To coach Todd Starkey, there’s a simple reason for Kent State’s 66-57 loss to Bowling Green Saturday:
“I don’t think it’s a complicated storyline,” he said. “In my coaching career in 25 years, I’ve never seen more of a lid on a rim. We missed shot after shot after shot. We missed 3s, we missed layups at the basket. And then when we got to the free throw line, we missed there as well.”
Kent State didn’t make a basket for the first six minutes of the game. The Flashes committed seven turnovers and missed their first seven shots. It was 11-1 after six minuytes and 24-10 after the first quarter.
KSU made just 31% of its shots and 25% of its 3-point attempts for the first three quarters.
“It wasn’t because they were going on big scoring runs,” Starkey. “They were scoring periodically, they hit a couple of big shots. But we had opportunities to answer. We didn’t make shots.”
Kent Stete missed 8-of-18 free throws for the game; the Flashes had missed just 9-of-56 free throws in its previous four games combined. On Wednesday, Kent State had made 52% of its shots and 49% of its 3-pointers against Eastern Michigan.
Bowling Green is 5-1 in the Mid-American Conference (16-2 overall) and is tied for first place with Ball State (15-4 overall). BG has won all nine of its home games.
Kent State is 3-3 in the MAC (11-6 overall) and tied with Buffalo for sixth place. Toledo, Akron and Western Michigan are tied for third at 4-2.
Starkey acknowledged that BG played good defense.
“They sped us up on a number of shots, but when we got good looks, we didn’t knock them down,” the coach said. “There was a time in the third quarter where we had to have missed six or seven almost uncontested layups. It was kind of comical. At that point, you just kind of throw your hands up and say, ‘What are you gonna do?'”
Kent State’s own defense played well. BG’s 66 points were the second-fewest it has scored this season (the fewest was 61 against No. 6 Indiana). 66 was also 17 points below its league-leading average. Kent State’s 57 points were the third-fewest scored by a Bowling Green opponent.
Freshman Tatiana Thomas’s best game
The Flashes got a defensive boost from Tatiana Thomas, a 5-10 freshman from Bolingbrook, Illinois. Playing in just her fifth game of the season, Thomas took three offensive charges, scored four points and grabbed five rebounds (second high for KSU). Thomas’s 11 minutes of playing time were her most against a Division I team.
“We got a really nice spark from Tatiana,” Starkey said. “She’s a talented player and still trying to find her way. So it was really nice to see her come off the bench and do some nice things, especially defensively, for us.”
Thomas got some of her playing time because starting guards Katie Shumate and Hannah Young both got into foul trouble in the first half. Young and Shumate are KSU’s second- and third-ranking rebounders. Thomas outrebounded them both.
Beating the turnover queens
Bowling Green leads Division I with a plus-9.9 turnover margin. Saturday the Falcons committed 20 while KSU into 19. It was the first time this season BG had committed more turnovers than its opponents.
Kent State had seven turnovers in the first six minutes and 10 in the first quarter, but committed only nine from the second quarter on. KSU had two turnovers in the second quarter and one in the third.
“We really wanted to limit live ball turnovers that led to baskets, which is one of their staples,” Starkey said. “We did a much better job of taking care of the ball after the first quarter.”
All-time, Bowling Green is 31-13 against Kent State at home and 60-37 overall.
“It’s a tough place to win.” Starkey said. “If you win at Bowling Green, you’re stealing one. And we couldn’t steal one today because we didn’t shoot the ball well.”
Running the numbers
- Lindsey Thall led Kent State with 15 points, though she struggled with fouls and played only 25 minutes. Corynne Hauser had 13 points and Clare Kelly 10.
- Bowling Green had two players with double-doubles: forward Jocelyn Tate with 14 points and 11 rebounds and guard Elissa Brett with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
- BG outrebounded Kent 41-34. Sophomore forward Bridget Dunn led KSU with seven. She also blocked three shots, tying a career-high.
- The Falcons made 43.4% of their shots, about three points below their average and their lowest percentage at home this season. Their 3-point percentage was 33.3, also 3 points below average.
Next: At Northern Illinois on Wednesday
Kent State makes its longest conference road trip (430 miles) to play the Huskies (2-4 MAC, 10-7 overall). The game is at 7 p.m. Kent time, 6 p.m. in DeKalb. NIU lost to Eastern Michigan (2-4, 10-7) 66-61 in overtime at Eastern on Saturday. Wednesday’s game will be on ESPN+ or ESPN3, but that hasn’t been posted yet.
Other MAC scores
- Toledo (4-2 MAC, 13-4 overall) 76, Akron (4-2, 13-4) 63 at Toledo.
- Ball State (5-1, 15-4) 71, Central Michigan (1-5, 3-14) 62 at Ball State.
- Western Michigan (4-2, 9-8) 68, Buffalo (3-3, 8-7) 56 at Buffalo.
- Ohio (1-5, 3-14) 84, Miami (2-4, 7-12) 73 in overtime at Miami.