The Kent State women's basketball team didn't let a tough start bother it Saturday against its rival.
The Golden Flashes overcame a nine-point deficit 14 minutes into the game to beat the Akron Zips 69-60. The Flashes used a strong second half at Rhodes Arena to take charge.
"It's always tough to play over here," Kent State coach Todd Starkey said. "It doesn't matter what the records are, who the coaches are, or what the situation is."
The Flashes, who have won three of their last four games at Akron, knew what they needed to do turn things around.
"I think there at the start we weren't matching their energy," Kent State guard Katie Shumate said. "Then, as the game went on, we exceeded their energy."
The sluggish start by KSU (11-5, 5-1) was a result of its previous game against Toledo , Starkey said.
"I think we're trying to get our footing after some of the things that happened the other night," he said. "I think once that got worked out in the first quarter from then on, I thought we did a really good job."
In the final six minutes of the first half, the Golden Flashes went on a 19-7 scoring run, taking a 29-26 lead.
"We just had much better execution," Starkey said, "and we were able to carry that into the second half."
Kent State forward Jenna Batsch ended the half with back-to-back 3-pointers and opened the second half with a quick layup and another shot from behind the arc.
"We needed a spark," Batsch said. "I got into foul trouble to start the game, and I felt like when I came back I had to do something."
Starkey said he's proud to see Batsch's growth every game.
"At halftime, I told her if you had half as much confidence in yourself as everybody else in this room does, you're an all-conference player," he said. "She's really come a long way, and I want to continue to see her stay in that lane."
Coming into the game, Akron's forward Reagan Bass was the Mid-American Conference's second-leading scorer (19.1 average) and 34th in the nation in rebounding (11.7 average).
However, the Flashes limited her to 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting and six rebounds.
Starkey credited forward Bridgett Dunn for her defensive efforts.
"She had a heck of a defensive game to hold a player like Reagan to those numbers at home, which is no small task," he said. "She did a good job of crowding her. We (have) got to get better at some of our defensive things around that, but we couldn't be more proud of what she did today."
The Zips (6-10, 1-5) would not go away in the fourth quarter. They cut the deficit to 61-58 with three minutes remaining.
"We had some poor communication defensively, and they ran some good actions to get back into the game," Starkey said. "But I was really proud of the way that we executed and responded on crucial possessions offensively to close the game."
Shumate scored eight of her 14 points in the final quarter.
"At the start of the game, it was Jenna who was leading us on offense," Starkey said. "Then she passed that baton to Katie and finished the game for us.
"You can take one away, but the other one will step up for us."
Batsch finished with a game-high 18 points, with Shumate (14) and sophomore guard Corynne Hauser (12) also scoring in double digits for the Flashes.
As a team, KSU shot 51% from the field and 8 of 19 from behind the arc. The Zips shot 39% from the field and 8 of 20 from 3-point range.
The Flashes, who have shot better than 40% from deep in back-to-back games, return home to play Eastern Michigan, while the Zips will travel to Western Michigan. Eastern Michigan (5-11, 2-4) has lost four of its last five games.
"We need to get some rest first and then start preparing on Monday for a much improved Eastern Michigan team," Starkey said. "And just staying focused on what's right in front of us."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent State women's basketball defeats Akron in MAC play
