Kent State’s 87-46 drubbing of Akron Saturday was filled with super statistics, but coach Todd Starkey chose this to highlight in a Tweet:
This graphic means more to our players than most!!! #IYKYK #LetsGoFlashes https://t.co/kJOlnsvkl9
— Todd Starkey (@ToddStarkey33) February 18, 2023
The win guarantees the Flashes a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament next month. A year ago, Kent State missed the tournament on a tiebreaker among four teams that shared sixth place. The top eight teams make the tournament.
Missing the tournament left “a bitter taste,” Starkey said in his postgame press conference.
On Saturday, Kent State did just about everything a fan, player or coach could want:
- Its 41-point margin was Kent State’s biggest over Akron since a 95-47 win in 1998. It was its biggest margin over a Division I team since an 88-36 win against Vermont in 2011.
- It was the most points KSU had scored against a Division I team this season and the second-most allowed by Akron. The Zips had ranked third in the conference in scoring defense.
- Kent State’s .537 shooting percentage was its second-highest of the season.
- The Flashes, who have been outscored in the paint by nine of 14 MAC opponents, beat Akron inside 42-12. Akron is a much taller team and outscored KSU 26-22 in the paint in their first game on Feb. 1.
- In points off turnovers, Kent State outscored the Zips 23-0. KSU committed only seven turnovers, its second-straight game under 10 turnovers. The Flashes committed only four against Buffalo on Wednesday.
- KSU had a season-high (against D1 opposition) 20 assists by eight players.
Kent State remains in fourth place in the MAC with a 9-5 record (17-8 overall). Akron drops to 6-8 in the conference and 15-10 overall. The Zips are tied with Northern Illinois for fifth. NIU beat first-place Ball State 84-77 Saturday in one of the bigger upsets of the MAC season. Ball State, Bowling Green and Toledo are now tied for first at 11-2.
“I’d say it was the most complete game of the conference season, for sure,” Starkey said. “We’ve been kind of looking for this type of game — a defensive effort together with a really good offensive game. And it’s great to get it on a rivalry Saturday.”
Winning with assists
Good passing was the key to Kent State’s offensive explosion against Akron, which primarily plays a zone defense.
“The best way to beat the zone is with ball movement and off-ball movement,” freshman guard Corynne Hauser said. “So we had cutters going and out, moved the ball quickly and got it to the open person.”
“We were just keeping that constant movement in and out of the paint,” said senior guard Katie Shumate. “It was hard for them to adjust and be in the right spots. So we were seeing holes in the middle, then finding our people for their shots.”
KSU’s assists set the tone for the offense.
“When you’re getting assists, you’re really playing with your teammates,” Hauser said. “You’ve got each others’ back. You’re not worried about getting touches. You’re not afraid to move the ball because you know it’s coming right back to you.
Starkey’s analysis:
“When shots are coming from a direct assist from your teammates, it creates a connection and boosts the whole group.”
Assists, the coach pointed out, only come when a team is making baskets — and the Flashes were making everything early in the game.
A sizzling start
Kent State made 12-of-16 shots in the first quarter, including 3-of-3 three-point attempts, as it raced to a 28-10 lead. Shumate was 5-of-6 at halftime, Husdr was 4-of-5 and freshman Tatiana Thomas was 3-of-4.
“When you see a lot of people on the team on the floor knocking down 3s, you just have confidence that the next one going in,” Shumate said.
Shumate’s surge
Shumate finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds — her second double-double in four games. She has stepped up her game after sophomore forward Bridget Dunn was lost for the season with a knee injury against Northern Illinois on Jan. 25.
Since then, Shumate, who is 5-foor-11 with long arms, has averaged 8.7 rebounds a game.
“Coach Sharkey got me focused just going for every rebound — offenses and defensive — and trying my best to get our team the ball back,” Shumate said. “I think it’s all just playing hard.”
Shumate has also averaged 15 points a game over the last six games.
Her recent statistics are “first-team all-conference numbers,” Starkey said.
The view from Akron
Coach Melissa Jackson in her postgame interview:
“If (Kent State) can shoot the ball like that, they can beat anyone. We’ve been really successful in zone, but this is probably the one team that I don’t want to play a lot of zone against because of their shooting. They space the floor and are really different from any other team in our league.
“When you have Thall and Kelly and Santoro shooting NBA 3s, they’re hard to guard. When they’re so hot, you’re closing out hard — and then they’re capable drivers as well.
“Shumate’s a hell of a player and can get to the rim. I thought Thomas came in and gave them some good minutes and we all know how good Hauser is. She’s got my vote for freshman of the year.”
Notes
- Kent State had edged Akron 57-55 in Akron 17 days ago and now leads in the Wagon Wheel Challenge 4-1.5. Schools get a point each for winning in each of 14 sports. If the teams play twice — as in basketball — they get a half point for each win.
- Freshman Tatiana Thomas had career highs in points with eight and blocked shots with three. She also had seven rebounds.
- Graduate student Hannah Young had 12 points and hit 2-of-3 three-pointers. For her career, she has made 42.1% of her 3-point shots. That is second in KSU history to Kate Miller, who made 43.5% in her single season of 2001-02.
- Junior Casey Santoro had 11 points, four assists and two steals.
- Twelve players got in the game for Kent State; 10 scored. No one played fewer than four minutes or more than 28.
Next: Wedneday at home against Ohio
The Flashes play Ohio at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the M.A.C. Center. Ohio is tied for last in the conference with Buffalo and Central Michigan at 4-10. The Bobcats, 6-19 overall, beat Central 83-75 on Saturday. In the first meeting between Kent State and Ohio on Jan. 7, the Flashes won 60-44 in Athens.