It’s been over a decade since Kent State’s women’s basketball team won in Buffalo.

Wednesday, in Buffalo, New York, the Flashes won 72-69 over the Bulls.

The Flashes held Buffalo scoreless for four minutes starting at 5:07.

“We battled back and battled back and had a really good game,” coach Todd Starkey said.

Four players finished in double digit points for Kent State.

Kent State (16-8) sits at fourth place in the Mid-American Conference at 8-5, trailing behind Toledo.

Buffalo (9-13) sits at ninth place in the MAC at 4-9.

Trailing Behind

Buffalo was 1-4 in their last five games, coming into the game and lost three straight.

The Bulls started off strong as KSU was trailing Buffalo the entire first quarter and almost the whole game. Kent State only had the lead for 8% of the time.

The Flashes were outscored in the paint 16-8 in the first quarter, but Kent State was able to outscore Buffalo in the paint in the end 42-40.

KSU’s bench outscored Buffalo 10-0 in the first quarter.

Kent State shot 43% from the field compared to Buffalo as the team shot 62%, ending the first quarter with a 23-17 lead for Buffalo.

The stat sheet was similar for both teams in points, shooting and rebound column in the second quarter.

Buffalo had one more rebound than Kent 11-10.

Kent State shot 8-of-18 from the field and 2-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second quarter and were outscored 21-19.

The Flashes went on a 10-2 run, but Buffalo responded, going on a 12-2 run with 2:00 left to play in the half.

Graduate guard Re’Shawna Stone finished the first half with 21 points, going 7-11 from the field for the Bulls. She averages 15.5 points per game this season.

“They were a one man wrecking crew, she had everything [Stone]. I mean she was the National Player of the Year last year for a reason. She’s a prolific scorer and has the ability to do that,” Starkey said. “We really took a lot of bad quick shots. We’re shooting contested jumpers from outside of the paint which is not what we do. We took a lot of quick three’s. We didn’t get any offensive rebounds and those long shots lead to transition. They were getting downhill so it broke the defense and it made it difficult for us.”

Buffalo shot 47% (8-of-17) from the field but just 20% (1-5) from three in the second quarter.

Buffalo led Kent State at the half 44-36.

Closing the gap

Kent State was able to cut the lead down to four with 2:10 left to play in the third quarter.

KSU went 7-of-19 from the field but 0-of-3 from 3-point range. Buffalo went 5-of-12 from the field and just 1-of-3 from three.

Graduate guard Hannah Young and senior guard Katie Shumate came up big in rebound category, giving the Flashes second chance opportunities. Shumate had nine of her own while Young tallied four.

“Hannah and Katie really kind of carried the load for us in that area in the third quarter. Definitely the fourth quarter, some of those offensive rebounds they had and crucial possessions in the fourth quarter was big for us,” Starkey said. “We were able to get to the bonus quicker and shoot some free throws down the stretch.”

In the third quarter Kent State started to play through graduate forward Lindsey Thall, as she was able to stay out of foul trouble.

“We really wanted to emphasize going to her and playing through her,” Starkey said. “Usually when we do that we get better shot selections.”

Buffalo outscored Kent State 18-15 in the third quarter. KSU led in bench points 24-4. Buffalo went into the fourth quarter leading by five, 59-54.

Flashes started the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run. Kent State was able to take the lead with 3:12 left to play after Thall tied it at 66 with 4:01. This was the Flashes first lead since the second quarter at 5:44.

KSU held Buffalo scoreless for four straight minutes in the fourth as the team played tough defensively to help them take the lead late.

“We did a really good job in the zone, I thought that really slowed them down, they were carving us up in man. We did a good job of defensive rebounding down the stretch as well,” Starkey said. “We got stops in the zone and we kept them to one shot and we were able to get downhill and get some things at the basket.”

Junior guard Casey Santoro finished with a team-high 16 points.

Thall had 15, sophomore forward Jenna Batsch had 13 and Shumate collected 11 of her own.

“Really good game, Casey Santoro had a fantastic game, Lindsey played really well, Jenna Batsch off the bench was big for us, 6 for 12 from the floor, 13 points, so got contributions from multiple players,” coach Todd Starkey said. “I think we’ve only lost one game since I’ve been here when a player scores over 35 points and it’s still that way, but we’ll take the win for sure.”

Stone had a big game leading the Bulls in points with 36 as her teammate, fifth year guard Zakiyah Winfield, was second in points with 14.

Kent State shot 42.6% (29-of-68) from the field and 21.7% (5-of-23) from three. Buffalo shot 47.4% (27-of-57) and just 31.3% (5-of-16) from three.

Back at the M.A.C.C.

Kent State returns to the M.A.C.C. when the team takes on Akron (15-9).

Akron is 6-7 in the conference and 4-5 on the road.

Kent State defeated Akron during its last meeting in Akron, winning 57-55.

Tip off is at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Kyle Kuchta is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].