Story by
Kent State women’s basketball loses to Ball State in home finale
- Story by
- Kent State women’s basketball loses to Ball State in home finale
KENT — The Kent State women's basketball team took its home court for the final time this season in a physical Mid-American Conference battle against Ball State Wednesday night.
"We struggled a little bit tonight with the physicality, and this was just practice for us," Golden Flashes senior Katie Shumate said. "We're going to get more practice on Saturday against Toledo.
Advertisement
"We need to be able to play through contact, be strong and try to force our will on people and be the aggressor."
Kent State guard Katie Shumate drives to the basket to score during a college basketball game against the Northern Illinois Huskies on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024 in Kent, OH.
In a game in which 29 fouls were called, the Flashes fell 75-71 to the second-place Cardinals.
Playing through contact is something Kent State coach Todd Starkey wants his team to improve heading into the next week's MAC Tournament.
"There's was a lot of physicality out there tonight, and we need to be able to finish through contact," he said. "It's going to be like that in Cleveland. [Ball State's] game plan was to play us physically, and that's exactly how they played and it worked to their benefit."
Advertisement
With the loss, KSU (18-9, 13-4) clinched the No. 3 seed in the MAC Tournament, which will begin March 13 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
For the last time in her collegiate career, Shumate took the court inside the M.A.C. Center.
"I just thought about it like any other day and try to do my best tonight," she said. "We had a lot of people out tonight, and it was a great game for my last game, even though we didn't come out on top."
Starkey said Kent State has been fortunate to have Shumate wearing blue and gold for the last five years.
"I'm really proud to have been her coach; she has literally left parts of her body out there on the court over the last five years," he said. "The level of toughness that she has had and the way she's handled herself at Kent State University as a student-athlete is second to none.
Advertisement
"I just want everybody to know how proud we are for everything she has meant to Kent State women's basketball."
The Cardinals (26-4, 15-2) led 18-16 at the end of a back-and-forth first quarter, during which seven different Flashes scored, and were up 35-31 at halftime.
After BSU opened its largest lead of the game at 51-37 in the third quarter, Kent State shot 3 of 3 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line to cut its deficit to 56-47.
"We know we're going to be in situations in the tournament, and this is perfect practice for that," Shumate said. "Keep fighting, playing together and just thinking about the next play and not worrying about what just happened."
Advertisement
Shumate then scored seven points during a 22-16 fourth-quarter run that pulled the Flashes to within 72-69 with two minutes remaining.
But the Flashes couldn't complete the comeback, making just one of three shots from the floor in the final minute while the Cardinals were converting 3 of 4 free throws to close out the game.
Kent State's two leading scorers, Shumate (16 points) and forward Jenna Batsch (8), combined for 24 points on 10-of-37 shooting. Janae Tyler added 12 points off the bench — her 10th game with 10 or more points.
"She's played a lot of minutes and continued to grow," Starkey said of Tyler. "Janae has continued to mature and grow as a player, and she's going to be really good for us moving forward."
Advertisement
The Flashes will travel to Toledo for their regular-season finale at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Rockets beat Kent State 87-76 when the teams first played on Jan. 17.
"Tonight was a great preparation for us for going to Toledo this weekend," Starkey said. "Then the conference tournament, where things really get real and matter the most."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Katie Shumate plays final home game for Kent State women's basketball
