game. It was the Flashes’ second-straight overwhelming victory against a Division III team, which doesn’t give athletic scholarships. Ten days ago, KSU beat Hiram 105-33. The point difference against Hiram was the largest margin of victory in Kent State history. Tuesday’s margin tied for the third largest.
Kent State scheduled Otterbein and Hiram to balance its first six games against Division I opponents. That schedule, which included a win and two losses against Power Five teams, was ranked 12th in the country.
KSU’s record is now 7-3. Otterbein is 5-4. The game was technically an exhibition for Otterbein; Division III schools are limited to 25 regular-season games.
The story of the game was more about the crowd than about the score. Teachers who accompanied their students could barely hear themselves think. The players sometimes couldn’t hear each other on the court.
And they all had a grand time.
“My ears are still ringing,” graduate student Lindsey Thall said with a smile during the team’s postgame press conference. “It’s really fun. They bring a lot of energy for the game, so it kind of hypes us up.”
Fellow grad student Abby Ogle joined her teammates in signing autographs for the students after the game.
“You feel like a little celebrity,” she said.
The Education Day game is one of the highlights of the KSU season, coach Todd Starkey said.
“It’s so much fun for our players,” he said, “and so much fun for the kids in the community to see and be connected to Kent State.”
Otterbein scored first and led 5-2 two-and-a-half minutes into the game.
But that was it.
The Flashes reeled off 30 straight points over the next 13 minutes.
Every Kent State player scored at least two points and grabbed at least one rebound. All played at least seven minutes; 13 played at least 10 minutes. No starter played more than 18.
It gave the core of the roster a lot of time to support their teammates.
“I like to cheer for everybody,” Thall said. “I love hyping everybody up when they’re making shots. It’s still fun on the bench.”
Starkey said it’s wonderful to see.
“The number one responsibility of any of our players is to be a good teammate,” he said. “it’s neat to see them all support each other. And it’s genuine. They really care about each other, enjoy cheering for each other.”
Though the team scored 97 points, no individual scored more than 13. Freshman Corynne Hauser led the Flashes with that number. Thall, freshman Dionna Gray and Ogle all had 12, and senior Katie Shumate had 10. Junior Casey Santoro and sophomore Jenna Batsch each scored eight.
Grad student Hannah Young had seven rebounds, leading the team for the fourth time this season. Hauser and senior Clare Kelly each had three assists, and Shumate and Gray each had three steals.
The team headed home for Christmas after the game, will return on Dec. 26 and resume practice on Dec. 27. The Flashes will play Coppin State (3-9) in their final non-conference game at 1 p.m. Dec. 31 at the M.A.C. Center.
Running the numbers
- Kent State’s 45.8% shooting on 3-pointers was its highest of the season. So was the Flashes’ 50 rebounds and 24-rebound margin. Its 52.2 overall field-goal percentage was ./6 points behind its season-best against Hiram.
- KSU’s 13 steals and 16 assists were second highest of the season, again behind the Hiram game.
- The Flashes outscored Otterbein 22-8 off turnovers, 50-18 in the paint, 14-4 on second-chance points and 21-7 on fast breaks.
- Ogle’s 6-of-7 field goals, Hauser’s 5-of-7 and Gray’s 5-of-7 were the best of their careers.
- Six different players blocked a shot, eight had an assist and seven had a steal.
Family Christmases
Ogle, Thall and Starkey all said they were most looking forward to seeing family.
Starkey’s four adult children will be visiting him here. Thall has a short trip home to Strongsville.
Ogle has the longest trip of any player on the roster — 800-plus miles to Baldwin City, Kansas.
The temperature there was 11 degrees below zero on Tuesday morning, Ogle said.