Huskies Win Fifth Straight!
Saturday's Scoreboard
Ball State 79, Miami 77
Central Michigan 84, Kent State 71
Ohio 74, Western Michigan 52
Northern Illinois 81, Buffalo 75
Toledo 75, Akron 62
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Ball State 79, Miami 77
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio — The word resilient comes to mind when describing the Cardinals today. After playing four games in a matter of eight days, the Ball State women's basketball team was tired but powered through for a road win at Miami.
Ball State head coach Brady Sallee gave the credit for the Cardinals' 79-77 victory to his players. Sallee was proud of his team for picking up the toughness when it counted and getting the job done.
The Cardinals (10-8, 8-6 MAC) also got to celebrate senior forward Oshlynn Brown's accomplishment of reaching 1,000 career rebounds. Brown pulled down a defensive rebound at the 6:48 of the third quarter to reach the milestone.
Brown becomes only the second player in program history to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. She finished the day with 28 points and 10 rebounds for her 43rd career double-double.
Per usual, the contest came down to the fourth quarter. The Cardinals trailed the RedHawks (2-17, 1-14 MAC) by a 67-57 margin at the 6:18 mark of the final frame. Then a layup from Brown sparked a 16-6 scoring spree that was capped off by a fast break layup from sophomore guard Sydney Freeman to knot the game, 73-73, with less than two minutes left to play.
Miami standout Peyton Scott then knocked down a 3-pointer to put Miami back up by three, but the Cardinals toughened up a bit to keep the game close. A steal from Freeman and a dish to freshman guard Ivet Subirats tied the game one last time at 77-all.
After that, Miami was unable to score and out of frustration fouled Brown who hit both her free throws to lock up the victory for Ball State.
Central Michigan 84, Kent State 71
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan scored the game's final 13 points on Saturday, taking a big step in it quest for a fifth-consecutive Mid-American Conference women's basketball championship with an 84-71 victory over Kent State at McGuirk Arena.
It was the third-consecutive win for the Chippewas, 13-6, 11-4 MAC. Kent State is 7-5, 6-3. The Golden Flashes entered the game with the fewest loss of any team in the MAC.
"That was a very good win for us," CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "Kent State's a very good team, a very balanced team. We never say that one game's bigger than another. Everybody's fighting to get to Cleveland and it's really up in the air."
The Chippewas stand in second place in the league, one-half game behind Bowling Green. CMU goes to Bowling Green on Wednesday, Feb. 17 (7 p.m.).
Ohio 74, Western Michigan 52
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio women's basketball (12-6, 10-5 MAC) team took down Western Michigan (3-13, 2-12 MAC), 74-52, on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
"We were coming off a big road win at Ball State, staring down Northern Illinois and we kind of muddled through the first half," head coach Bob Boldon said. "It's a tie game at halftime and we had to decide if we are going to win or lose. They decided to win, and that's a very encouraging sign."
Ohio was led by senior guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio), who had a game-high 29 points on 11-of-26 shooting. Hooks added seven rebounds and seven assists, while going +20 in 36 minutes on the floor.
"I feel like I was attacking more in the second half," Hooks said. "I know my team needed me to be more aggressive and score while getting them involved so our offense could get going. I just locked in during the second half."
After being tied at 31 at halftime, Ohio shot 16-of-39 (41.0 percent) from the field in the second half and outscored WMU, 43-21. The Broncos were 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from the field and 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) from the three-point line. Overall, the Bobcats were 29-of-69 (42.0 percent) while Western Michigan was 21-of-57 (36.8 percent).
Redshirt freshman Madi Mace (Parkersburg, W. Va.) had 14 points - one short of her career-high - after going 6-of-13 from the field while knocking down two threes. Mace added a team-high nine rebounds, including five offensive rebounds.
Senior forward Gabby Burris (Baltimore, Ohio) added 11 points and six rebounds. Redshirt sophomore guard Jasmine Hale (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted 10 points and two rebounds. Redshirt sophomore forward Abby Garnett (Golden, Colo.) added six points and five rebounds.
The Bobcats outrebounded WMU, 42-39 and pulled down 15 offensive rebounds. Mace's nine paced Ohio, while Hooks had seven and Burris had six.
Ohio forced 22 turnovers and won the turnover battle by 10. OU recorded 11 steals, including a career-high four from redshirt junior guard Kaylee Bambule (Plainfield, Ill.). The Bobcats had 18 points off of turnovers.
The Bobcats will continue Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday against Northern Illinois. Tip-off at the Convocation Center is set for 6 p.m.
Northern Illinois 81, Buffalo 75
Box Score
DeKALB, IL – Led by a double-double from sophomore forward A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]), the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team won its fifth consecutive game with an 81-75 victory over the Buffalo Bulls Saturday at the NIU Convocation Center.
Davis tied a career high with 17 points, going 7-for-9 at the free throw line. She also led all players with a career-high 19 rebounds. Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led all scorers with 20 points, adding five steals and three assists. Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) had 13 points off the bench.
"We knew today was going to be a big game, and I felt like it was two heavyweights going at it especially on the glass," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "There's some pretty big numbers as far as rebounding is concerned, but I think especially in the fourth quarter we were able to really stay in system and stay disciplined and that was the difference in the ballgame."
After being held to 30.8 percent shooting from the field in the first half and trailing 42-37, NIU's (11-6, 9-3 MAC) offense came alive in the third quarter. A Paulina Castro (Elgin, Ill./Harvest Christian) three started a 14-5 run for NIU to start the second half as the Huskies made six of their first seven shots from the field to take a 51-47 lead with 5:43 remaining in the third. NIU led 55-51 with under 90 seconds to go when the Bulls closed the quarter on a 6-2 run with a Dyaisha Fair steal and score with 0:04 left tying the game at 57 heading into the final period. The Huskies shot 72.7 percent from the field, making 8-of-11 shots from the field in the third.
Buffalo (11-6, 8-4 MAC) and NIU traded baskets to start the fourth, playing to a 61-61 tie with 7:51 to go. The Huskies broke the tie with an Emily Meinert (Galesburg, Ill./Parkland College) layup, starting a 7-3 NIU run capped by a Poisson triple that put the home team ahead 68-64 with 3:07 to go. The lead grew to five with 1:50 as a Koker three-pointer made the score 71-66. With the Bulls forced to foul late to conserve time, NIU put the game away at the free throw line. The Huskies made nine of 10 free throws in the final minute to win their ninth game out of the last 10.
Toledo 75, Akron 62
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's basketball team trailed Akron at halftime, but outscored the Zips 26-13 in the third quarter to help set the tone in the second half of a 75-62 win at Rhodes Arena on Saturday.
Sophomore Quinesha Lockett led all players with 26 points while tallying seven rebounds and four assists, her third straight game with at least 20 points and her 10th 20-plus point performance this season. Freshman Sammi Mikonowicz had a terrific day as well, contributing a career-high 20 points and pulling down eight rebounds. The Rossford, Ohio native was 6-for-8 from the floor and made 7-of-9 free throws. Sophomore Sophia Wiard also reached double-figures, recording 11 points.
The Rockets (9-9, 5-9 MAC) started strong to lead by seven after one quarter, but the Zips (5-12, 2-12 MAC) made up the difference in the second stanza and took a one-point lead into the second half, 35-34. The Rockets regrouped at halftime and used an excellent third quarter to take a double-digit lead over Akron that they would not give up.
Toledo outrebounded the Zips, 39-29, and were led by sophomore Mali Morgan-Elliott and her game-high 11 boards.
Akron's Jordyn Dawson led her team with 20 points and three steals, while Molly Neitzel added 12 points and four rebounds.
