Women’s basketball: Flashes lose big

Kent+State+freshman+guard+Jamie+Hutcheson%2C+surrounded+by+the+other+team%2C+looks+to+pass+the+ball+in+a+game+against+Bowling+Green+at+the+M.A.C.+Center+Tuesday%2C+February+28.+The+Flashes+lost+to+the+Falcons+91-48.+Photo+by+Monica+Maschak.

Kent State freshman guard Jamie Hutcheson, surrounded by the other team, looks to pass the ball in a game against Bowling Green at the M.A.C. Center Tuesday, February 28. The Flashes lost to the Falcons 91-48. Photo by Monica Maschak.

Matt Lofgren

The Kent State women’s basketball team (6-20, 5-11 MAC) ended the regular season Tuesday night by losing the edge in “every aspect” to Bowling Green (24-5, 14-2 MAC) 91-48 at the M.A.C. Center, coach Bob Lindsay said.

With the loss, the Flashes will travel to Ohio to take on a Bobcats team that split the season series between both teams. In the last meeting, Ohio won 51-45 but shot 24.1 percent from the floor.

Both teams had a lot to play for in the game. For the Flashes, the potential of a home first round Mid-American Conference Tournament game is up for grabs. For Bowling Green, an outright MAC title. About 12 minutes after the final buzzer rang, word came across that Eastern Michigan lost to Western Michigan, giving the Falcons an outright regular season title.

“We were beaten in every aspect of the game by a team that was better than us,” Lindsay said. “I don’t know any other way to put it.”

In the game, the Falcons lit up the scoreboard, sinking 16-34 (47.1 percent) from beyond the arch. Bowling Green’s 16 3-pointers were as many points as the entire Flashes offense put up.

The Flashes were led in scoring by junior guard Tamzin Barroilhet with 12 points and junior guard Trisha Krewson with 10 points.

Junior forward Diamon Beckford made her first appearance in four games, putting in two points in 18 minutes and two rebounds off the bench.

Worst loss to Bowling Green since Dec. 8, 1990, a 129-81 loss at Purdue and worst loss this season.

The Falcons’ bench outscored the Flashes’ bench 49-10.

“They shot the ball really well, and they did that here back a couple of years ago,” Lindsay said. “They scored 90 points and hit 16 three’s. I think it was almost a carbon copy of today. If you go back and you look at the game, you say, ‘well, how well did your team compete in the game? Were they making tough shots or were they making shots when they were wide open?’ and most of those three’s that they made were uncontested.”

Bowling Green’s offense was firing on all cylinders with nine players hitting a shot from beyond the arch and shot 51.6 percent from the floor. On the other end of the spectrum, the Flashes struggled shooting all night long and ended the night shooting 32.7 percent (17-52) from the field.

Right at the start of the game, the Flashes had problems with the potent Bowling Green offense. Storming out to a 24-6 lead early, the team “didn’t have our rhythm going” as junior guard Tamzin Barroilhet said.

“I think a few players did play a little scared and panicked a little today,” Barroilhet said. “I’m not sure why. We just didn’t have our rhythm going really well.”

Lindsay is familiar with the Flashes playing like this with such a young team and the “doctor of doom” showed up early on to the team.

“I think the doctor of doom came out really early and as soon as we got down and they were making shots and everything seemed to be going to them, our reaction to that wasn’t very good,” Lindsay said. “I think teams that are really competitive and have a lot of pride in the way they play come out and try to find a way to overcome that. And we’ve done that in other games, but tonight we were not very good at it.”

A short memory is the only medicine for a loss of this magnitude, but the team will need to learn from it.

“Just have to bring the defensive intensities pretty much and go out there and try and play harder than the next to the we’ve got to play,” junior forward Diamon Beckford said.

The Flashes will travel to face Ohio Saturday. Tipoff is yet to be determined for the game.

Contact Matt Lofgren at [email protected] or @MLofgrenDKS