The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Flashes asking a lot of their underclassmen.

I think they really miss Ali Poole. She is averaging under eight minutes a game and played just one minute in each of the first two league games. 4-21 FG on the season and hasn’t made a three in 12 tries.

Last year Poole averaged nine points a game.

(01-09-2020 10:44 AM)JimJoyce Wrote:  Flashes asking a lot of their underclassmen.

I think they really miss Ali Poole. She is averaging under eight minutes a game and played just one minute in each of the first two league games. 4-21 FG on the season and hasn’t made a three in 12 tries.

Last year Poole averaged nine points a game.

Missing a true 5 to work off of offensively . Without a big this year Kent becomes one dimensional and looks like the scouting report on Kent is .. be physical and push Kent number 4 out of the paint away from the rim.. Guard Kent number 44 tight so she cannot shoot 3's .. and let the other girls try to beat them .. (out physical Kent)

True big physical 5 .. to control the paint is needed.. ( Kent has that next year ) all other pieces Kent has ,,
Plus Kent needs a floor leader.. My thoughts ..

No doubt they miss Poole. A healthy Poole would probably be starting letting Shumate come off the bench. It looks like the knee will not be co-operating though. Besides needing a true 5 they could really use some height at guard. When your point guard is 5’3” and can’t shoot the three it’s an issue. The MAC has figured this team out and I’m afraid they don’t have a lot of adjustments to make this year. Some of the players need to develop some new skills and it’s hard to do that during the season.

There's really good insight in the last three posts on the women.

A healthy Poole should have produced six to eight points a game, far better than anyone we've seen off bench so far. I don't think she would have started; Katie Shumate is averaging eight more points and two more rebounds than Poole did last year. Shumate also plays better defense. But they could have gotten at least 15 good minutes a game out of Poole. Sadly, it doesn't look as if she'll be close to 100% this season.

Flashes didn't have a true 5 on offense last season. Barber-Smith was a great rebounder and good defender. But she rarely touched the ball on offense and averaged three points a game. Poole played when Barber-Smith didn't, and she was more of a wing guard playing out of position.

Still a second strong post player this season would made a big difference. Team tried unsuccessfully to recruit a graduate transfer. Next year 6-4 Linsey Marchese, a transfer from Indiana, is eligible, and 6-4 recruit Lexi Jackson arrives on campus.

Teams are obviously working really hard to shut down Lindsey Thall's 3-point shooting. It's going to take some differently designed plays to get her open. Thall's inside game, never much last season, seems to have regressed.

Eastern did a good job of muscling Blackford in the post Wednesday. Ball State, though, couldn't handle her and she scored 23. Big challenge Saturday when she plays Breanna Mobley of Western Michigan, one of the best post players in the MAC.

No floor leader? An interesting thought. Carter can be too quiet. The other four are freshmen and sophomores.

Dingle was supposed to have worked on her 3 in the off-season, but we sure haven't seen it.

Incoming guard Casey Santoro is also 5-4, but she's made 10 3-pointers in a game. She's already a two-time first-team all-stater and is averaging 25 points on an undefeated team.

I still think assists and the bench are the keys to this team. If they can run their offense better, the shooting percentage and scoring should go up. Key to the bench in Clare Kelly, who's supposed to be a very good 3-point shooter. But she hasn't shown it except against Hiram, which is hardly a good test. Starkey obviously believes in her. He's started her three times.

Separately, my game report card is posted at http://wbbFlashes.com. Failing grades to shooting percentage (34) and assists (seven).

Floor leader to me is just another phrase for a strong point guard. Maybe a senior guard like Poole (Golden played that role last year) could partially play that role but you have to start or at least play 20-25 off the bench for that to happen.

Hopefully they just weren’t ready to play last night. It happens sometime. Even the bench seemed to be having too much fun during the game. They just weren’t very focused until it was way too late.

The women play Western Michigant at 1 p.m. Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader with the KSU men, who play Central Michigan at about 3:30.

Western was picked last in the MAC West in the preseason coaches' poll. But the Broncos have won their first two conference games, including a 56-51 win at Akron Wednesday, and have won seven of eight games.

WMU has two key players back who missed all last season because of injury. One of Breanna Mobley, a preseason all-MAC West player who leads the league in rebounding at 10.5 per game. The other is guard Jordan Walker, who leads Western in scoring at 16.1 points per game and averages 7.3 rebounds. They also have junior forward Leighah-Amori Wool, who averages 12.5 points and 7.3 rebounds.

The three account for 70% on SWestern's points and 60% of their rebounds.

Kent struggled to beat Western by four points twice last season -- without Mobley and Walker.

I had thought that the home games against Western and Wednesday against Eastern (which KSU lost 74-60) were among the Flashes' best chances for wins this year. I'm not sure they're even favored against Western.

KSU is 0-2 in the MAC and has lost three of four. All three losses were to good teams and were close games.

Full preview is on the blog at http://wbbFlashes.com.

Looking very good today so far--up 16 at the half.

(01-11-2020 01:50 PM)axeme Wrote:  Looking very good today so far--up 16 at the half.

Totally different team especially in the first half. Almost lost control in the second but recovered and won by 12. Lindsey Thall is still struggling though. They need to get her going again.

It may have been KSU's best game of season. Score was 75-63.

I do a "report card" on each game on the blog. Against Western, KSU surpassed five of six benchmarks.

Western is a good team; it had won seven of eight games and its first two MAC games. Kent State is now 1-2 in MAC and 8-6 overall.

KSU bench, which I've been complaining about all season, had its best game, outscoring WMU 15-6. The only other game Kent's bench had outscored its opponent was against Division III Hiram.

Flashes had 11 assists on 22 baskets, another place they had lagged. They outscored WMU 24-9 on free throws, 17-7 on turnovers and 16-9 on fast breaks.

Katie Shumate led Flashes with career-best 20 points and also had eight rebounds. Asiah Dingle had 17 points and four assists. Backup point guard Mariah Modkins also had four assists to go with six points. The two guards had only one turnovers between them.

Flashes go on the road to Northern Illinois and Miami next week.

Full story on the blog at http://wbbFlashes.com.

I love Miriah. She brings so much energy to the floor.

I'm stealing fallsdog's "golf" standings idea for the MAC women. Road wins give you a birdie (11), home losses a bogey (+1). Home wins and road losses are par. I put the whole league together because division standings mean nothing in tournament seeding.

-2
 • Central Michigan (3-0, 10-4)

-1
• Ball State (3-0, 11-4)
• Ohio (2-1, 9-5)
• Buffalo (1-2, 10-4)
• WMU (1-2, 9-5)
• EMU (1-2, 7-7)

Even
• Toledo (2-1, 7-7)

+1
• Kent State (1-2, 8-6)
• Akron (1-2, 8-6)
• Miami (1-2, 8-7)

+2
• Bowling Green (0-3, 7-8)
• Northern Illinois (0-3, 4-10)

I believe you have the birdies and bogeys reversed.

Yep. Thanks GFlash. I've corrected the post here and on my blog.

I use your system on my own golf card.

The women make their longest MAC trip to Northern Illinois for a Wednesday game.

NIU was picked to challenge Central Michigan in the MAC West, but Huskies have the league's worst record at 4-10 and 0-3 in MAC. They have four players who started last season, plus Courtney Woods, an all-MAC player who missed most of last year with an injury. It's hard to figure what's happened there.

Northern has been the highest scoring team in the MAC in last five years, but this year's team plays a much slower pace and averages just 63 points a game. That's last in the league, as is NIU's 71.4 defensive average.

Kent State's offensive average of 71.6 is third in conference. Defensive average of 68.0 is eighth. Flashes are coming off of 75-63 win at home agains Western Michigan, one of their best games of season.

KSU is 1-2 in MAC and 8-6 overall.

Full preview is on the blog at http://wbbFlashes.com.

Until the last two minutes, the women played a nice game on the road at Northern Illinois.

They hung on to win 79-71, but NIU outscored them 13-6, including an 11-0 run, at the end of the game. In that time, KSU missed five shots and had four turnovers.

Its final four points came on free throws by sophomore Hannah Young, who played her best game at Kent. She equaled career highs of 14 points and eight rebounds, made four-of-seven shots and two-of-three 3-pointers, and had two assists and a steal.

KSU had led by double figures since the second quarter until NIU made its run.

Asiah Dingle scored 20 points and Nila Blackford had 19 and Katie Shumate 11.

The Flashes scored 33 points -- a season high -- off of 24 NIU turnovers. They had 18 assists on 30 baskets and got 21 points from their bench.

Kent State's MAC record is now 2-2 and 9-6 overall. The Flashes are in a three-way tie for first place with Ohio and Buffalo in the MAC East, but five MAC West teams have 3-1 records. Northern is 0-4 and 4-11.

In his pregame radio interview, coach Todd Starkey said senior guard Megan Carter had mononucleosis and had no timetable for a return. She missed her second straight game.

He also said senior Ali Poole tore her ACL against Western Michigan on Saturday and was done for the season. Poole had injured the knee in summer practice and been slowed all season. She reinjured it diving for a loose ball.

Game story is on the blog at http://wbbFlashes.com.

Kent State was the only team to win on the road Wednesday, so the Flashes moved to even par for the season.[/i]

The “golf” standings concept is stolen from a regular on the Flash Fanatics bulletin board, who has done this for men’s basketball for several years.

It gives a team -1 for a road win (a “birdie”) and adds a point for a home loss (a “bogey.” A home win or road loss gets zero (“par”).

The golf standings

-2
-- Central Michigan (4-0, 11-4)

-1
-- Ball State (3-1, 11-5)
-- WMU (3-1, 10-5)
-- EMU (3-1, 8-7)
-- Ohio (2-2, 9-6)
-- Buffalo (2-2, 11-4)

Even
-- Toledo (3-1, 8-7)
-- Kent State (2-2, 9-6)

+1
-- Akron (1-3, 8-7)
-- Miami (1-3, 8-8)

+2
-- Bowling Green (0-4, 7-9)
-- Northern Illinois (0-4, 4-11)

There were good game in the league. Western Michigan beat Ohio on a last-second shot and Central Michigan overwhelmed Ball State 66-39 in a game between unbeaten teams in the league. Buffalo and Toledo came from behind in the fourth quarter for wins over Bowling Green and Akron.

Details plus the report card on KSU's 79-71 win over NIU (a B+) is on the blog at http://wbbFlashes.com.

As simple as it is, it gives an interesting perspective.

The women look for their third straight win and second straight win on the road at Miami Saturday afternoon.

Miami is 4-1 at home and 8-8 overall and hasn't yet beat a team with a winning record. Kent State is 3-2 on the road this season and won 79-71 at last-place Northern Illinois Wednesday. Flashes are 2-2 in MAC and 9-6 overall.

KSU is tied for first in the MAC East with Buffalo and Ohio but tied for sixth in the MAC overall. The overall standings determine seedings in the MAC tournament.

Miami has two returning all-MAC players in senior guard Lauren Dickerson and senior forward Savannah Kluesner. Freshman Peyton Scott, who scored 2,200 points in high school, has started every game.

Miami lost coach Megan Duffy to Marquette in the off-season after winning 23 games last season. Four members of Duffy's recruiting class decommitted.

Kent State has won both of its games since senior Megan Carter left the lineup with mononucleosis. It has started three freshmen and two sophomores; two more sophomores played more than 13 minutes off the bench.

With senior Ali Poole out for the season with a torn ACL, Flashes have only one senior in uniform -- reserve forward Sydney Brinlee. She has played a total of 10 minutes in Kent's four MAC games. Brinlee had more playing time earlier in the season, but junior Monique Smith has replaced her as first forward off the bench.

Kent State and Miami have been playing since 1976. Miami has won 46, Kent 45.

Preview is on the blog at http://wbbFlashes.com.

For the second straight game, the women struggled down the stretch but managed a road win. This one was a 78-75 victory at Miami.

Kent State is now 3-2 in the MAC and in a six-way (!) tie for third in the league. Flashes are 10-6 overall. Miami is 1-5 in the MAC, 8-9 overall.

The Flashes blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and trailed 75-74 with 1:17 to go. They committed a turnover with 18 seconds left but forced a turnover on Miami's subsequent inbounds pass.

Asiah Dingle hit two free throws to put KSU ahead with eight seconds left. On Miami's next inbounds pass, Lindsey Thall tipped the ball to Nila Blackford, who made a layup as time expired.

Those three players and Katie Shumate all had critical roles in the win.
Blackford had 23 points, 19 in the first half. Shumate and Dingle each had 18, with 13 of Dingle's coming in the second half. Shumate also had 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

Thall had 11 points, four blocked shots, three assists and the steal at the end. She made three-of-seven 3-pointers.

When Miami made its run in the fourth quarter, KSU had three turnovers and Miami hit three 3-point baskets.

In the MAC, Central Michigan won at Western Michigan to go 5-0. Toledo beat Bowling Green to go 4-1. Kent State, Ball State, Ohio, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo and Western Michigan are all 3-2.

Game story is on the blog at http://wbbFlashes.com.