Kent State comes home to the M.A.C. Center to play Eastern Michigan at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Flashes are 1-4 in the Mid-American Conference and 9-5 overall. All five of their league games have been decided by fewer than 10 points. KSU lost at Ohio 70-64 on Wednesday after leading going into the fourth quarter.

Eastern Michigan is 1-2 in the conference and 4-6 overall. The Eagles have had three MAC games postponed by COVID-19.

The game will be streamed on ESPN3 and on the Golden Flashes Radio Network. Live statistics are available on the KSU website.

EMU’s Areanna Combs, a 5-10 redshirt senior wing, ranks in the top 15 in the MAC in six categories: scoring (10th at 17.2), shooting percentage (12th at 41.1%), foul shooting (11th at 78.5%), assists (16th at 3.9) and steals (fourth at 2.7).

Eastern’s Ce’Nara Skanes, a 6-foot redshirt sophomore, ranks first in the MAC in shooting percentage (54.3%) and seventh in rebounding (8.5 per game). Daniel Rainey, a 5-10 senior guard, is fourth in the MAC in 3-point baskets per game (3.2) and fifth in 3-point shooting percentage (45.1%).

Kent State’s top scorers are 5-11 junior guard Katie Shumate, who averages 13.0 points a game, and 5-4 sophomore guard Casey Santoro, who averages 12.8). Senior forward Lindsey Thall averages 13.1, but she has missed four straight games as she recovers from COVID. It’s unclear whether she’ll be able to play Saturday.

The game is a “We Back Pat” contest in honor of legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summit, whose career and life were cut short by Alzheimer’s disease. It’s of special meaning to the Flashes and coach Todd Starkey, whose mother died this week after suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Wednesday is another game with an unexpected opponent for the Kent State women.

The Flashes were scheduled to host Bowling Green at the M.A.C. Center. But COVID-19 on the BG roster postponed that game, the third contest in a row KSU has played a team not originally scheduled.

KSU will travel to Ohio University to play the Bobcats, who were scheduled to play Buffalo, which has its own COVID outbreak. Kent State and Ohio were originally scheduled to play Jan. 19, so the Flashes will have a different, yet-to-be-determined opponent, then.

The game starts at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN3 and on the Kent State Radio Network. Live statistics are available on the OU website.

The Bobcats were league coaches’ preseason pick to win the MAC. Their first three league games were postponed because of COVID. Ohio lost its first MAC game on Saturday to Northern Illinois 71-68.

Ohio is 6-3 overall and 0-1 in the MAC. Northern Illinois is 4-7 and 1-2.

Kent State is 9-4 and 1-3. The Flashes lost their first three MAC games by close margins, then won at Ball State 54-51 on Saturday. All that came after an 8-1 non-conference season that saw the Flashes ranked as high as 12th in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll.

But since then, the Flashes’ offensive has pretty much vanished. KSU averaged 77.8 points a game in non-conference play. In the MAC, the Flashes 56.5 points and made just 32.9% of their shots.

KSU’s defense has kept it competitive. The Flashes have allowed on 59.3 points a game, third best in the conference and limited opponents to 38.1% shooting, also third in the league. They rank first in the MAC in 3-point defense, where opponents have made just 26.8% of their shots.

But KSU’s own 3-point percentage, which was third-best in Division I at 42% going into conference play, is 27.2% in league games. That’s last in the conference.

KSU forward Nila Blackford has 37 rebounds in her last three games and ranks third in the MAC in rebounding. But her scoring and shooting are down substantially from last year, when she led KSU with 15.6 points per game.

Ohio is led by last year’s MAC player of the year, Cece Hooks, a 5-8 fifth-year guard. Hooks is second in the MAC in scoring (21.6 points per game), fourth in shooting percentage (49.7), first in steals (3.6) and ninth in rebounding (7.7). She is 37 points away from becoming the top scorer in Ohio women’s basketball history record. She has 2,412.

But critical to Wednesday’s game will be the status of redshirt junior Erica Johnson, a 5-11 guard who, like Hooks, was a preseason all-MAC selection. Johnson missed OU’s game with Northern Illinois as she recovered from COVID. She is fourth in the MAC in scoring at 20.3 points a game and leads the league in assists at 5.8 per game.

Kent State is also hoping for a recovery from COVID by senior forward Lindsey Thall, who has missed KSU’s last three games. Thall is second on the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game and second in rebounding at 7.0. Before missing this this month, she had started all 83 games of her career.

The Flashes take the court at Ball State at 1 p.m. in another game that wasn’t supposed to be played for a few weeks.

Kent State originally was supposed to play at Buffalo on Saturday. But COVID-19 problems in Buffalo postponed both Saturday’s game and the Bulls’ Wednesday game at Bowling Green.

Ball State was supposed to play host Miami, which had its own COVID problems.

KSU and Ball State were originally supposed to play later this month. But since they both suddenly had open dates, the MAC decided they should play. The same thing happened when KSU and Akron found themselves without an opponent on Wednesday. The Zips beat KSU 62-61.

The Cardinals are 8-4 and 1-1 in the Mid-American Conference. Kent State is also 8-4 but has lost its first three MAC games.

Ball State hasn’t been a friendly place for KIent State to play. The Flashes have lost 13 straight games, dating back to 1997. (BSU has lost almost as many in Kent.)

Guard Anna Clephane leads the Cardinals with a 16.8 average. Forward Thelma Dis Agustsdottir and guard Sydney Freeman both average 10.8.

KSU’s top scorer is guard Casey Santoro, who averages 13.8 points per game after a career-high 21 points against Akron. Forward Lindsey Thall averages 13.1 points per game, but she’s missed two games in a row because of COVID and may well miss Sunday’s contest.

As of Saturday night, there was no indication that the game was going to be streamed on video. You can follow on the Kent State Radio Network.

COVID-19 has started to scramble the Mid-American Conference schedule.

Kent State, 0-2 in the conference after a disappointing first week of MAC play, was supposed to play Miami at the M.A.C. Center Wednesday.

Now KSU will play Akron at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the M.A.C.C. The Zips were originally supposed to play Ohio, but the Bobcats have had their third straight game postponed.

Kent State and Akron were originally supposed to play on Jan. 22. For now, that date is open for both teams. A MAC announcement said it will try to reschedule the the KSU-Miami game.

Last season Kent State had at least seven conference games postponed or rescheduled.

Kent State is 8-3 overall this season. Akron is 2-4 and 0-1 in league play. Its wins have come against Robert Morris (5-6) and Detroit Mercy (0-11). The Zips lost its MAC opener Saturday to Toledo 64-58. Toledo had won at Kent State Wednesday 69-60.

Like Kent State, Akron returned most of its players from last season. Junior forward Jordyn Dawson led the Zipsin scoring last season and does again, averaging 18.0 points and 6.7 rebounds a game.

Akron had its final two non-conference games of the season canceled. KSU’s Dec. 21 game against Florida State also was canceled. All of the postponements and cancelations have been because of COVID-19 protocols. Second-leading scorer is 6-2 freshman Reagan Bass, who averages 8.3.

Akron averages about 63 points a game on offense, which ranks 11th in the MAC, and 63 on defense, which ranks fourth. The Zips are 11th in rebounding margin at -4.4.

Kent State leads the league in rebounding with a +10.3 average. The Flashes have averaged only 55.5 points in its two MAC games after averaging 77.8 in an 8-1 non-conference season.

Kent State, 0-1 in the Mid-American Conference after an opening loss at home to Toledo, takes to the road to play Western Michigan Saturday afternoon.

The game starts at 1 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN3. The Kent State Radio Network streams audio, starting at about 12:45 p.m. Live statistics during and after the game can be found on the WMU website.

Western Michigan’s scheduled conference opener at Ball State Wednesday was postponed because of COVID protocols. It wasn’t clear which team (or both) had coronavirus problems. Three other MAC games were postponed Wednesday.

As of Thursday night, one MAC game scheduled — Ohio’s Sunday afternoon game at Miami — for this weekend had been postponed. It is the second postponement for both teams.

Western Michigan went 6-3 in non-conference games, its best start in five years. The Broncos beat St. Mary’s of the WAC (6-5) 76-67 on the road, along with three other teams with losing records and two non-Division I teams. They lost by eight points at Purdue, which is currently 9-4, and 10 points at Indiana (10-3).

WMU was picked to finish 10th in the Mid-American Conference, the same spot it placed last season.

The Broncos start four sophomores, led by 5-10 guard Lauren Ross and 6-2 forward Taylor Williams. Ross is averaging 20.6 points a game, third in the MAC. She played in only four games last season before being injured, averaging 9 points. Williams made the MAC’s all-freshman team and was honorable mention all-MAC last season. This year she’s averaging 13.4 points and 9.0 rebounds, similar to the numbers she put up last season.

All about the MAC

Kent State is 8-2 after its 69-60 loss to Toledo. That’s still the best overall record in the conference. Here’s a quick look at the league, listed by overall record.

KENT STATE (8-2, 0-1 MAC).

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: fourth.
• NET ranking: 105 of 356 teams.
• Schedule strength: 57.
• Best wins: 75-69 over UCLA, 81-74 over Penn State. Best loss: 72-64 vs. Massachusetts (12-2).
• Key statistics: 40.6 three-point shooting percentage, fifth in Division I and first in MAC. +10.8 rebounding margin, 17th in Division I and first in MAC.
• Key players: Guard Casey Santoro (13.8 points per game, 52.9% on 3-pointers), forward Lindsey Thall (13.1 points, 7.0 rebounds).

TOLEDO (7-3, 1-0).

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: eighth.
• NET ranking: 73.
• Schedule strength: 232.
• Best wins: 69-60 at Kent State (8-2). 79-58 over Idaho State (3-6). Best loss: 69-60 at Dayton (8-3).
• Key statistics: Allows 58.6 points per game, best in MAC. Opponents’ field-goal percentage: 35.6, best in MAC.
• Key players: Guard Quinesha Lockett (17.8 points, sixth in MAC, 2.0 steals), guard Sophia Wiard (4.2 assists).

BALL STATE (7-3, 0-0)

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: ninth.
• NET ranking: 115.
• Schedule strength: 223.
• Best win: 73-67 over IUPUI (5-2). Best losses: 71-67 at Texas Tech (7-4), 64-54 vs. Pittsburgh (9-4).
• Key statistics: 17.5 assists per game, first in MAC. Turnover margin: +5.8, second in MAC.
• Key players: Forward Anna Slephane (17.2 points, eighth in MAC), guard Sydney Freeman (4.7 assists, third in MAC).

BUFFALO (7-4, 1-0)

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: second.
• NET ranking: 59.
• Schedule strength: 40.
• Best wins: 69-55 over Rhode Island (8-3), 88-79 over Syracuse (8-5). Beat Central Michigan 92-75 in MAC opener.
• Key statistics: 77.1 points per game, first in MAC. +4.8 turnover margin, fourth in MAC.
• Key players: Guard Dyaisha Fair (21.7 points, first in MAC), forward Summer Hemphill (15.6 points, 8.5 rebounds).

OHIO (6-3, 0-0)

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: first.
• NET ranking: 95.
• Schedule strength: 125.
• Best wins: 73-62 over Cincinnati (7-5), 98-89 over Richmond (9-4). Best loss: 66-63 to Liberty (9-1).
• Key statistics: 81.6 points per game, first in MAC. +6.6 turnover margin, first in MAC.
• Key players: Guard Cece Hooks, last year’s MAC player of the year (21.3 points, second in MAC, 7.6 rebounds, seventh in MAC, 3.4 steals, first in MAC), wing Erica Johnson (20.3 points, fourth in MAC, 2.6 steals).

WESTERN MICHIGAN (6-3, 0-0)

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: 10th.
• NET ranking: 156.
• Schedule strength: 178.
• Best wins: 76-67 at St. Mary’s (6-5), 68-67 at Indiana State (5-6). Best losses: 70-62 at Purdue (9-4), 67-57 at No. 8 Indiana (10-2).
• Key statistics: Allows 60.3 points per game, second in MAC. Turnover margin of +5.2 is third in MAC.
• Key players: Guard Lauren Ross (20.6 points). Forwrd Taylor Williams (13.4 points, 9.0 rebounds).

BOWLING GREEN (5-4, 0-0)

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: second.
• NET ranking: 139.
• Schedule strength: 183.
• Best wins: 72-60 over Oakland (5-7), 67-52 over Tennessee-Martin (4-8). Best loss: 76-72 over Liberty (9-1).
• Key statistics: 72.2 points per game, fifth in MAC. 46.6% on field goals, first in MAC.
• Key players: Guard Morgan Sharps (50% 3-point shooting), guard Nyla Hampton (3.4 steals, tied for first in MAC). BG guard Lexi Fleming, last season’s MAC freshman of the year, was injured in preseason practice and is out for the year.

AKRON (3-3, 0-0)

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: 12th.
• NET ranking: 267.
• Schedule strength: 192.
• Best win: 60-50 at Robert Morris (4-6). Best loss: 57-55 at Youngstown State (9-1).
• Key statistics: Allows 62.0 points per game, fourth in MAC. Scores 63.3 points, 11th in MAC.
• Key player: Wing Jordyn Dawson (15.6 points, 3.0 steals).
• Four games canceled or postponed because of COVID.

MIAMI (4-5, 0-0)

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: 11th.
• NET ranking: 168.
• Schedule strength: 187.
• Best wins: 77-73 at Xavier (6-6), 81-73 over Evansville (5-4). Best loss: 82-76 at Purdue.
• Key statistics: First in 3-point defense in MAC at 25.8%. Last in field-goal defense at 43.6%.
• Key players: Guard Payton Scott (19.3 points, 6.7 rebounds), forward Jada Duckett (6.7 rebounds).

EASTERN MICHIGAN (3-4, 0-0)

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: fifth.
• NET ranking: 263.
• Schedule strength: 195.
• Best wins: 66-62 over Binghamton (2-6). Best loss: 70-67 vs. Youngstown State (9-1).
• Key statistics: Third in scoring at 76 point per game, second in field-goal percentage at 45.1%.
• Key players: Wing Areanna Combs (17.1 points), center Ce’Naara Skanes (9.4 rebounds, second in MAC, 54.7 field-goal percentage, first in MAC).
• Three games canceled or postponed.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS (3-5, 0-0)

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: seventh.
• NET ranking: 209.
• Schedule strength: 196.
• Best win: 69-50 over MIlwaukee (4-8). Best loss: 92-87 in overtime vs. Western Illinois (9-2).
• Key statistics: 10th in scoring at 69.8 points per game. 12 in points allowed at 77.1.
• Key players: Guard Shelby Koker (17.8 points, 96.6 free-throw percentage), forward A’Jah Davis 10.4 rebounds, first in MAC)
• Two games canceled or postponed.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (2-8, 0-1)

• MAC coaches’ preseason prediction: sixth.
• NET ranking: 284.
• Schedule strength: 113.
• Best win: 56-50 over Marist (3-7). Best losses: 71-67 at Green Bay (6-4), 59-54 at Cincinnati (7-5).
• Key statistics:
• Key players: Guard Molly Davis (17.1 points, 4.8 assists, second in MAC), forward Jahari Smith (9.4 rebounds, third in MAC).
• Central has won four of the last five regular season MAC titles but lost three key seniors and 50% of its scoring to graduation. Among the losses was 2020 player of the year Mikaela Kelly.

Link to MAC statistics

The NET is the NCAA’s ranking system for teams. It combines a team’s record, its strength of schedule, its overall offensive and defense strength. A good road record and victories over good teams are rewarded. It’s among the criteria used to determine seedings for the NCAA tournaments and has replaced the once-popular RPI rankings.

Schedule strength is reported by WarrenNolan.com, a ranking service.

The women host Division II Clarion Saturday with the likelihood of equaling the second-best start of a season in school history.

A win would make them 8-1, the same as teams in 1978-79 and 1993-94. KSU’s best start was 11-1 in 2008-09.

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Win No. 7: How Flashes held on to beat Duquesne 71-66

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The Clarion game starts at 1 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center. Tickets are $10 for chairback general admission and $5 for bleacher seats. Students get in free with their I.D. The game will be streamed on ESPN3.

Clarion is 2-5. Both it and KSU played at St. Bonaventure earlier this season. Clarion lost 81-49 and Kent State won 64-53. When Clarion and KSU met in 2018, the Flashes won 92-38, the fourth-largest margin of victory in school history.

The game pits KSU sophomore point guard Casey Santoro against her sister, Cory, who is a freshman guard for Clarion. Cory has started all seven of Clarion’s games and averages 10 points. Casey and Cory played together most of their lives, including three years at Bellevue High School. There they won three straight league champions together (and two more in the years they weren’t both on the team).

Clarion’s top scorer is 5-9 freshman guard Sierra Bermudez, who averages 18.6 points a game.

Kent State’s Santoro, Lindsey Thall and Katie Shumate have traded off leading the team in scoring through eight games. Shumate currently averages 14.8 points a game, Thall 14.6 and Santoro 14.0. All are shooting better than 44% from 3-point distance. The Flashes as a team are shooting 41.5% on 3s, which ranks second in the country.

Kent State’s best starts

Good starts don’t necessarily predict great seasons.

• The 2008-09 team (11-1 start) finished 19-10 and tied for second in the MAC East at 8-8. They were 8-9 after the outstanding beginning.
• The 1978-79 team (8-1), playing before the MAC sponsored women’s basketball, lost three games in a row after its fast start. Those Flashes went on finish 23-8 and at the end of the season finished third in an women’s basketball tournament among Ohio universities and colleges.
• The 1993-94 team (8-1) finished 20-9 overall and fourth in the MAC at 10-8.

The best teams in KSU history?

• The 1995-96 team went 24-7 after a 3-3 start, losing to Texas Tech, Nebraska and LSU. It made the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing to Penn State. Those Flashes won the MAC regular-season conference championship at 16-2 but lost to Toledo in the MAC tournament finals. The team got an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where it beat Texas A&M in the first round. Amy Sherry, Carrie Templin and Billie Jean Smith-Goldman led that team.
• The 1997-98 team started 3-4 but finished 23-7, swept the MAC regular season at 18-0 and finished 23-7. It won the MAC tournament, then lost 79-76 at Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA. Julie Studer, Dawn Zerman and Templin were that team’s top players.
• After a 3-4 start, the 1999-2000 team finished 25-6, the best record in school history. Zerman and Studer led KSU to a MAC regular season championship at 15-1 and the league tournament title. The Flashes lost to Arizona in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

I’ve written before that the 2010-11 team started 11-1. I was wrong. That record belonged the 2008-09 team. The 2010-11 team started 6-0, the longest undefeated beginning in school history. It then lost two in a row, finished 20-10 and second in the MAC East at 11-5.

Question without an answer: Which is better — a 6-0 start or an 11-1 start?

Kent State fans get a chance on Wednesday to see a women’s team that is off to one of its starts ever.

The Flashes host Duquesne (4-5) at 7 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center in their first home game in three weeks. General admission tickets are $10 for chairback seats and $5 for the bleachers. The game is also on ESPN+.

Since they beat John Carroll 101-49 at home on Nov. 18, the Flashes have:

• Run their record to 6-1, the best in the Mid-American Conference and equaling the fourth-best start in KSU history.
• Beaten UCLA and Penn State, only the third time in the program’s 45-year history they won against two Power 5 schools in a season.
• Ranked 17th-ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll.

They’ve done that with some of the best 3-point shooting in the country and very balanced scoring.

Coach Todd Starkey offers plenty of reasons to like this team.

“This is an exciting bunch to watch,” Starkey said. “They’re high character young women and really good students. They play hard and the right way, and I’m excited to coach them.”

Top student athletics

The team had an average GPA of 3.655 last year, 16th among about 325 Division I women’s basketball teams. Last fall, the group’s average was 3.710, the team’s highest ever.

All five of the team’s current starters and three other players earned academic all-MAC honors last season. That’s the most ever for Kent State and the most in the MAC last year. To earn academic honors, a player has to have a 3.2 cumulative GPA and appear in half her team’s game. Sixty women’s players got academic honors last season. Current Kent State senior Annie Pavansky was one of three MAC players with a 4.0 average.

Other current Flashes honored last season were current seniors Mariah Modkins, Lindsey Thall and Hannah Young and juniors Nila Blackford, Clare Kelly and Katie Shumate. Linsey Marchese, a junior last season who transferred in the summer, also was honored. Freshmen aren’t eligible for the award.

Running the numbers

Some statistics from the team’s first seven games:

• Kent State is making 41.4% of its 3-point shots, which ranks fifth in the country. The current average is 2.5 points above school record. The Flashes make an average of 9.6 3-point shots a game, 12th in Division I.
• The team has outrebounded every opponent so far this season. It averages 10.1 rebounds more than its opponents, first in the MAC by two full rebounds.
• The team is fourth among conference teams in scoring (76.6) per game, second in scoring defense (60.9) and first in scoring margin (15.7 points).
• Four players average more than 10 points a game: Thall (14.4), Shumate (13.9), sophomore Casey Santoro (13.3) and Blackford (10.99). That’s the most in double figures in the MAC.
• Blackford is sixth in the league in rebounding at 8.3 per game, Thall eighth at 7.7 and Young 13th at 6.6.
• Shumate is third in the league in shooting percentage at 53.6 and third in 3-point percentage at 57.1. Thall is eighth in shooting percentage at 46.7.
• Young is seventh in 3-point percentage (50), Santoro ninth (45.5), Thall 10th (45.2) and freshman Bridget Dunn 15th (41.7). With Shumate, that’s five players in the top 15. No other school has more than one in the top 15 and three in the top 25.

All about Duquesne

Wednesday’s opponent, Duquesne, has a 4-5 record. Its best win was 58-47 against Akron at home when it held the Zips’ leading scorer, senior wing Jordyn Dawson, to four points. That’s 20 below her average.

Duquesne’s best game probably was a 69-64 loss to Pittsburgh, which is 7-2.

The Dukes’ leading scorer is Fatou Pouye, a 6-foot graduate student guard from Senegal. She averages 12.4 points in just 23 minutes a game. 5-7 freshman guard Megan McConnell averages 10.4 points and 5-9 freshman guard Tess Myers 10.1.

McConnell and 5-9 guard grad student guard Libby Bazelak lead Duquesne in rebounding at 5.9 per game.

McConnell has two double-doubles this season and leads Duquesne in assists and steals.

The Dukes start four guards and 6-4 center Precious Johnson.

Kent State is 4-5 against Duquesne overall but has won the last two games, including a 73-66 win in Kent last season.

If you can’t make the game in person, you can watch it on ESPN+, listen to it online on the Kent State Radio network and follow statistics during the game on the Kent State website.

The game is the first of four-straight home games for the Flashes, who play Division II Clarion on Saturday, Florida State on Dec. 21 and open MAC play against Toledo Dec. 29.

Preview from KSU website, including links to roster, statistics, schedule and more.

Preview from Duquesne website, including links.

After a most successful Florida tournament, the Kent State women’s basketball team returns to action Friday at St. Bonaventure.

Both teams are 5-1, but KSU has played a considerably stronger schedule. The Flashes beat two Power 5 teams — UCLA and Penn State – at the Gulf Coast Showcase last weekend. St. Bonaventure’s best win has come against 3-3 Robert Morris of the Horizon League.

The game starts at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+, which costs $6.99 per month. The service will broadcast nearly all KSU men’s and women’s games that aren’t on commercial TV this season. The game also is streamed on the Golden Flashes Radio Network. Live statistics can be found during the game on the St. Bonaventure website.

Four Kent State players average at least 10 points a game, and two more average more than six. Senior Lindsey Thall averages 16.3 points a game and has made 48.6% of her 3-point shots. She scored the 1,000th point of her career and made the all-tournament team in Florida. Casey Santoro, who has come off the bench in all six KSU games, averages 15.0, Katie Shumate averages 13.0 and Nila Blackford 10.0. Blackford, who had her first double-double of the season Sunday, leads KSU in rebounding at 8.3 per game.

St. Bonaventure is led by 5-8 senior guard Asianae Johnson, an all-Atlantic 10 third-team member last season. She averages 15 points and 3.5 assists. I’yanna Lops, a 6-3 junior forward, leads the Bonnies in rebounding, averaging 8.2 per game.

Preview from KSU website, including links to statistics, schedule, roster and more.

Preview from St. Bonaventure website, including links.

Almost everything Kent State did well in its Friday upset of UCLA went badly in the second half against Massachusetts on Saturday.

The Flashes made only 22.9% of their second-half shots. (They made 50% against UCLA). Massachusetts outscored KSU 11-0 off second-half turnovers. (The Flashes outscored UCLA 11-7 for the game.) Massachusetts had 29 second-chance points and 24 points in the paint in the second half. KSU outscored UCLA 12-7 on second chances and 28-18 in the paint.

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Defense, hot shooting send Kent State past No. 19 UCLA 75-69

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Massachusetts played more physically and played better defense, things KSU did very well on Friday.

So after leading by eight points at halftime, the Flashes fell 72-64 for their first loss of the season. Massachusetts is 7-0 and will play in the Gulf Coast Showcase finals Sunday against No. 13 Iowa State, which Penn State 93-59 Saturday. Kent State (4-1) will play Penn State for third place at 5 p.m. The game will be streamed on FloHoops, which costs $29.99 a month. If you subscribe to watch the game, make sure you cancel afterwards.

“We did not play very good basketball, to be honest,” coach Todd Starkey said in his postgame interview with broadcaster David Wilson. “We didn’t finish around the basket, and our toughness in the paint wasn’t nearly what it was yesterday.

“As good as we were at following a scouting report yesterday, we had some real lapses in focus with some of the things on the scout today.

“It was a really physical second half. We didn’t handle their pressure with the poise we should have. I thought they played tougher than we did. 

“I thought we had an opportunity to win this game, but we kind of squandered it. All the way around, we have to be better than that.”

Kent State led 35-27 at halftime, outscoring Massachusetts 16-3 over the last six minutes of the second quarter. Two steals and two baskets by junior transfer Abby Ogle were key in that run.

But the Flashes missed their first four shots of the second half and committed four turnovers. Massachusetts tied the game at 35, and It was tied at 48 going into the fourth quarter. Massachusetts took the lead for good with eight minutes to go and Kent State didn’t get closer than five over the last four minutes.

Massachusetts blocked five shots in the quarter, including three in a row at one point.

Lindsey Thall scored 22 points for Kent State, but no other KSU player scored more than eight.

“She needed some help,” Starkey said. “The big thing we’ve been able to do is get a balanced scoring. We’ve had four and five in double figures most of the season. Today it was only one. And that’s a recipe for failure for us.”

Thall made 7-of-15 shots, 4-of-8 three-point attempts and 4-of-4 free throws. She had nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.

For the season, Thall has made 17-of-30 three-pointers for 56.7%.

Nila Blackford, who averaged a double-double last season, had 11 rebounds, her best of the season. But she was 2-of-12 shooting. Casey Santoro, who had led KSU in scoring going into the tournament, was 2-of-11. She and Katie Shumate each scored eight points.

Kent State missed 16 of its 23 layups, though many of those were heavily contested in the paint.

The Flashes outrebounded Massachusetts 42-36. They have outrebounded every opponent so far this season.

UCLA lost its second-round game to South Dakota State 76-66.

Box score

The Kent State women’s basketball team heads to Florida to find out how good it really is,

The Flashes are 3-0, with solid wins over mid-majors Northern Kentucky and Saint Francis of Pennsylvania and a rout of Division III John Carroll.

Friday they open the Gulf Coast Showcase, one of Division I’s most competitive non-conference tournaments, against No. 19 UCLA.

The game is at 1:30 p.m. and will be streamed on FloHoops. The service costs $29.99 per month. I plan to subscribe for KSU’s three tournament games, then cancel.

UCLA is also 3-0, with wins against 1-2 Pepperdine, 0-2 Cal Northridge and 1-4 Virginia.

The Bruins are loaded with talent but have struggled with injuries. They had only seven players in uniform against Virginia. It’s unclear how many will be available Friday.

Top UCLA scorer so far is junior guard Charisma Osborne, who has averaged 19.7 points per game. Imar’i Thomas, a 5-10 guard transfer from Cincinnati, averaged 21 points in the two games she has played.

If UCLA is still shorthanded, Kent State’s depth could give it an advantage. Nine players average at least 12 minutes a game for the Flashes. KSU’s leading scorer is sophomore guard Casey Santoro, who averaged 15 points a game. Forward Lindsey Thall (13.3), guard Katie ‘Shumate (12.0) and forward Nila Blackford (10.5) also average in double figures.

The winner of Friday’s game will play either Massachusetts (4-0) or South Dakota State (2-3 with losses to Mississippi State and Iowa State). In KSU’s third game, it could play Charlotte (1-3 and the preseason favorite to win Conference USA), No. 14 Iowa State (4-0), Penn State (3-1) and St. Johns (3-1).