In the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, the Kent State women’s basketball team utilized a stingy and aggressive defensive effort to overcome Miami (OH) 68-61 Wednesday.

Coming into the game, the RedHawks’ fearsome trio of senior guard Maya Chandler, sophomore guard Enjulina Gonzalez and sophomore forward Amber Tretter was the strength of Miami’s offensive attack. While the group put up a combined 50 points, it was on poor efficiency of 19-53 (36%). 

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” coach Todd Starkey said. “It was a rock fight there, especially in the second half. I thought our players did a great job of handling the pressure.”  

Although the Flashes managed to disrupt Miami’s offensive gameplan, the RedHawks returned the favor by shutting down senior guard and first team All-MAC member Jenna Batsch and sophomore forward Janae Tyler, two of the team’s best players. Batsch was held to 10 points on 4-10 shooting and committed seven turnovers. Tyler managed 12 points and seven rebounds, but shot 3-8 from the field and missed four free throws. 

Batsch dealt with foul trouble most of the night while Tyler returned from injury after missing the past two games. 

“They had a great game plan for Jenna trying to take her out of the mix,” Starkey said. “She’s feeling it a little bit right now, but other players really stepped up.”

The Flashes depth showed up in a big way to grind out the win. Three other players joined Batsch and Tyler with double-digit points to outlast Miami. 

Outside of the RedHawks’ star trio, the next leading scorer had just five points. 

“We really just focused on one possession at a time and running our offense,” senior forward Bridget Dunn said. “Trusting the process and executing our offense is a big thing for us, so I think that was the mindset.” 

The game began as a back-and-forth affair with both teams’ defenses settling in early. 

Both the Flashes and RedHawks shot below 40% and combined for seven turnovers. 

Miami managed to close out the quarter with a 15-13 lead after going on a 9-3 run in the final five minutes. To open the second quarter, however, it was all blue and gold. 

With 5:29 left in the quarter, the Flashes went on a 19-3 run to build a 14-point lead going into halftime. During the run, Dunn and sophomore guard Mya Babbitt drilled a combined five 3-pointers. 

“We shoot the ball with a lot of confidence, and we always work on that and rely on each other to hit those big shots,” junior guard Dionna Gray said. “Just trusting in our shot and being able to play through our offense is really good for us.” 

The Flashes outscored Miami 26-10 in the quarter and had impressive shooting splits of 9-17 (53%) from the field and 5-6 (83%) from 3-point distance. The RedHawks were held to shooting splits of 4-18 (22%) and 2-6 (33%).

Despite the rough stretch of play, Miami didn’t go away. The RedHawks continued to battle going into the third quarter, as both teams battled hard.

With both teams’ defenses remaining stout, the free throw line became an important factor in the game. Sixteen total free throws were shot in the third quarter. 

Drawing fouls and getting to the charity stripe seemed like the best way to generate consistent offense in light of the tough defenses. 

“There are going to be situations where you’re getting played very physical – play through it anyways,” Starkey said. “Don’t make any excuses, and don’t let that affect you. For the most part, I’m really proud of the way they fought through how physical the game was.”

By the end of the third quarter, Miami had chipped away and turned the Flashes’ lead from 14 to nine. 

“We knew they were going to turn up the heat,” Starkey said. “We knew they were going to try to take us out of our stuff.”

For the first five minutes of the fourth, the Flashes were held scoreless. Miami was inching ever so closer to retake the lead.

Up by just four points and unable to generate offense, the Flashes turned to their defense. During a six-minute stretch, the RedHawks missed nine straight shots. 

By the time Miami had regrouped on offense, it was too late, as the Flashes managed to ice the game through free throws. 

“We stayed pretty steady,” Starkey said. “We’re in a position where it’s not uncommon for them to see what it looks like to be in tough games, to fight through that stuff and play with composure.”  

The defensive intensity both team’s brought was the main storyline, and it truly left a major impact on how the game turned out. The Flashes had shooting splits of 20-50 (40%) and 7-17 (41%), while the RedHawks shot 23-69 (33%) and 7-25 (28%). 

Miami’s defense managed to cause 17 turnovers for the Flashes offense, but it was unable to stop the Flashes from heading to the free throw line (32 attempts) and winning the rebound battle (48-34). 

Starkey gave Dunn a lot of praise for her defensive performance, and added that she was “snubbed” from the MAC All-Defense Team. 

“Bridget really got snubbed by the conference for not being on the all defensive team,” he said. “So, thanks to the league for motivating her a bit.”  

Dunn recorded her second-straight double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds. She also added three blocks. 

Other notable performances came from Babbitt and Gray. Babbitt scored 19 points on 6-8 shooting and grabbed seven boards, Gray also recorded a double-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. 

The RedHawks’ best performance came from Chandler, who scored 24 points on 9-24 shooting. Gonzalez followed her up with 15 points, and Tretter rounds out the group after recording a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Up next for the Flashes is a semifinal showdown with No. 1 seed Ball State Friday. Tipoff is at 10 a.m. 

Ball State is led by senior guard Ally Becki, who averages 13.9 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds.

Ball State took home several MAC awards, with Becki being named player of the year and first team All-MAC, senior forward Marie Kiefer being named defensive player of the year, Brady Sallee being named coach of the year and senior forward Alex Richard being named second team All-MAC. 

The Flashes split the series 1-1 with Ball State this season. The Flashes lost the first matchup at home 66-57, but pulled off the upset on the road 60-54. 

Taking down the Cardinals again will be a tough task to overcome, but Starkey believes his squad is more than up for the challenge. 

“We’ve been to the tournament before, and we just played a really tough Toledo team, and that felt like a tournament game as well,” he said. “It was a very physical game as well, and that’s what March basketball looks like. We’ve battled through a significant number of injuries all year, so they’ve faced basketball adversity.”

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