CLEVELAND – This was nothing like the rout the Kent State women’s basketball team enjoyed the last time it faced Northern Illinois.
But it was a win, which is all that matters at this time of the year.
Wednesday, the Golden Flashes (19-10, 13-5 MAC) defeated the Huskies 63-60 in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. It was vastly different game than when the teams met Jan. 14 and KSU defeated Northern Illinois 73-48.
“That’s a tough team, and they gave us all we can handle,” Kent coach Todd Starkey said. “There are some things we can clean up.
“It was a poor shooting night for us as well, and we’ll hopefully get that fixed.”
Junior forward Bridget Dunn was one of four Flashes’ to score in double figures. She scored 14 points and converted a team-high four shots from behind the arc.
“I went through a rough patch in the middle of the season, so seeing them fall again is definitely nice,” Dunn said. “I know my teammates believe in me, so I’m gonna shoot it because that’s what we do every day in practice.
“Having their belief in me allows me to believe in myself a little more.”
Dunn also grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.
“Coach always says rebounding is whoever ends up with it, so it’s just a dogfight to get to the ball,” Dunna said about why she’s successful on the boards. “Then you’ve got to grab it and bring it down.”
KSU was led in scoring by freshman forward Janae Tyler’s 15 points. Redshirt senior guard Katie Shumate and junior forward Jenna Batsch each added 14 points.
“She’s been out most of the week with a concussion, and we just took our time with it and made sure she was good,” Starkey said of Tyler. “But for her to come back after that as a freshman in this atmosphere and just play with the type of composure.
“She didn’t get sped up in the post and really took her time finding ways to score.”
NIU (15-16, 8-10 MAC) started the game on a 7-0 run, as the Flashes did not convert their first shot until Dunn sunk a 3-pointer with 7:30 remaining in the first quarter.
KSU responded with a 15-6 scoring run, and the Huskies led 16-15 at the end of the quarter. Despite shooting 5-of-12 during the second quarter, the Flashes took a 28-27 lead into halftime. Tyler had six points in the quarter.
Kent State shot 8-of-16 from the field during the third quarter, taking a 47-43 lead into the fourth.
With less than three minutes remaining in the game, NIU called a timeout, and Starkey’s message to his team was, “There’s no room for my bad.”
In the final two and half minutes, the Golden Flashes matched the Huskies in scoring 7-7, and closed out the win.
“We can’t make excuses; you have to treat every shot like a miss,” Starkey said. “Don’t give them second-chance points; we have to communicate at a higher level.
“They responded and found a way to get it done.”
As a team, KSU shot 39% from the field and 28% on 3-pointers. Northern Illinois shot 36% from the field (7-of-25 on 3s).
With 14 of her 15 rebounds coming on the defensive end, Starkey said Dunn is one of the best rebounders in the MAC.
“She has been our best defensive rebounder all year, and we needed that from her tonight,” he said. “That’s 14 potential possessions that the other team does not get.
“You have to make sure you don’t give up second-chance, high percentage shots.”
With the victory, the Golden Flashes will face Ball State at 12:30 p.m., Friday, in a semifinal.
During the regular season, the Cardinals (28-4, 16-2 MAC) defeated KSU twice by an average of 6.5 points.
“We have to put a full game together, and we’ve shown that we can compete with them,” Shumate said. “We just have to play four quarters and be aggressive.
“Ball State’s a really good team, but at the same time, I think our team knows that we’re capable of winning. Our message to them is going to be we just have to be better than them for 40 minutes. You have to be playing your best basketball and find a way to finish.”
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent State women’s basketball advances to semifinals in MAC Tournament
