Women's Basketball Advances to MAC Semifinals With 69-52 Win Over Ball State
3/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND, Ohio Just a little over 18 hours after being named the leagues player of the year, senior forward Lindsay Shearer led all players with 26 points and eight rebounds while junior and native Clevelander Sarah Burgess hit four first-half three-pointers to lead the Kent State University womens basketball team to a 69-52 victory over Ball State University in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Kraft Mid-American Conference Tournament this afternoon (Mar. 8) at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Burgess, the Brook Park and Regina High School product who had struggled at the end of the regular season from beyond the arc, finished with 16 points off the bench and senior All-MAC point guard Malika Willoughby added 11 points and four assists for Kent State (20-9) which advances to play West Division champion Eastern Michigan on Friday (Mar. 10).
Neither team got off to impressive starts as the Golden Flashes opened the contest missing their first six field goal attempts. Ball States start was even worse as the Cardinals missed their first 11 shots before Tina Boltes three-pointer 6:41 into the game made the score 6-4 in favor of Kent State. That would be the closest that Ball State would get as the Flashes went on a 13-2 run, getting two threes from Burgess and one from Shearer during the spurt, to take a 13-point lead.
Burgess fourth three-pointer of the half gave KSU its biggest lead at 37-19 with 1:27 left in the half. Boltes three-pointer at the buzzer- her third of the period- made it a 15-point game, 37-22 at the break.
The last few games, Ive been struggling from the outside and I was really getting down on myself, said Burgess, who along with Shearer tallied 14 markers in the opening period. But Coach (head coach Bob Lindsay) said there was nothing wrong with me and I kept working on my shot.
A sluggish start to the second half by Kent State allowed Ball State to get back into the game. A 13-2 scoring run by the Cardinals got them within seven points at 42-35 on Boltes three at the 16:28 mark. But, as a foreshadowing of things to come, the Flashes answered. Rachel Bennetts first bucket of the game, a three-pointer from the left corner, pushed the lead back to double digits. When Ball State came right back and scored, Willoughbys spinning jumper in the lane again made it a 10-point margin.
With it still a 10-point game with six minutes to go, Shearer followed a defensive rebound with a tough lay-up in the paint on the offensive end and Willoughby followed with a defensive board and two free throws, propelling the Flashes to a 11-4 run to close out the game.
We expected a real tough game from Ball State and we certainly got that, Lindsay said. For us to win games, we need to do it with our defense and make some shots. We did that today.
Kent States defense, which ranked second in the league in lowest field goal percentage allowed during the regular season, held Ball State to just 31.4 percent (16-of-51) in the game, including 24.2% (8-of-33) in the first half. The Flashes also forced 19 turnovers, converting those into 21 points.
Offensively, the Flashes were 21-of-50 from the field in the contest for 42%, including seven-of-12 from deep (58.3%). KSU also held a 35-32 rebound advantage, limiting the leagues leading rebounder, Ball States Julie DeMuth, to just three boards.
Bolte finished with 19 to lead Ball State while DeMuth added 11.
Kent State and Eastern Michigan will tip-off at noon on Friday in the days first semifinal at Quicken Loans Arena.
GAME NOTES: The win was Kent States 20th this season. Its the 14th 20-win season in school history and the 11th under Bob Lindsay, including nine of the last 11 years... Shearer, the leagues leading scorer, recorded her 19th game this season with at least 20 points... Shearer also became just the third player in school history to total 1,700 points and 800 rebounds in her career... Shearer also moved into seventh place on the schools all-time blocked shots list... Kent State is 14-0 this season when holding its opponent under 60 points... Willoughby surpassed 550 assists for her career... Kent State has won three-of-four over Ball State and is 4-0 all-time in MAC Tournament play... Bob Lindsay is 27-12 all-time in MAC Tournament games... Kent State advances to the semifinals for the second straight year and the 14th time in school history... Kent States bench outscored the Ball State reserves 21-2 in the first half.
