Buffalo puts damper on Harkins big scoring night
Sophomore Guard Rachel Bennett drives past a Buffalo defender early in the first half of last night’s game. Bennett finished the night with 16 points and six assists, but the Flashes fell to the Bulls 78-71. DANIEL DOHERTY | DAILY KENT STATER
Credit: DKS Editors
Win 350 is coming, but after a 78-71 loss to Buffalo at the M.A.C. Center last night, Kent State women’s basketball coach Bob Lindsay will have to wait at least one more game.
Lindsay, in his 19th year as head coach of the Flashes (5-12, 2-3 Mid-American Conference), saw his team fall short of its goals defensively to allow 26 second-chance-points and 19 points off of turnovers. Lindsay said his team did all right on the offensive end, but simply did not play tough enough on defense.
“Our offense really wasn’t the problem tonight,” Lindsay said. “We scored 71 points, I mean that should be enough to win at home. When you give up 78 it’s just a reflection of how hard we played.”
| COMING UP
KENT STATE vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN Record: Western Michigan 6-12 (3-1 MAC) When: Saturday, January 26 Where: Kalamazoo, MI Time: 2 p.m. Listen in: WHLO-AM 640 |
Junior guard Asheley Harkins shot 7-of-14 and 3-of-4 behind the 3-point arc to lead the Flashes with a career high 24 points. Harkins’ career night comes just one game after junior center Anna Kowalska scored a career high 30 points against Akron on Saturday. Harkins said she hopes she can play at this high of a level more often in the future.
“I’m actually playing with a sprained hand right now, so maybe I needed to sprain my hand to start playing more consistent,” Harkins said. “That’s the goal, to be more consistent.”
Sophomore guard Rachel Bennett and Kowalska also scored in double figures for Kent State, with 16 and 13 points. Kowalska, who added six rebounds, may have scored below her season average of 18.1 points per game due to double teams and heavy pressure in the post all night.
Buffalo coach Linda Hill-MacDonald said the team saw a weakness in Kowalska’s game and made it a defensive goal to stop her from dominating the game.
“(Our goal was to) take away her shot from the baseline,” Hill-MacDonald said. “She shoots the same shot every time she shoots the ball. She’s been given the opportunity to take that shot time after time, after time, and at some point somebody has to step up and take it away.”
Buffalo’s freshman forward Tieara Jones came into last night’s game averaging four points per game, but scored a team-high 17 points for the Bulls. Buffalo exploited Kent State’s depth by substituting often and finishing with a total of 34 points off of the bench compared to six bench points for the Flashes.
The Bulls also exploited the Flashes bad habit of playing fast and loose with the ball, forcing 18 turnovers – six more than they gave up.
| GAME NOTES
A FAMILY AFFAIR: Sophomore guard Rachel Bennett matched up against her cousin, Buffalo senior guard Stephanie Bennett, for the third time in the last three years last night. Rachel outscored Stephanie 16-13 last night. HARKINS GETS HOT: Junior guard Asheley Harkins scored in double figures for the fourth time in six games since returning from injury. Harkins rebounded after a 7-point game in Saturday’s win over Akron, which was below her season average of 9.9 points per game. SECOND HALF SHOOTING WOES: The Flashes caught fire after being down 9-0 to Bufallo to start the game, finishing the first half shooting 45.8 percent. Trailing by two at the half, Kent State put a dull shooting game on display, going 10-30 from the field, five percentage points below Buffalo in the half. |
The loss to Buffalo, the first for a Bob Lindsay coached team, broke Lindsay and Kent State’s 19 game winning streak against the Bulls.
With the loss, the Flashes fall to 2-3 in the MAC, while the Bulls improve to 3-2.
Kent State returns to action Saturday at Western Michigan. The game is the first of six straight games against opponents from the MAC West.
Contact sports reporter Thomas Gallick at [email protected].