It was one of those nights where nothing went right for the Kent State women’s basketball team in a 84-61 loss to Bowling Green Wednesday. 

The Flashes struggled mightily on both sides of the court in the blowout loss. It was the team’s biggest loss margin since a Nov. 14 defeat to North Carolina State. 

Coach Todd Starkey was frustrated with the team’s effort. 

“We didn’t compete to the level that we needed to tonight,” he said. “For the most part during the game, we just got outplayed.”  

The Flashes have already clinched a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, so games moving forward are just for seeding purposes. Starkey acknowledged that but still feels the team needed to bring more energy. 

“Sometimes you can fight like crazy to get a higher seed at the expense of a team’s health, but we’re not interested in that,” he said. “We still have to show up and compete on a higher level than we did.” 

The injury bug has been a problem all season for the Flashes, as a number of players have missed time throughout the year. Those problems returned once more as standout sophomore forward Janae Tyler missed the game with an injury. 

She is averaging about 12 points and five rebounds on 53% shooting.

“She’s an All-Conference-level player, and she provides a lot of toughness for us,” Starkey said. “Having her out was a big loss.” 

The Flashes struggled as soon as tip off concluded, as Bowling Green went on a 9-0 run to open the first first quarter. Things didn’t get better from there, as the Flashes finished the first quarter down 30-18.

The Flashes were torched by a red-hot Bowling Green offense that had shooting splits of 11-17 (65%) from the field and 7-10 (70%) from 3-point range. 

“They made a lot of shots,” Starkey said. “We didn’t have a great defensive effort, especially at the start of the game.” 

Things didn’t get any easier for the Flashes, as Bowling Green’s defense began to tighten up. The Flashes were outscored 16-11 and held scoreless for nearly a six-minute stretch midway through the quarter. 

Senior guard Jenna Batsch and junior guard Dionna Gray were the only Flashes who scored in the quarter. 

The Flashes entered the third quarter down 17 points, but the team finally managed to show signs of life. Both teams went back and forth, and the Flashes had the edge by outscoring Bowling Green 20-14. 

Bowling Green was held to its worst quarterly shooting splits of 6-13 (46%) from the field and 1-5 (20%) from 3-point distance. On the other hand, the Flashes had its best quarterly shooting splits with 7-15 (47%) and 3-3 (100%). 

Entering the final quarter, Bowling Green held an 11-point lead. 

“We tried to battle back,” Starkey said. “We tried to show some fight and get back into it.” 

Despite the slight momentum, a 13-4 Bowling Green scoring stretch to open the fourth quarter killed all hope for a Flashes comeback. Bowling Green regained its dominance to crush the Flashes 24-12 in the fourth quarter. 

“We missed a couple key layups and key possessions, and we had a chance to really cut and put some pressure on them,” Starkey said. “They would turn around and knock down a three or an and-one, and that really deflated us when we were trying to fight back.” 

Overall, the Flashes shot 24-61 (39%) from the field and 5-13 (39%) from beyond the arc. Bowling Green shot 32-58 (55%) and 12-25 (48%). The Flashes also lost the rebounding battle (40-28) and had just eight assists. 

Several Flashes clocked in notable performances. Batsch headlines the group with 25 points on 10-22 shooting. 

Junior forward Tatiana Thomas got the start today with Tyler out, and she made the most of her opportunity with 14 points on 5-9 shooting. Her point total ties a career-high. 

“Tatiana worked hard and did her best,” Starkey said. “She competed tonight and did some nice things for us.”  

Gray rounds out the group with 10 points on 4-9 shooting. 

Bowling Green’s biggest performance came from graduate guard Lexi Fleming, who recorded 25 points and six assists. She also went 6-9 from 3-point range. 

Following her was sophomore guard Paige Kohler, who scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. 

With the loss, the Flashes drop to 19-11 with a conference record of 11-6. The team is in fourth place in the MAC. 

Bowling Green improves to 17-12 with a conference record of 10-7. They’re positioned in sixth place in the standings. 

The Flashes will conclude the regular season with a home matchup against Toledo Saturday. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. 

This game also marks senior day for the Flashes, where each graduating senior is celebrated and honored. Emotions could be high as some Flashes play their final game at the M.A.C. Center. 

“Hopefully they’ll allow their emotions to affect them in a positive way and compete hard for each other,” Starkey said. “Other than that, it’s a competition, and we want to make sure we’re ready to go.” 

John Engoglia is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].