Wednesday's Scoreboard
Kent State 81, Ohio 77
Northern Illinois 70, Ball State 62
Bowling Green 82, Miami 69
Buffalo 76, Akron 61
Toledo 76, Central Michigan 67
Western Michigan 53, Eastern Michigan 49
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Kent State 81, Ohio 77
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – Kent State defeated Ohio, 81-77, in a first-place divisional showdown at the M.A.C. Center on Wednesday night. The victory guarantees at least a share of the Mid-American Conference East Division championship and a first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament.
The Golden Flashes (18-10, 11-6 MAC) led for nearly 30 minutes of the contest but fell behind, 77-76, when Caitlyn Kroll connected on a corner three-pointer with 12.1 seconds remaining.
Following a timeout, sophomore Asiah Dingle drew a foul on her baseline drive to the basket, and then calmly sank two free throws to regain the lead with 8.0 on the clock. Freshman Katie Shumate then made the defensive play of the game, drawing an offensive foul on the ensuing defensive possession. A technical was assessed to the Bobcats and Dingle added two more foul shots. The ball was then inbounded to Shumate, who split a pair of free throws for the final score.
Shumate drew 11 fouls on the night and shot 13-for-15 at the charity stripe. She led the Flashes with 20 points and eight rebounds. Redshirt senior Megan Carter contributed 14 points. Freshman Nila Blackford and sophomore Hannah Young added 11 points each.
The Golden Flashes will finish the regular season at Buffalo on Saturday, March 7.
Northern Illinois 70, Ball State 62
Box Score
DeKALB, IL – Redshirt-Senior forward Courtney Woods (Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret's) recorded her fourth double-double of the season Wednesday night to lead the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team to a 70-62 win over the Ball State Cardinals at the NIU Convocation Center.
"We just beat a really good basketball team," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "I think when we go back and look at the second half, our composure was much better. I thought our execution was much better. We did a really nice on the glass and those are all keys and a lot of times the controllables that you need in order to have success against a good basketball team."
Woods led NIU with 20 points and 11 rebounds for her 20th double-double of her career. She also led NIU with four steals. Myia Starks (Plainfield, Ill./Nequa Valley) was 7-for-9 at the free-throw line on her way to 15 points. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) had 10 points off the bench, eight of which were scored in the third quarter.
"We can even get better from here," said Woods following her 13th 20-point game of the season. "We still have to fine tune some stuff going into the next week but I feel like we're nearly there. We've gotten so much better individually throughout the year. I feel we're pretty confident that we can beat any team now."
NIU (10-18, 6-11 MAC) trailed 32-28 with 2:15 to play in the first half when Woods scored the last five points to give the Huskies' a 33-32 halftime lead. After an early layup from Thelma Dis Agustsdottir in the third quarter gave Ball State a 35-34 lead, NIU went on a 10-0 run over 3:53 to take a 43-34 lead at the 5:55 mark of the third quarter. Woods scored the first seven points of that stretch as Koker converted a three-point play to punctuate the run.
Ball State (20-9, 12-5 MAC) responded with a 7-0 run as a Jasmin Samz three-pointer cut the Huskies' lead to two, 43-41, with 4:22 to go in the third. The Huskies closed the quarter on a 9-3 run highlighted by a Koker three to take a 54-46 lead going into the fourth. The two sides traded baskets early and often in the final quarter as a Starks layup put NIU ahead 60-51 with 4:51 to play. Oshlynn Brown scored six straight Ball State points as part of a 9-4 run that got the Cardinals within four, 64-60, with 1:10 to go. That was as close as Ball State would get. NIU closed the game on a 6-2 run as Starks and Grace Hunter (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) went a combined 6-for-8 at the foul line to lock up the NIU win.
"It's always going to come down to free throws when you're playing in a tight game with the lead," Carlsen said. "I have a lot of confidence in whoever goes to the line in those situations. The five on the floor are people I believe are going to knock them down and I think our composure showed on the foul line the same way it showed in the half court."
NIU shot 42.4 percent from the field and outscored Ball State in the paint 38-30. The Huskies also held a 50-42 advantage on the rebounding end. Brown led Ball State with 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Huskies close out the regular season on Saturday at Toledo. Tip-off is at 1 p.m. CT.
Bowling Green 82, Miami 69
Box Score
The Bowling Green women's basketball team scored 31 fourth-quarter points en route to a road win over Miami University Wednesday night (March 4). The Falcons downed the RedHawks, 82-69, in Mid-American Conference action at Millett Hall.
Fourth-year Falcon Caterrion Thompson led all players in both scoring and rebounding, with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while junior Angela Perry had 21 points in the win.
Freshmen Olivia Trice and Elissa Brett combined for 27 points and 16 rebounds on the night. Brett just missed a double-double, with 13 points and nine boards, and she had a game-best plus/minus rating of +22.
Trice scored 14 points and added seven rebounds and three assists. She had nine of those 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Trice set the tone for the final period with a four-point play on the opening possession. Just 13 seconds into the quarter, Trice took a pass from sophomore Kadie Hempfling – who led BG with eight assists in the win – and knocked down a three-pointer as she was knocked to the floor in front of the BG bench.
Trice's four-point play gave the Falcons a 55-54 lead, and after MU's Savannah Kluesner answered with a pair of layups, a Perry bucket brought the Falcons back within a point.
That Perry shot began a 13-2 run for the Falcons, giving BG the lead for good. The Falcons got a defensive stop, and Brett ran the floor and kicked the ball to junior Madisen Parker for a corner three. Parker's shot gave BGSU a 60-58 lead with 7:12 to go.
After Brett hit a pair of free throws, Lauren Dickerson's layup brought the RedHawks within two points with 5:36 to go. But, Trice answered with a jumper that began an 8-0 run. Perry scored the next six points in the game, with a bucket giving the Brown and Orange a 70-62 lead with 2:38 on the clock.
The game marked a 34-point reversal from the teams' meeting just over a month ago. The RedHawks beat the Falcons by 21 points, BG's most lopsided loss of the season, at the Stroh Center on Feb. 1 before the Falcons picked up a 13-point win on Wednesday night.
Kluesner led the RedHawks with 17 points before fouling out, while Peyton Scott added 12. Lauren Dickerson, the RedHawks' leading scorer, dished out 10 assists in Wednesday's game, but had eight points on 4-of-23 shooting from the field.
Buffalo 76, Akron 61
Box Score
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team fell to Akron 69-63 on Wednesday night at Alumni Arena.
Buffalo was led by senior guard Theresa Onwuka who recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds while freshman Dyaisha Fair also scored in double figures with 14 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and four steals.
Akron started the game on a 7-0 run to force an early UB timeout at the 7:56 mark. Onwuka would convert the bucket through contact to cut the lead to 11-7 and from there the Bulls would extend their run to 9-2 to take a 16-15 lead at the end of the first.
Offense would be at a premium to start the second quarter with only one field goal made for either team in the opening five minutes as Buffalo maintained a narrow 20-19 lead at the media timeout. Akron would retake the lead on a 6-0 run to go up 28-22 at the 1:28 mark and the two teams would trade baskets from there before Fair finished off a strong take in traffic in the final minute to cut the Akron lead to 32-28 at the half.
Buffalo would cut the lead to 35-33 early in the third quarter on a nice pass from Fair to Onwuka at the 7:41 mark. Later, a mini 4-0 UB run would tie the game at 37 before the Zips would regain the lead, 39-37, at the media timeout. Onwuka continued to attack later in the quarter as she converted off glass to tie the game at 41 and later Fair kicked it out to Loren Christie on the wing and she drilled a triple to give the Bulls their largest lead of the game, 46-42, at the 1:50 mark. But the Zips would close the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 49-46 lead at the end of the third.
Akron would open the fourth quarter on a 5-2 run over the first two plus minutes to take a 54-48 lead at the final media timeout. Freshman Elea Gaba gave UB a big bucket, converting the and-one to cut the lead to 57-51, and later, with the Bulls down eight, Fair went on a 5-0 run by herself, capped by a three off the steal and assist from Adebola Adeyeye, to pull UB within three at the 1:39 mark but that would be as close as they would get as the Zips would seal the game from the charity stripe, going 6-of-8 from the line in the final minute of play.
The Bulls held the narrow 45-44 edge on the glass, while tying a season-high with 23 offensive rebounds, but were only able to score 12 second chance points off those boards. Buffalo struggled again from behind the arc and at the line, going 4-for-25 from deep and just 13-of-23 from the charity stripe.
"The testimony is going to be spectacular because the test is a challenge," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "This is not fun. This is uncharted territory since we've been here, but I'm excited about the lessons we are learning from this process. The disappointment is there, but there is also excitement about this young team getting better."
Buffalo travels to Bowling Green, Ohio on Saturday, February 22, for a 1pm contest against the Falcons at the Stroh Center.
Toledo 76, Central Michigan 67
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo took a huge step toward securing a home game in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament by claiming a 76-67 victory vs. Central Michigan in Savage Arena on Wednesday. With the impressive triumph over the MAC West Division leading Chippewas, the Rockets improve to 12-16 overall, 7-10 in the league.
Toledo is now tied for eighth place with Akron (14-14, 7-10 MAC) in the overall MAC standings with only one regular-season game remaining. The Rockets hold the tiebreaker against the Zips, as they registered a 65-61 home victory on Jan. 15. The top eight teams, regardless of division, will host a first-round MAC Tournament game on Monday, March 9. If the Rockets beat Northern Illinois (10-18, 6-11 MAC) on Saturday at home, they will clinch a first-round home game.
Senior Mariella Santucci and freshman Quinesha Lockett led a season-high five Rockets in double figures with 18 points each against CMU. Lockett added a season- and team-high eight rebounds, while Santucci dished out a contest-best six assists.
Toledo also received 13 points from junior Nakiah Black, 11 by junior Tanaya Beacham and 10 from junior Tatyana Davis to run its record to 9-3 vs. Central Michigan at home under Head Coach Tricia Cullop.
As a team, the Rockets connected on a respectable 46.9 percent (30-of-64) from the floor and a sizzling 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the charity stripe to help them snap a six-game losing skid.
Toledo also did a tremendous job taking care of the basketball, tallying 13 helpers with a season-low nine turnovers. Their previous-best effort was 11 miscues vs. Pacific in the second game of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas on Dec. 20. In addition they posted a 37-33 edge on the boards and held a 7-1 advantage in thefts.
Another big reason the Midnight Blue & Gold won tonight's game came from its dominant play around the basket, as the home team finished with a commanding 52-36 edge in points in the paint.
Micaela Kelly paced CMU (22-6, 15-2 MAC) with a game-high 19 points, followed closely by Molly Davis with 17.
Western Michigan 53, Eastern Michigan 49
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Western Michigan women's basketball team defeated Eastern Michigan 53-49 in their last road contest of the regular season on Wednesday, March 4 at the Convocation Center.
Jordan Walker had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Leighah-Amori Wool tallied 12 points with six rebounds. Grad transfer Chelayne Bailey also reached double-digits with 10 points. Breanna Mobley finished with eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds with three assists. The Broncos shot 34.5 percent (19-for-55) from the field and dominated defensively with 22 points off EMU turnovers.
Both teams struggled from long range, the Broncos going just 4-for-15 from beyond the arc while the Eagles shot 30 percent (3-for-10) in the contest. EMU out-rebounded Western Michigan 41-39, but the Broncos held the advantage with just 14 turnovers to Eastern's 18. WMU led with 15 bench points and 11 steals.
WMU and EMU went back-and-forth in the first quarter, ending up with a 13-13 tie after ten minutes. Jordan Walker scored first for the Brown & Gold with a three, followed up by points from Mobley and Wool to hold a 7-6 advantage. Eastern Michigan went back up with a 7-0 run capped off by a three-pointer from Jenna Annecchiarico. The competitive frame ended with a buzzer-beating layup from Mobley to even things up heading into the second quarter.
Both teams traded points to begin the second quarter, WMU going ahead with more points from Mobley before Eastern came back with another clutch three to tie things up at 17-17. Western Michigan sparked with back-to-back threes from Bailey and Kamrin Reed, wrapping up the quarter with a jumper from Wool to head into halftime with a 29-24 advantage.
Western Michigan outscored the Eagles 14-8 in the third quarter, starting out hot with back-to-back jumpers from Walker. Both teams were low on scoring in the frame, with the Broncos held scoreless for four minutes until Walker drew a foul to make both her shots at the line at the four-minute mark. Wool gave WMU its largest lead of the game with points in the paint and a shot from long range to close out the quarter.
The Eagles refused to go down without a fight, starting out with a 6-0 run in the fourth quarter to get back within five points of Western Michigan. The Broncos held on behind strong free-throw shooting from Bailey and Wool to help seal the victory.
The Broncos (17-11, 10-7) host Ball State this Saturday, March 7, for their final home game of the regular season and a Senior Day Celebration. Saturday's results will determine the Bronco's seed and first opponent for the 2020 MAC Tournament.
