A lack of offensive rhythm led the Kent State women’s basketball team to lose its first road game of the season 79-51 at No. 13 North Carolina State Thursday night.
The Flashes’ offense struggled in all aspects with poor shooting, turnovers and paint scoring. Despite the loss, coach Todd Starkey acknowledged the Flashes played hard against a nationally-ranked and former Final Four team while short-handed with injuries.
“With as many injured players as we have right now, we knew it was going to be tough, but I was really proud of the team for the way they continued to battle throughout,” Starkey said. “We didn’t have the outcome that we wanted, but at the end of the day, it’s about learning through that experience and getting better as we go.”
Players out due to injuries include junior guard Dionna Gray, freshman guard Joy Bergstrom, junior guard Corynne Hauser, junior guard Elena Maier, sophomore forward Janae Tyler and redshirt junior guard Kaley Perkins
Despite the offensive struggles, the game was in reach for the majority of play, with the Flashes only down 33-28 at the end of the first half. However, the Wolfpack began to pull away in the fourth quarter.
The Flashes were down 12 points by the end of the third quarter, but a late Wolfpack run caused them to win the final quarter by a score of 23-7.
“We just wore down in the fourth quarter, and you could see how tired our players were with our short bench,” Starkey said. “You have to play at such a high level against that level of competition, and we were able to sustain for a while.”
The offensive struggles characterized the night for the Flashes, in which they couldn’t seem to get anything going with 17 turnovers. The team also shot 15-57 from the field (26.3%) and 10-28 (35.7%) from three-point distance.
Starkey gave credit to the Wolfpack’s defense, but he also admitted the Flashes “could’ve executed better.”
“You’re more hesitant to shoot, or you second guess yourself when you’re going up against All-American guards,” Starkey said. “North Carolina State did a good job in the second half of trying to disrupt our flow offensively, and then we had players playing out of position as well.”
Things didn’t get much easier for the Flashes inside the paint, as the team only had six points at the rim. The Flashes were also outrebounded 44-33.
North Carolina State’s size and athleticism impacted the struggles, but Starkey also emphasized the role injuries piling up for the Flashes played.
“When you have four of your top five guards out due to injury against some of the best back court players in the country, that affects it,” Starkey said. “It’s a significant thing, and it’s not much more complicated than that.”
There were some bright spots performance-wise for the Flashes. Senior forward Bridget Dunn had herself a night, as she scored 17 points on 6-10 (60%) shooting, which includes 5-9 (56%) from three-point range.
“She has the ability to score at multiple positions on the floor,” Starkey said. “I’m sure it was good for her to see the ball go in early, and she can turn into a prolific shooter when she gets hot like that.”
Senior guard Jenna Batsch also had an impressive night with 15 points, but she struggled staying efficient with shooting splits of 5-18 (28%) from the field and 2-5 (40%) from three-point distance.
On the other side of things, North Carolina State had several notable performances. Senior guard Aziaha James scored 20 points (8-15 from the field), grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists.
Freshman guard Zamareya Jones scored 16 points on 6-11 shooting from the field, and graduate guard Madison Hayes was just short of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Flashes dropped to 1-2 on the season while the Wolfpack improved to 2-1. The next stop for the team will be a showdown at Elon Saturday, as the Flashes continue their roadtrip.
Starkey said the team will begin preparing for an Elon defense that’s “very quick and aggressive.”
“They have the ability to really play in transition, and they have a swarming defense,” he said. “My expectations are for us to continue to improve, and put ourselves in a great position to win our first road game of the year.”
John Engoglia is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
