NCAA Tournament bound: Kent State women’s basketball punches its ticket by beating Buffalo
CLEVELAND — The Kent State women’s basketball team had a chance to end a 22-year streak of frustration when it took the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse court Saturday for the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship game.
The Golden Flashes made the most of that chance.
Kent State caught fire in the second half to win its first MAC Tournament title and clinch its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002 with a resounding 78-60 victory over Buffalo.
“The biggest thing I've told them is championships are hard to come by,” Flashes coach Todd Starkey said. “It's hard to win championships, and they have embraced the hard every day and did amazing things.”
Kent State forward Bridget Dunn said the victory was for the team's seniors — guards Katie Shumate and Abby Ogle and center Mikala Morris.
“It hasn't really hit us yet, but we've been working for this,” Dunn said. “This has been our goal for the last four years at least. Katie is someone who's given everything she has to this team.
“We really want to do it for her, Mikala and Abby. It's just a surreal moment for us.”
The victory gave KSU (21-10) its fourth tournament championship, the fourth most in the MAC.
“From the beginning, we had belief that they could get to this point,” Starkey said. “We talked about it even when we had some setbacks during the year.
“I wanted to put them in those settings so that when we got to these types of moments, the moment wasn't too big for them. And I think that paid off.”
Shumate, the tournament MVP, scored 18 points to lead four Flashes in double figures. Junior forward Jenna Batsch and sophomore guard Dionna Gray each had 14 points and Morris contributed 11. Dunn added seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Shumate, who also had nine rebounds, and Dunn were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team.
Kent State led 20-15 at the end of the first quarter, but after making the first basket of the second quarter endured a scoreless stretch that lasted for nine minutes. The Bulls (19-13) took advantage and grabbed a 34-30 halftime lead.
“We started taking some shots that were ill-advised when we've been playing well,” Starkey said. “Our shot selection has been really good up to that point.
“We went in the locker room, and there was no panic. I just told them, let's get back to playing the type of basketball that got us here.”
That game plan started with scoring inside and capitalizing on open shots.
“Take 3s that are there, and don't pass up good shots,” Starkey said. “Coaches can change game plans and do that type of thing, but players have to execute, and they have to make plays, and they did over and over and again.”
After taking only one shot during the first half, Gray knew she needed to step up. And she did just that, connecting on three 3-pointers to fuel a 29-13 third quarter that put the Flashes firmly in control at 59-47 heading into the fourth.
“I knew if we needed to win this game, I needed to do my part as well,” Gray said. “I looked at Katie and knew I needed to do something about it.
“Them trusting me and me being able to step up means a lot.”
Buffalo briefly rallied early in the fourth quarter, cutting a 17-point deficit to eight at 66-58 with 4:19 to play, but Kent State quickly restored order with a 12-0 run and limited the Bulls to one field goal down the stretch to win going away.
As they have all season, the Flashes played solid defense. They ranked third in the MAC, allowing 62 points per game during the regular season, and lowered that to 56 during their three tournament games. Even better, they used that defense to set up scores on the other end.
“I think that's what leads to our good offense,” Gray said. “We are really connected, and that leads to our transition points, which leads to easier buckets, which leads to wins.”
Kent State finished the tournament with 35 points off turnovers.
“We start building our defense from day one so that it pays off when we get to this time of year,” Starkey said. “They've just continued to get better and better defensively all year.”
With their spot in the NCAA Tournament secure, the Flashes will wait for the brackets to be revealed Sunday to learn their next opponent.
“When I get away from all this, and I'm alone thinking about it, it'll probably sink in and hit me even more,” said Starkey, who led four four of his Lenoir-Rhyne teams to the NCAA Tournament. “I wish my mom could be here. She was my biggest fan. This one's for Alice Starkey.”
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent State women's basketball defeats Buffalo in MAC title game
