Women’s basketball team tries to correct problems before facing off with EMU

Kent State women’s basketball coach Bob Lindsay said last week that he’s happy with how his team has performed this season.

At 14-4 overall, the Flashes are doing considerably better than last year at this point, when they were 5-13.

But with no midweek game this week, Kent State used the last few days to work on becoming even better. For the Flashes, that means fixing their problems on defense and on the boards.

“The last couple games we’ve been outrebounded by (seven, 15 and nine),” junior guard Rachel Bennett said. “Our defense percentage right now in the (Mid-American Conference), we’re like in the low number in defensive field goal percentage (and) 3-point defense percentage.

“So that’s what we’ve basically put our minds to this week.”

The Flashes (3-3 MAC) will hope to improve in those areas for their game tomorrow against Eastern Michigan. Last season, the Eagles beat Kent State 71-59 in Ypsilanti, Mich. Bennett said because of that, the team is looking forward to the matchup.

“We have kind of a revenge because we went up to Eastern (Michigan) last year, (and) they kind of kicked our butts,” she said. “We need to come out this game and show them that they’re not going to be able to do that again to us.”

To do that, the Flashes will have to improve their rebounding.

“We’re emphasizing (rebounding) more now,” Bennett said. “We’re making it a detail instead of just ‘go out and rebound.'”

Bennett added that everyone needs to be boxing out better, and the point guards, either her or sophomore Stephanie Gibson, need to double up on Eastern Michigan’s best rebounder.

“We’re just getting beat too badly on the offensive boards right now,” she said, “and on the other end, we’re not going to the offensive boards.”

After last Saturday’s win over Western Michigan, Kent State coach Bob Lindsay said his team needs to make plays on defense when the Flashes have the lead.

“We kept getting a lead and then not getting stops, and getting a lead and not getting stops,” he said. “We’ve pretty much done that the whole season, but we’ve done that more recently than we had earlier in the non-conference (season).”

With a week of practice since then, Bennett said the team still struggles with consistency on defense.

“We’ll have a couple plays where we’ll play hard and we’ll do what we need to do, and then the very next play we’re messed up again,” she said.

“I’m hoping by (today) or (tomorrow) morning when we have practice that we get to a point where we can (consistently), like three or four times on the floor, (get) good defensive stops.”

Contact sports reporter Josh Johnston at [email protected].