Junior forward Jenna Batsch ranks 13th in the MAC in scoring and second for Kent State with an 11.7 per game average. (Photo by Scott Galvin for Kent State Athletics.)
There’s plenty of history between Kent State and Toledo. The teams meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the M.A.C. Center and on ESPN+ in an early-season battle between teams that are undefeated in the Mid-American Conference.
- Toledo swept three games from the Flashes last season, including a 68-58 win in the MAC Tournament semifinals that knocked KSU out of the tournament.
- The Rockets also swept Kent State in 2021-22.
- Before that, Kent State had won six of seven games, four of them on UT’s home floor. The Flashes’ 80-76 overtime win in 2018 in Toledo knocked the Rockets out of the league tournament.
- In coach Todd Starkey’s first season in 2016-17, the Flashes were picked last in the MAC and finished third. But Toledo beat them in the tournament quarterfinals 67-63.
- The two teams met in the tournament finals seven times in 10 years between 1992 and 2001. Toledo won five times, and KSU twice.
This year, Rockets and Kent State each have 4-0 MAC records and are tied with Ball State for first place in the league.
Toledo comes into the game as defending MAC champions and preseason favorites to win again. The Rockets are 11-3 and had the league’s marquee non-conference victory, a 69-46 win over then-No. 25 Michigan in December. The Rockets have won five games in a row.
Kent State (10-4) comes into the game on a six-game winning streak.
“We’ve been on the losing side recently (against Toledo), and I think that’s motivating for our team,” Starkey said. “But at the same time, just because it’s motivating doesn’t mean you’re going to get the win. You have to play better than the other team, and Toledo’s a formidable opponent.”
Toledo has all five starters back from their championship team. They’ve been winning without Quinesha Lockett, last season’s MAC player of the year. She suffered a knee sprain in December, but it’s close to the time expected for her return. Her status for Saturday’s game is unclear.
“We’re preparing as if she’s playing,” Starkey said.
In Lockett’s absence, fifth-year point guard Sophia Ward leads the Rockets with a 14.8 per game average.
The teams dominate MAC statistics, especially on defense. Toledo ranks first in points allowed at 57.3; KSU is second at 58.4. The Flashes rank first in field-goal defense, allowing opponents to make 35.7% of their shots. Toledo is tied for second at 37.4%.
Kent State leads the MAC in scoring at 74.0 points per game. Toledo is third at 67.9.
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What are Kent State’s players thinking? Asked what she was looking forward to in Saturday’s game, junior forward Jenna Batsch said:
“Revenge. It’s our turn.”
MAC standings
Standings from WarrenNolan.com, an analytics site that I use. NET is the statistical measure the NCAA uses to help rank teams and determine seeds for tournaments. It includes things like strength of schedule, scoring margin, points per possession on offense and defense, and the quality of wins and losses, based on the opponent and whether a game was home or away.