Going into Saturday, Kent State was ranked 13th in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25. Toledo was ranked ninth.
Two minutes into the third period, the teams were tied at 38-38.
But that was the end of a close game.
Toledo outscored Kent State 22-6 for the rest of the quarter, and while the Flashes closed the gap somewhat in the fourth period, the Rockets came away with a 77-68 victory.
With the win, Toledo is in a five-way tie for first place in the Mid-American Conference at 3-1. Kent State is 2-2 and is in a three-way tie for sixth. Overall, the Flashes are 10-5 and have lost two games in a row. Toledo overall is 12-3.
Three factors made the difference Saturday:
- Toledo senior guard Quinesha Lockett, a first-team all-MAC player last season, played like a conference MVP. She made 13-of-17 shots, 4-of-7 three-pointers and 6-of-6 foul shots for 36 points — the most any MAC player has scored this season. Thirteen of those points came during the third-quarter run that put the game out of reach.
- Kent State’s tallest players — 6-2 senior Lindsey Thall and 6-3 Bridget Dunn — were in foul trouble most of the game and were never a factor.
- Toledo put the ball in the basket far better than Kent State did. The Rockets made 50.9% of their shots — 13 points better than Kent’s average opponent has done this season — and 50% of their 3-pointers —18 points better than KSU has allowed.
“I’ve seen a lot of film of Locket and played against her in person over the last few years,” coach Todd Starkey said. “I haven’t seen her play to that level. She was just kind of in the zone and, and we had nothing to be able to say about it.”
KSU freshman Corynne Hauser was one of the players who tried to stop Lockett.
“She a tough player,” Hauser said. “I don’t think she had really too many easy looks. She knocked down tough, contested shots.”
Toledo coach Tricia Cullop said the Rockets “really needed” Lockett in this game.
“We all know what she’s capable of doing,” Cullop said. “She could probably do that more often, but she’s got a balanced team around her. But tonight it was great to see her be so aggressive, not only driving to the basket but from the three-point line and in transition. She did a marvelous job.”
Thall picked up her second foul with 15 seconds to go in the first quarter, then Dunn was called for her second foul two minutes into the second period.
Reserves Jenna Batsch and Annie Pavlansky, who usually don’t play more than 10 minutes a game, each hit a 3-point shot and a 2-point basket to earn the Flashes a 32-32 tie at halftime.
But the fouls took a toll.
“It changed our game plan 100%,” Starkey said. “When you don’t have your two best post players available, it changes the way we play offense. It changes some of the things we do defensively.”
Thall and Dunn scored a combined two points and got a combined two rebounds in the first half. Thall picked up her third four two minutes into the second half; Dunn got her third three minutes later.
In the second half, Toledo started its tallest and bulkiest player — 6-2 sophomore Jessica Cook. The Rockets went to her for three baskets, two of which led to 3-point play.
“They came out in the third quarter and said, ‘We’re gonna pound it inside and see if we can get them in foul trouble,'” Starkey said. “That was the right game plan when they had our two best post players in trouble.”
Thall finished with 12 points, six in the fourth quarter, and no rebounds in 12 minutes. Dunn didn’t score and had three rebounds in 17 minutes.
Hauser led Kent State with 18 points after setting a career-high of 23 in Wednesday’s loss at Miami. She made 6-of-10 shots.
“I”m being more aggressive,” Hauser said. “I’m finding pretty good looks in our offense coming off screens. But it’s not just about scoring. If my look’s there, I’ll take it. But if I could get somebody else’s look, too, it goes a long way.”
Hauser has 44 assists on the season, 19 more than anyone else on the roster.
“She’s just playing the way she’s capable of playing,” Starkey said. “We want her to be aggressive like that. I think she passed up a few other shots that she should have taken today, to be honest with you.”
Starkey thought his team played much better than in their 84-76 overtime loss to Miami on Wednesday.
“I think we played with a lot more focus and intensity,” the coach said. “The thing that’s frustrating is that if we play as hard as we did today, we win the game on Wednesday. Then you come into this game, and you’re like, ‘It’s the best team in the league. They’re going to be tough to beat.’ So we could be 3-1 in the league. But now we’re 2-2.”
Running the numbers
- Kent State made 39.3% of its shots. It’s made more than 40% only three times against Division I teams.
- The Flashes made 13-of-16 free throws and have made 45-of-52 over their last three games.
- KSU scored 14 points off of 13 Toledo turnovers. The Rockets scored five off of 12 Kent turnovers.
- Toledo outrebounded the Flashes 35-32.
Next: Home Wednesday against Eastern Michigan
The Flashes host Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the M.A.C. Center. Eastern is 1-3 and lost to Buffalo 78-59 at Buffalo on Saturday.
Other MAC scores
- Bowling Green (3-1 MAC, 14-2 overall) 71, Akron (3-1, 12-3) 66 at Akron. BG outscored the Zips 31-13 in the fourth quarter.
- Ball State (3-1. 13-4) 92, Miami (1-3, 6-11) 61 at Ball State.
- Western Michigan (7-8, 2-2) 71, Central Michigan (1-3, 3-12) 60 at Central.
- Northern Illinois (2-2. 10-5) 78, Ohio (0-4, 2-13) 66 at Northern.