Sunday's Scoreboard
Ball State 67, Akron 60
Michigan State 82, Northern Illinois 70
Gonzaga 77, Eastern Michigan 68
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Ball State 67, Akron 60
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio - The holidays came early for Ball State women's basketball, as the team out-toughed Akron by a score of 67-60 for its first Mid-American Conference win of the season Sunday at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Going into today's contest, head coach Brady Sallee said he told his Cardinals (3-3, 1-1 MAC) they had three keys that had to happen to win against a tough Zips (3-2, 0-2 MAC) squad. The first one Sallee said was that Ball State had to rebound the ball plus-10, and the Cardinals did just that 45-to-34.
The second and third keys were playing with a high intensity level and toughness. The Cardinals scored 12 second chance points and pulled down some key rebounds while stealing the ball 10 times to accomplish the final two goals.
Ball State placed three in double figures, led by sophomore Sydney Freeman who scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the first half. Preseason All-MAC selection senior Oshlynn Brown nabbed the 34th double-double of her career with a 15-point, 11-rebound performance. Newcomer Essence Booker also hit some key shots in today's game, ending the day with 14 points.
The opening minutes of the contest started off a little rocky as Akron took an early 5-0 lead. Brown then went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe after drawing the foul from the Zips' Colleen Neitzel which sparked a 12-2 run that gave Ball State a 14-7 lead over Akron at the 2:46 mark. Freeman's early offensive spark helped the Cardinals the remainder of the first half, as she capped it with a steal and fast break layup to give Ball State the slight 35-32 edge at intermission.
It continued to be an up and down ball game up until the 5:35 mark of the third frame, when junior Blake Smith nailed a 3-pointer off of the dish from Freeman. That 3-pointer was something Smith had worked on perfecting during the off season and today her hard work paid off. Booker, who continues to be a strong force offensively for the Cardinals answered with another 3-pointer moments later to put Ball State up by seven (46-39).
Akron wasn't going to go away quietly, however, as the Zips started to make their move heading into the final 10 minutes of action. At the 8:07 mark in the fourth period, Akron had put together an 10-2 scoring spree which shaved the Cardinals once nine-point advantage (55-46) to within one (57-56).
Freeman again answered for the Cardinals with a layup to keep Ball State on top. Ball State continued to keep up the toughness and would hold onto the lead the remainder of the contest.
The Ball State women's basketball team will continue Mid-American Conference action on Jan. 2 as the Cardinals host Bowling Green in Worthen Arena. The time for the contest has not yet been set so please continue to follow @BallStateSports, @BSUCoachBrady and @BallStateWBB along with ballstatesports.com for all your game day details.
Michigan State 82, Northern Illinois 70
Box Score
EAST LANSING, MICH. – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team led early at Michigan State Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center but the Spartans soon showed why they are undefeated on the season in an 82-70 win over the Huskies.
The Huskies shot 43.6 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line Sunday. Sophomore A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) led NIU with a season-high 16 points and tied a career-high with three assists.
"We feel like A'Jah's talented enough around the basket to have success and we saw that today," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "We had to remind her a couple times today to continue to stay aggressive. She's become such a better passer, but when somebody's just going to play her one-on-one at the block I need her to stay aggressive like she was in the second half.
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) added 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals and was a perfect 5-for-5 at the foul line. NIU also got a lift off the bench from Jayden Marable (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) and Emily Meinert (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College). The duo combined for 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field with Marable adding three rebounds and an assist.
NIU (2-5) took an 8-2 lead 2:20 into the game, scoring eight straight points that included threes from Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) and Paulina Castro (Elgin, Ill./Harvest Christian). Michigan State responded with 16 consecutive points, eight coming from Nia Clouden alone, to take an 18-8 lead with 2:03 left in the first quarter. Davis ended the scoreless stretch of almost six minutes with a layup at the 1:54 mark.
Michigan State (6-0) grew its lead to 19 in the second quarter when a Kendall Bostic layup put the Spartans up 41-22 with 3:13 to play until halftime. Koker put the Huskies on her back and got NIU back in the game. The sophomore scored nine straight points in 1:34 to get NIU within 10, 41-31, with 1:39 left in the quarter. The Huskies looked to go into halftime down by 10, but Tory Ozment sank a three in the final seconds to send Michigan State to the locker room up 13, 46-33.
NIU chipped away at Michigan State's lead in the third quarter. Behind baskets from Meinert and Marable and free throws from Davis and Errin Hodges (Pontiac, Ill./Evansville Central [Ind.]), the Huskies cut the Spartans' lead to nine 54-45 with 2:41 left in the third. Michigan State grew its lead to 15 before Marable beat the quarter buzzer with her first career three to make the score 63-51 heading into the fourth.
The Huskies got as close as seven points early in the fourth. A Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) three-pointer and a pair of Davis baskets cut a 14-point Spartans advantage in half, 65-58, with 8:04 to play. Michigan State responded with six straight points from Clouden and Alyza Winston to take a 71-58 lead with 6:35 remaining. NIU would only get as close as nine points the rest of the way.
"If you look at the second, third and fourth quarters we played some good basketball and got some good offensive execution and were able to string some stops together as well," Carlsen said. "We've been lucky for the opportunity to play seven games before the holiday because a lot of teams haven't had that. We've played a lot of different teams and had a lot of different styles throw at us, which is great. Hopefully those are all positives heading into league play after the first of the year."
Clouden led all scorers with 18 points and seven assists. Ozment added 12 points and seven assists with Bostic scoring 11 points off the bench.
NIU returns to Mid-American Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 2 against Western Michigan at the NIU Convocation Center. Although fans are unable to attend NIU basketball games this season, fans can make their presence felt by purchasing a cutout as part of the "Huskie Howl" presented by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO).
Fans can put their image on a cutout for just $60 that will remain in the NIU Convocation Center for all NIU men's and women's basketball games during the 2020-21 season. Net proceeds from the sales of fan cutouts benefit the Huskie Athletic Fund. Click here to order your cutout.
Gonzaga 77, Eastern Michigan 68
Box Score
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team fought valiantly, but ultimately fell short in its non-conference matchup with the 25th-ranked Gonzaga University Bulldogs, 77-68, tonight, Dec. 20, inside Las Vegas' South Point Arena. The game was the first of two that EMU is playing as part of the 2020 Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
The game, which remained close throughout, offered a display of EMU's talent and ability to overcome adversity. The Eagles battled back from multiple double-digit deficits to finish the game within striking distance.
Eastern (3-3, 1-1 MAC) was led by the duo of junior Jenna Annecchiarico (Baldwin, N.Y.-Baldwin) and redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Florida International)), who led all scorers with 27 and 24 points, respectively. Annecchiarico's point total, which was fueled by a game-high four three-point makes, is a season-high. The game was also her best from the long line since Feb. 12, 2020, when she hit four against Bowling Green State in a 22-point effort. Skanes' effort was her third with 20+ points this season, which ties redshirt senior Areanna Combs (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Oklahoma State)) for the team lead. Combs, who entered the contest with 29 consecutive games with 10+ points, was held to just four points on 1-of-10 shooting. Combs did tie for the team lead with six boards, the same amount that redshirt junior Juanita Agosto (Seattle, Wash.-Garfield) collected.
The fast-paced first half saw Gonzaga score the game's first bucket, a mid-range jumper that flushed through 60 seconds into the contest. EMU came right back with points of its own as Combs was able to work her way to the free throw line and split a pair. Just moments later, EMU was able to take its first lead of the contest, 3-2, courtesy of a Skanes layup. That score sparked what was an eventual 5-2 Eastern Michigan run, which culminated with a three-point make by Annecchiarico, a bucket that put the Eagles up, 8-4. EMU remained resilient after an ensuing 6-0 run by GU put the Zags up three, 11-8, with 3:16 to go in the opening quarter. Dialed in early, it was Annecchiarico that came through again as she poured in her second three-ball of the game to knot the score at 11-apiece. Still deadlocked with 33 seconds to go, 16-16, Skanes drew a foul which put her at the line. She hit both to give EMU a two-point lead, 18-16, at the end of the first.
EMU opened the second quarter with clear momentum as Annecchiarico intercepted a Zags pass and fed Combs for an easy bucket to put EMU up four, 20-16, just 30 ticks into the frame. A chess match ensued over the next set of minutes as the two squads exchanged leads five times in under five minutes. Tied at 27-all with 4:58 to play in the half, the Bulldogs put together a 6-0 run to go ahead, 31-27. Although a layup by senior Autumn Hudson (Richwood, Ohio-North Union) brought to margin back to two, 33-31, with 2:35 remaining, EMU was unable to climb all the way back before the break and went into halftime down seven, 39-32.
Eastern was energetic out of the intermission and remained at a steady pace with its West Coast Conference-competition. A five-point Gonzaga run saw the Bulldogs extend their lead to eight, 47-39, with under five minutes remaining in the frame. Consistent in its ability to fight, EMU continued to climb back and used the next minute to close the gap to six, 51-45. A three-point make by junior transfer Kylee O'Hara (Ajax, Ontario- Henry Street (Florida International)) highlighted the stretch for Eastern. Today's game was O'Hara's first start as an Eagle. EMU's comeback attempt took a blow in the ensuing minutes, as Gonzaga held the Eagles off the board for the quarter's final 3:18, which gave it time to build a 12-point, 57-45, lead heading into the fourth.
Evert resilient as the clock wound down, Eastern continued to swarm the Zags in the fourth quarter. After going behind by 15, 64-49, just three minutes into the frame, the Eagles went on an 11-6 run to get back within 10, 70-60, with just under three minutes remaining. Although the effort was undeniable, the comeback efforts came with too little time on the clock. EMU did get the final margin under 10, but ultimately fell, 77-68.
Although the game is marked as a loss, it is worth noting that the result was Eastern's best against an Associated Press top-25 team since the 2014-15 season, when EMU finished with the same eight-point margin of defeat against the No. 14/15 Michigan State University Spartans, Nov. 16, 2014.
Eastern will get a quick opportunity to remedy its defeat as it returns to action tomorrow, Dec. 21, for the final game of its 2020 Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic appearance with a game against Tarleton State. Tipoff for the first-ever game between the Texans and Eagles is set for 12 p.m. PT.
