Battling a slow offensive start, the Kent State women’s basketball team locked down Akron with a physical and active defense in a 64-44 victory Saturday.
Entering a hostile atmosphere at James A. Rhodes Arena, the Flashes came to play to sweep the season series with rival Akron. Both teams’ offenses struggled early on, but the Flashes’ offense caught fire in the third quarter to build a 17-point lead and pull away for the win.
“We came out of the locker room and had a great third quarter,” coach Todd Starkey said. “We had much better clarity and focus.”
While it took some time for the offense to wake up, the Flashes’ defense was consistently dominant all game. Akron was held to poor shooting splits of 16-56 (29%) from the field and 4-19 (21%) from 3-point range. The Zips assist-to-turnover ratio was also 7:15.
“We did a really good job throughout the game of making things difficult for them,” Starkey said. “When we weren’t shooting the ball great, we were able to rely on our defense.”
The win also guarantees the Flashes’ seniors go out on good terms in the Akron rivalry. The Flashes are on a six-game winning streak against the Zips, with seniors going 6-2 overall against Akron in four years.
“It’s big for them,” Starkey said. “This group has really shown out and done well in the rivalry since they’ve been here.”
As the first quarter began, the Flashes looked sloppy. The team was outscored 14-11 and scored just two points in the final six minutes of the quarter.
The team had five turnovers and had rough shooting splits of 5-12 (42%) from the field and 1-4 (25%) from 3-point distance. Starkey partially blamed the bad start on the wear and tear of the long season.
“We’ve been really banged up, and our players are pretty physically tired,” he said. “We clinched Cleveland last game, so sometimes it takes time to get going a little bit.”
It was much of the same for the Flashes in the second quarter, as the team edged Akron 12-10 to cut the Zips’ lead to one entering halftime. The Flashes shot 5-14 (36%) from the field and 2-8 (25%) from beyond the arc.
The Flashes’ defense held strong despite the offensive struggles. Akron was held to shooting splits of 4-15 (27%) and 0-6 from 3-point range.
In the past two games, the Flashes’ offense has struggled coming out of the gate and getting into a rhythm. Despite this, Starkey is not concerned.
“There are things we can do to remedy that, but I think we’ll be able to work through that,” he said. “This team is very responsive when we talk about things we need to improve on.”
Coming out of halftime, the Flashes made up for the poor start. The team outscored the Zips 29-11 and had complete control, taking a 52-35 lead.
The Flashes shot 10-15 (67%) from the field and 3-6 (50%) from beyond the 3-point line. The Flashes’ defense also remained dominant, holding Akron to shooting splits of 4-14 (29%) and 1-4 (25%).
There was a seven-minute stretch in the quarter where the Flashes went on a 22-1 run.
“I’m really pleased with how we came out and battled through some things not going our way early,” Starkey said. “It was really good to see how they responded out of the locker room.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Flashes went on a 10-3 run in the first eight minutes to seal the win for good. Akron managed just nine points in the whole quarter.
“I’m really pleased with getting the win,” Starkey said.
Overall, the Flashes shot 24-55 (44%) and 7-25 (28%) while the Zips shot 16-56 (29%) and 4-19 (21%).
The Flashes’ biggest performances came from senior guard Jenna Batsch and sophomore forward Janae Tyler. They both combined for 42 points on 16-27 shooting
Tyler also notched 10 rebounds, which means she recorded the first double-double of her career.
“When we get that inside-out production with those two going, we’re really difficult to defend,” Starkey said. “You’ve got to pick your poison with us, and we have other players who are capable.”
Junior guard Dionna Gray also filled up the stat sheet with nine assists, seven points and four rebounds.
As for Akron, senior guard Alexus Mobley had the best performance with 16 points on 6-11 shooting.
With the win, the Flashes move to 19-10 with a conference record of 11-5. The team remains in fourth place in the Mid-American Conference standings.
Akron falls to 9-20 with a conference record of 3-13. The Zips are also out of contention for a MAC tournament berth.
Next up for the Flashes is a road matchup against Bowling Green Wednesday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
Although winning remains a priority for Starkey, going into the MAC tournament healthy is the biggest focus for the team.
“Bowling Green’s playing about as good as anybody in the league right now, so we have to play really well,” he said. “As banged up as we are right now, my bigger focus is continuing to play well while also keeping people healthy and rested as much as possible.”
John Engoglia is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
