Jenna Batsch scored a career-high 25 points and equaled career highs in blocked shots (3) and 3-point baskets (four). (Photo from Kent State Athletics.)
Kent State got a career-high 25 points from Jenna Batsch and good performances from two young post players as it beat Western Michigan 70-57 Wednesday at the M.A.C. Center.
The win leaves the Flashes in third place in the MId-American Conference with a 9-2 record (14-6 overall). First-place Ball State lost its first league game, 76-71 in overtime at Northern Illinois, and fell into a first-place tie with Toledo at 10-1. Toledo beat Central MIchigan 93-68.
Western Michigan is 4-6 in the MAC, tied for sixth in the MAC, and 9-11 overall. The Broncos had won four of their last five games going into its matchup with Kent State.
Batsch played one of her best games with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 4-of-7 three-point shots. The four 3-pointrts equaled her career high, as did her three blocked shots.
“Our last game (a loss to Ball State last week) was a really hard one for me,” Batsch said. “So I wanted to come into this game really aggressive and attacking from the start.”
“She carried us in scoring when we weren’t getting much done,” coach Todd Starkey said. “Obviously her talent has been on showcase this year, and it’s good to see her confidence continue to grow. Everybody on the team knew she had a 25-point game in her.”
Backup post player Tatiana Thomas said watching Batsch achieve was “over the top.”
“I’m glad she’s on my team, and I don’t have to play against her,” she said.
Thomas, a 5-10 sophomore from Bolingbrook, Illinois, played a career-high 24 minutes, scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots.
“Tatiana played a really good defensive game and did some nice things for us offensively,” Starkey said. “It’s a nice luxury to have somebody who can play and literally guard all five positions. Her versatility allows us to make adjustments in games like this.”
Thomas combined with freshman post Janae Tyler to score 18 points and produce 10 rebounds. Both played extended minutes after an ankle injury two weeks ago to starting forward Mikala Morris. Thomas and Tyler’s performance Wednesday was statistically almost identical to what Morris and Tyler were doing before Morris’s injury.
Katie Shumate, Kent’s leading scorer, had just five points but grabbed eight rebounds, had four assists and made four steals.
“She’s not a stat-watcher,” Starkey said. “If she was more selfish or more self-focused, she could have averaged 15 or 20 points in any given season here.” (She’s averaged about 12 in every season and 14 this year.)
“But this is the type of game that she shows who she is” the coach continued. “They’re taking (her scoring chances) away and she has a game like this and does a lot of the little things. That’s a sign of maturity. She’s been here for five years. We have a lot of trust in her to be able to figure out ways to win.”
Shumate and Batsch led a defense that held Western guard Kaitlyn Zarycki, the MAC’s second-leading scorer, to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting. She also committed eight turnovers.
“Our team defense took away her opportunities to score — her driving lanes and good looks at the basket,” Starkey said.
KSU point guard Corynne Hauser scored 13 points and had three 3-point baskets. But she went down with a leg injury in the fourth quarter, lying on the floor in pain before being helped to the bench. Hauser has fought knee problems for most of the last month and had surgery on her knee last summer. Starkey didn’t know yet how serious this injury was.
NEXT: Old Dominion in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge at 1 p.m. Saturday at the M.A.C.C.
In the challenge, each MAC team plays two Sun Belt teams. Kent State beat Louisiana-Lafayette 64-55 on the road in the season opener. Louisiana-Lafayette is currently 9-12.
This Saturday’s games are all home games for the MAC and pit comparable teams against each other. Kent State and Old Dominion, for example, each rank third in their conference in the NET, a ranking system used by the NCAA to help determine tournament eligibility and seedings. KSU currently ranks 111th of 360 dteams in Division I; Old Dominion (16-6) ranks 124th.
A win for either team would likely move them up five to 10 spots, which could make a difference about, for example, a WNIT bid.
The game will match two of the best defensive teams of their conferences. ODU allows just 58 points a game and ranks 27th natioinally in steals per game and 32nd nationally in 3-point percentage defense (27.0%).
Kent State allows 60.5 points a game, second in the MAC. Opponents make 29.0% of their 3-pointers.
Kent State has stronger offensive statistics — 72.3 points per game to ODU’s 62.5 and a 42.2 shooting percentage to Old Dominion’s 36.9%.
Both teams rely on balanced scoring, with neither having a player averaging more than 14 points a game.
The game is on ESPN+.
After Saturday’s game, Kent State has a bye week and plays at Central MIchigan on Saturday, Feb. 17.