An efficient and balanced scoring effort guided the Kent State women’s basketball team to a 77-56 road win against Central Michigan Wednesday.
Similar to last week’s game plan against Western Michigan, the Flashes’ offense started the game by attacking the paint and driving toward the rim in the first quarter. After finding success there, the Flashes expanded their offensive approach to 3-point range in the second quarter, where they also found success.
For the Flashes, it’s their second straight win of 20+ points.
“We established the paint, and we were scoring on the inside,” coach Todd Starkey said. “They had to adjust to that, and then it opened up some opportunities for us from the 3-point line. We capitalized on that.”
The Flashes came out in the first quarter and shot 10-18 (56%) from the field. The team followed that up with a 7-13 (54%) second quarter, which included 5-7 (71%) from 3-point distance.
“Everything seemed to be working pretty well,” Starkey said. “Players knocked down shots, and we weren’t forcing anything. That turned into really good offensive efficiency.”
After the impressive first half, the Flashes put together their best quarter of the game to ice it. The team shot 6-13 (46%) but went 9-10 from the free throw line to outscore Central Michigan 21-9 for the quarter.
During the third quarter, the Flashes went on a 14-0 run that stretched six minutes. It was smooth sailing from there, as the Flashes built up a 28-point lead.
“We executed our offense really well,” Starkey said. “It was great to get a road win.”
The Flashes offense found ways to score throughout the entire game. The team shot 28-57 (49%) from the field, 8-22 (36.4%) from beyond the 3-point line and 13-16 (81%) from the free throw line.
The Flashes also had 34 points in the paint and a huge offensive performance from the bench with 25 points. Starkey said he was “really pleased” with the bench effort.
“We have players that are fully capable of coming in and not being let down from our starters,” he said.
The Flashes were also able to play clean from an offensive standpoint. The team passed around the rock for a total of 16 assists while only turning it over 13 times.
Defense was another strong suit for the Flashes this game. Central Michigan was held to 23-63 (37%) from the field and 4-14 (29%) from 3-point range.
Rebounding was also an important factor coming into this game. Kent State leads the Mid-American Conference in combined team rebounds with 42.3 per game, and Central Michigan is right behind in second place with 41.6 per game while leading the conference in offensive rebounding with 15.3 per game.
The Flashes decisively won this matchup with 38 rebounds compared to Central Michigan’s 32.
“We kept them off the offensive glass,” Starkey said. “We did a really good job of making their shots difficult and then not giving them second chance opportunities.”
The Flashes had several notable performances headlined by senior guard Jenna Batsch. She scored 16 points on 6-12 shooting and added five rebounds and five assists.
“She just played within herself and did a good job of scoring inside the context of the offense,” Starkey said. “Overall, just a complete game for her offensively.”
Sophomore guard Mya Babbitt also had a solid offensive outing with 13 points on 4-11 shooting. Junior forward Tatiana Thomas and sophomore center Riley Rismiller were also huge off the bench. They combined for 17 points and nine rebounds.
Central Michigan’s most notable performances came from its guard duo of freshman Madi Morson and senior Jess Lawson. They combined for 26 points and eight rebounds.
With the win, the Flashes move to 12-7 and 5-2 in conference play. On the other hand, Central Michigan drops to 7-11 and 3-4 in conference play.
Kent State is tied for second in the MAC, while CMU is tied for seventh with two other teams.
The Flashes will continue their road trip to Miami (OH) Saturday. Tipoff is at 1 p.m.
The RedHawks are sixth place in the MAC with a record of 11-6 and conference record of 4-3.
“Miami is a much improved team this year, and they’ve been competitive with everybody in conference play,” Starkey said. “So they’re a tough team who will be a really good test for us on the road.”
John Engoglia is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
