Katie Shumate (14) had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Kent State against No. 9 Notre Dame. It was the second time this season that Shumate had a double-double against a Top 10 team; she had 22 points and 11 rebounds against No. 8 LSU in November. (Photo by David Dermer for Kent State Athletics.)
Call it the blowout that wasn’t.
No. 15 seed Kent State trailed No. 2 seed Notre Dame 49-30 at halftime in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament. At that point, it looked as if Notre Dame could pick the final score.
But the Flashes outscored the Fighting Irish 37-32 in the second half and ended their season with their heads held high. The final score was 81-67.
Kent State finishes its season at 21-11, the same record as last year. KSU also won 21 in 2006, 2005 and 2001. The last time KSU won more games was in 2000. This year’s team was also the first to win a MAC Tournament since 2002.
Notre Dame is 27-6 and will play No. 7 seed Mississippi on Monday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Our goal down the stretch was to let everyone know — win or lose in this game — that Kent State was here and that we compete and we play together,” coach Todd Starkey said in the postgame press conference. “The way we played early, it was looking like it was doing to be a 35- or 40-point blowout. We wanted to have something to say about that.
“Notre Dame is the type of team that can make runs on you real quick — and we didn’t let ’em do it. I think it just speaks to what this group is about. They’re about each other, and they fought. They fought for us as coaches. They fought for each other more than that.”
Shumate the competitor
Redshirt senior guard Katie Shumate, playing the last game of her five-year career, put it simply:
“Everyone knew that we didn’t want to go out by giving up.”
Shumate put up 20 points and 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double and eighth 20-point game of the season.
“Katie is one of the best competitors I’ve ever coached,” Starkey said. “She and I continued to get along for five years because she hates to lose as much as I do. Her teammates all love her, and that’s the most important thing, having the type of relationships that these players have formed this year.”
Tyler the coachable
Freshman Janae Tyler, playing against older players 2 and 5 inches taller than she is, put up a career-high of 18 points against a Division I team. She made 8-of-11 shots.
“The thing about Janae that’s unique is her composure,” Starkey said. “She’s one of the more coachable student-athletes I’ve ever had. She really tries to go out and do what you ask her to do. She wants to get better.”
The Kent State rally
When the Flashes took the momentum in the third quarter, they did simple things: shoot better and play better defense.
“I thought the shots that we got in the first half were good shots,” Starkey said. “They just didn’t go down. So at halftime, the message was to keep shooting good shots. Don’t change what’s gotten us here and keep being who you are.”
On defense, Starkey told the team to be more rigid.
“We’ve gotta get more resilient and tougher, and we’ve gotta talk better in screening action,” the coach said. “Just come out and show people what you’re made of.”
The Notre Dame scorers
Kent State held Hannah Hidalgo, the national’s third-leading scorer, to 14 points (though she had 11 assists and six steals). Junior guard Sonia Citron led the Irish with a career-high 29 points.
Lessons
“I think the biggest thing we learned is that it was possible, that you’re capable,” Starkey said. “We have a lot of good underclassmen coming back, and they’re capable of this. You get a taste of this, you want more of it.”
Memories
“They’ve had the best time this past week and a half,” Sstrkey said, “just enjoying the tournament, winning a championship, confetti falling on their heads. Then coming to Notre Dame — all the hype around it. They’ll look back and have a lot of incredible memories.”
Going out with pride
“I’m not upset at all about the way we went out,” Shumate said. “We won our MAC championship, and I think especially playing here, it was really fun. It was a great environment.
“And, you know, every time I get to play with these girls, it was great. So it’s a good way to go out.”