Freshman Janae Tyler leads Kent State women’s basketball to MAC sweep of rival Akron

KENT — Freshman Janae Tyler played a near-perfect game Saturday at the M.A.C. Center to help the Kent State women’s basketball team complete a sweep of the University of Akron for the second consecutive year.

The Golden Flashes rolled to a 73-51 Mid-American Conference victory over the rival Zips after winning 69-60 in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 20.

Tyler has brought a new element to the KSU roster, senior guard Katie Shumate said.

“She is extremely valuable having someone of her size and her aggressiveness,” Shumate said. “Her overall IQ for the game, being able to guard and play in the post, is something we haven't had in the past.”

Tyler led all bench players with 16 points, and has scored in double figures in eight games this season, including two of the last three.

“I knew coming in I'd have a lot to adjust from high school to college basketball,” Tyler said. “But just being more confident in my game.”

Kent State coach Todd Starkey said he is excited about what the future holds for Tyler.

“I mean, for a freshman to come in and have that type of presence and the ability to score and rebound, just to see her development as the year has gone by has been exciting,” he said.

Starkey said he was proud of the way his team responded after a 79-77 loss to Ohio in its previous game.

“I think we all had the feeling that we let one get away,” he said. “But we wanted to answer that and make sure we came back today.”

After a back-and-forth start against the Zips, the Flashes (16-8, 10-3) ended the first quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 22-9 lead.

“I think we just struggled being connected as a team on Wednesday,” Tyler said. “Today, we just had to answer and clean everything up.”

The Zips (9-16, 4-10) rallied in the second quarter, closing to 39-30 at halftime.

“We had some careless turnovers and a couple of bad shots,” Starkey said. “[It] was something we addressed at halftime and needed to clean up.”

KSU then limited UA to just one basket in the opening five minutes of the second half, using a 9-3 run to open a 48-33 lead.

Tyler, who started the game 5 of 5 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line, missed her first attempt with one minute remaining in the third quarter. She finished 7 of 10 from the field and 2 of 2 at the line.

“I don’t really pay attention to that,” Tyler said. “I’m just playing and just trying to stay focused.”

Tyler was just as effective on the other end of the floor. Coming into the game, Akron’s Reagan Bass was the MAC’s third-leading scorer (16.2 average) and only player averaging double-digit rebounds. But Tyler, as the primary defender, helped limit her to eight points and six rebounds.

“We knew that we had to shut her down — she is a great rebounder, great scorer — so we definitely had to limit what she could do in the game,” Tyler said of Bass. “I think it is something that can boost my confidence on how well of a defender I can be.”

KSU outscored the Zips 18-12 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Shumate (18 points) and junior forward Jenna Batsch (12) joined Tyler in double-figure scoring for Kent State .

No Akron player scored more than nine points.

“I thought the whole defensive concept was good today,” Starkey said. “I thought that was a big thing for us. They really dialed in defensively because we did we didn't play well defensively this past Wednesday.”

The focus on defense didn't hurt Kent State offensively. The Flashes shot 53% from the field, 50% from 3-point range and 94% from the free-throw line.

“I thought we executed really well. We wanted to try and get the ball inside because we've kind of gotten away from that a little bit,” Starkey said. “We did a good job of playing through the paint and letting 3-point shots become an offspring of that.”

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Janae Tyler, Katie Shumate lead Kent State over Reagan Bass, Akron