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

(03-09-2019 11:44 PM)cschierh Wrote:  A very good game indeed.

Buffalo is a good team -- 12-6 and fourth in the MAC (20-9 overall), RPI 37 of 351 teams going into the game. (The loss to Kent State could hurt their hopes of getting an at-large NCAA bid considerably. They made the Sweet 16 last season as an at-large team.)

Kent held the Bulls to their lowest point total of the season and 24 points below their average of 77, which was 23rd in the country. Buffalo made only 12 field goals and shot 26 percent. It went 3-of-24 in the second half.

UB's Cierra Dillard went into the game second in the country in scoring at 25.5 points a game. She scored 18 and fouled out with six minutes left. That was a big help; she's the kind of player who can take over a game.

KSU had 12 assists on 20 baskets, about its best work of the year. Alexa Golden had a career-high eight assists, which was also KSU's individual high for the season.

The media box score this year has started to include "plus/minus," the amount of points a team outscores the opponent when a particular player is on the court.

On Saturday, Senior center Merissa Barber-Smith didn't take a shot. She had five rebounds, which is actually two below her average, and the two blocks Burden mentioned. She fought foul trouble and played only 12 minutes. Her score was plus-18, highest on either team and one of the highest I've seen all year. She's been playing ferocious defense; at 6-4, she can really disrupt a team's offense.

Kent does indeed play last-place Bowling Green at 7 p.m. Monday at the M.A.C.C. in the tournament. A week ago, the Flashes lost 62-49 at BG in their second worst MAC loss. They struggled to hold off BG 78-73 in Kent.

If KSU wins, it will play Buffalo again at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the quarterfinals at the Q. If KSU wins then, it plays No. 1 seed Central Michigan, which demolished Toledo 78-45 Saturday.

If you're a season-ticket holder, you should have received a voucher in your preseason packet. You trade that for a ticket at the box office. They also have records in case you've can't find the voucher. At the door, tickers are $10.

Lots more is on the blog at http://wbbflashes.com — full tournament pairings, good insight on the game from Starkey, Golden and Ali Poole, final MAC standings and statistics.

It should be an interesting week.

Kudos to the coaching staff and players. The coaches did a great job with a young team in a strong MAC east. We were competitive with CMU and got a nice win over UT. Best of luck to the women and men in the postseason.