Kent State University
Northern Illinois
Women’s Basketball Hosts NIU on Wednesday, Seeks to Even Season Series
2/15/2022 2:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Kent State looks to continues a strong start to February when it hosts Northern Illinois at the M.A.C. Center at 7 p.m. Wednesday night.
The Golden Flashes (15-7, 7-6 MAC) topped Ball State, 64-61, on Saturday afternoon in a matchup between two of the Mid-American Conference's hottest teams to improve to 5-0 this month. Kent State led for much of the contest and made a pair of key defensive stops in the final 20 seconds to hold on for the win. Katie Shumate scored a game-high 20 points and Casey Santoro added 16 points.
Juniors Nila Blackford (11.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and Katie Shumate (12.3 ppg) have been the offensive catalysts for the Flashes during the current win streak. Blackford has averaged a team-high 15.2 points per game on 57.9% shooting, while Shumate has added 15.0 points per contest and made 52.0% of shots from the floor. Senior Lindsey Thall is having the best season of her career with averages of 11.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Sophomore Casey Santoro has been one of the nation's most productive non-starters with averages of 11.7 points and 3.3 assists per game while ranking 24th nationally with a 2.32 assist-to-turnover ratio. Freshman Bridget Dunn (9.8 ppg) is averaging a 11.9 points per game during MAC play. Senior Hannah Young (6.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) has helped the Flashes dominate opponents on the glass.
Scouting Northern Illinois
The Huskies (10-12, 7-7 MAC) ended an opponent's five-game win streak as well on Saturday, defeating Buffalo, 69-64, in overtime. Northern Illinois average 67.1 points per game overall for the season but that has dipped to 62.8 points per contest over the past six outings without leading scorer Chelby Koker (17.8 ppg). The Huskies have scored more than 61 points after 40 minutes of action just once during this span.
Forward A'Jah Davis (15.6 ppg) averages 12.1 rebounds per contest, which ranks fourth nationally. Davis is fifth in the country with 17 double-doubles. Guard Janae Poisson averages 13.2 points per game and her 62 three-point field goals are the second most in the MAC.
Series History
• Kent State is 24-18 all-time vs. Northern Illinois.
• The Golden Flashes are 14-4 inside of the M.A.C. Center but did not host the Huskies the past two seasons.
• Kent State won that contest, 79-71 on Jan. 15, 2020.
• The Flashes are 4-5 under head coach Todd Starkey.
Broadcast Info
Dave Wilson and Jack Berney will call the action on ESPN+, while Dan Griffin will be on the call on the Kent State Radio Network.
Next Up for Kent State
The Golden Flashes visit rival Akron on Saturday, Feb. 19 and return to action at the M.A.C. Center on Monday, Feb. 21 against Miami.
