Many students traveled back home to enjoy Thanksgiving break, but the Kent State Women’s Basketball team spent it in San Juan for the Puerto Rico Clasico tournament.
The Flashes played two games against Brown and Colorado State Nov. 28 and 29 and finished with a record of 1-1. Coach Todd Starkey said the trip was planned for around a year and a half in advance and it was nice to see it finally come to fruition.
“The location was great in San Juan; we got to experience some history in Old San Juan, and we had a couple games against real quality opponents,” he said. “The players really enjoyed it, and so did we.”
Although the environment was scenic and the weather was nice, Starkey said the team understood its goal of playing winning basketball.
“It felt like a basketball tournament in a tropical location,” he said. “You get to experience the weather, the location, the ocean and beach, but your focus is on winning basketball games and trying to balance both of those things. Our team did a really good job of that.”
Tournaments like these are usual for basketball teams around Thanksgiving and winter break, so Starkey is used to traveling during the holidays. He added, “That’s just part of playing basketball.”
“We don’t get nearly as much of a break as regular students do – you try to make it enjoyable,” Starkey said. “We had a great time together around the Thanksgiving holiday, but also by playing games.”
During the Flashes’ opening game against Brown, the team won 74-51 after a strong first-quarter start. The Flashes scored 25 points compared to the Bears’ 11.
“We came out and played with great focus and energy,” Starkey said. “It was really nice for us to get off to a hot start and shoot the ball well. Defensively, I thought we were good from start to finish.”
In the Flashes’ second game, the team fell to Colorado State 60-54. The team’s offensive struggles resurfaced during the game, as the Flashes went 19-66 from the field, 8-27 from three-point range and 8-12 at the free throw line.
“I thought we had some opportunities to win the game if we’d knocked down some shots down the stretch,” Starkey said. “We had really good looks, but we just couldn’t quite pull it out.”
As a whole, Starkey was quite pleased with the trip and the Flashes’ performances. The next hurdle for the Flashes is a trip to Niagara Thursday. Tipoff is at 3 p.m.
Starkey mentioned that Niagara is another team that plays a lot of press defense, a coverage scheme the Flashes have seen a lot of this season.
“Anytime you’re playing on the road, you have to be ready to go,” Starkey said. “Teams don’t give you games on the road; you have to take them and earn them. We’re going to have to come out, take care of the basketball and not turn the ball over all 40 minutes of the game.”
John Engoglia is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].