A strong all-around performance from junior guard Dionna Gray pushed the Kent State women’s basketball team to an 81-61 win over Duquesne Wednesday night.
In her first performance this season after recovering from an injury, Gray delivered a 20-point performance on 4-8 from the field and 11-11 from the free throw line. She also added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Her 20 points is a career high.
Her presence on the court allowed some Flashes to revert back to their usual roles on the team.
“It was good to be able to help my teammates out, and I feel like it made everybody more comfortable just being in our regular positions,” Gray said. “Not that I did anything extra or anything special; I just did all the right things, and then it helped my teammates be in the right position to do all the right things as well. It felt good to be back.”
Despite getting Gray back from injury, the Flashes still have several players out while recovering. Coach Todd Starkey hopes Gray’s return is a step in the right path for the team.
“We didn’t play our best last game, and I think there was some doubt that was starting to creep in a little bit,” he said. “We just tried to stay really positive and focus on what we needed to.”
The Flashes were deadlocked with the Dukes at 15 points after the first quarter, but after that, the team managed to grow its lead throughout the game. The brakes finally came off for Duquesne in the fourth quarter, where it was outscored 24-14.
Offensive struggles have been a problem for the Flashes during this young season, especially in regards to inefficiency and turnovers. Although those issues were apparent Wednesday night (38.1% from the field and 22 turnovers), they didn’t characterize the performance from the Flashes.
“We would have liked to have been a little bit better with the turnovers, but at the same time, I thought that we did a really good job of not turning one turnover into three or four and multiple mistakes,” Starkey said. “The team did a really good job of making multiple hustle plays; when we have a turnover, one of the biggest things we say is to do the next right thing, and they did that over and over again.”
Starkey also gave credit to Gray for the offense’s improvement.
“It’s great to have Dionna back on the court, and she has one of if not the best game of her career in her first game of the season and first game coming off an injury,” he said. “The way Dionna played against the press and in tough situations – I just couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Effectiveness at the free throw line was also a factor in the offense’s improvement, with the Flashes going 24-27 (89%) from the charity stripe. Duquesne struggled making the most of their opportunities at the line, going just 12-21 (57%).
The Flashes also had several notable performances outside of Gray. Sophomore guard Mya Babbitt finished with 14 points on 4-9 shooting and 3-6 from three-point range. She also grabbed six boards.
“Mya is known as being a shooter, but her defense throughout the game was really outstanding and really important to us,” Starkey said.
Senior guard Jenna Batsch was also a bright spot for the Flashes. She scored 13 points (4-18 from the field) and added seven rebounds.
Senior forward Bridget Dunn rounds out the impressive outings with 11 points on 3-6 shooting and seven rebounds.
For the most part, the Flashes did an excellent job of not letting any Duquesne player take over. The only notable performance from the Dukes came from senior guard Megan McConnell. She finished with a double-double after scoring 19 points (7-16 from the field) and grabbing 10 rebounds.
The Flashes move to 2-3 after securing their second home win of the season, and the Dukes fall to 2-2 on the year. The Flashes will host Xavier Saturday to cap off the homestand. Tip-off is at 1 p.m.
“Not a whole lot of rest for the weary here,” Starkey said. “We have to turn around and play a Xavier team that’s much improved.”
John Engoglia is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
