Women's Basketball

Four Games Highlight Women's Wednesday Quarterfinal MACtion

No 1. Bowling Green (18-5, 14-4 MAC) vs. No. 8 Eastern Michigan (10-9, 7-7 MAC) 
11:00 AM EST I WATCH LIVE I LIVE STATS

The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team, after winning the 2020-21 Mid-American Conference regular-season championship, now focuses on the MAC Tournament. Head coach Robyn Fralick and the Falcons, the tourney's top seed, will meet eighth-seeded Eastern Michigan University in Wednesday's (March 10) quarterfinal round, with tipoff at 11:00 a.m. at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. BGSU won 10 of 12 games to end the regular season, and the only two losses in that time were by one point each. One of those setbacks, however, came in the regular-season finale. The Falcons rallied back from a 20-point deficit, but Buffalo escaped the Stroh Center with a 69-68 win in overtime.The Falcons, after going 10-21 overall and 3-15 in the MAC last season, were picked to finish 11th in the 12-team league in 2020-21, according to the preseason coaches' poll. BG ended the regular season with records of 18-5 overall and 14-4 in the MAC.

The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team will begin its quest for the program's third Mid-American Conference Tournament crown when it travels to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for the quarterfinal round of the event Wednesday, March 10. The No. 8 overall seed, Eastern (10-9, 7-7 MAC) will face a tough challenge, the No. 1 overall seed, Bowling Green State University (14-4, 18-5 MAC). Already the most decorated team in MAC Tournament history, BGSU is looking to claim its 12th title in 2021. Eastern will play in its 53rd MAC tournament game when it takes the court against Bowling Green, March 10. EMU is 28-24 all-time in its league tournament appearances, which date back to the 1981-82 season. Eastern has twice captured the tournament crown and reached the NCAA tournament via an automatic bid, first in 2004, and most recently in 2012. 

No 4. Buffalo (14-8, 11-6 MAC) vs. No. 5 Kent State (11-8, 10-6 MAC) 
Time: TBA I WATCH LIVE I LIVE STATS

The University at Buffalo women's basketball team will face #5 Kent State in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday. It will be the fourth straight quarterfinal matchup between the two teams. This marks the ninth straight season the Bulls have made it to the Mid-American Conference quarterfinals in Cleveland.UB has its sights set on the MAC Tournament title once again this season and if they are successful, it would be the first time in program history that the Bulls win back-to-back MAC championships. The Bulls are led by sophomore Dyaisha Fair who is ranked seventh in the nation in scoring (24.1 ppg) while also ranking in the top 25 in free throws made (130) and attempted (161), assists (114), steals (61), field goals made (173), and final points (531). Fair is one of five players in all of Division I to average at least 20.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 5.0 apg.

The Golden Flashes (11-8, 10-6 MAC) were finally able to get past the Buffalo Bulls a year ago, earning a 72-66 victory on March 11, 2020. Unfortunately, that would be the final game of the tournament, as the event was canceled the following morning with Kent State the highest seed remaining in the field. Kent State is making its 34th appearance in the MAC Tournament and has a 35-29 record in tournament play. Four players are averaging more than 10.0 points per game against conference opponents. Sophomore Nila Blackford is one of three MAC players averaging a double-double with team-best marks of 15.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. 

No 2. Central Michigan (15-8, 13-6 MAC) vs. No. 7 Northern Illinois (12-11, 10-8 MAC)?
Time: TBA I WATCH LIVE I LIVE STATS

A year ago, the Central Michigan women's basketball team went into the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the league's regular-season champion and the top seed. The Chippewas ceded that crown to Bowling Green this year and are the No. 2 seed. Yet coach Heather Oesterle likes where the Chippewas are as they get set to take on Northern Illinois on Wednesday (approximately 3:30 p.m.) in a quarterfinal game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland. Because of COVID protocols, the Chippewas are down to eight players. Their starting five – All-MAC first-teamers Micaela Kelly and Molly Davis along with Kyra Bussell, Maddy Watters and Jahari Smith – remains intact. The reserves are led Anika Weekes, who all season has provided CMU with productive minutes. Kalle Martinez and Sophia Karasinski have stepped up as Oesterle's pool of reserves has shrunk. The CMU-NIU winner advances to Friday's semifinal against either No. 3-seed Ohio or sixth-seeded Ball State.

The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team takes on the Central Michigan Chippewas Wednesday afternoon in the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. This is the third time in the last five years the Huskies are headed for Cleveland. In 2019 NIU went to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as the seventh seed, its seed for this year's tournament, and took on Ohio. The Huskies reached the championship game in 2017, defeating Ohio and Western Michigan in the process. The Huskies had a pair of student-athletes earn postseason honors from the MAC on Tuesday. Redshirt-Junior guard Janae Poisson (Matteson, Ill./Marian Catholic) was named the Sixth Player of the Year after leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 46.5 percent. IU is among the top-15 teams in the nation in three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals per game. The Huskies are 12th in the country, and lead the MAC, in three-point field goal percentage at 38.1 percent. They are also 13th in three-pointers per game at 9.1, second in the conference behind Central Michigan.

No 3. Ohio (13-7, 11-6 MAC) vs. No. 6 Ball State (14-10, 12-8 MAC)?
Time: TBA I WATCH LIVE I LIVE STATS

The Ohio women's basketball team (13-7, 10-6 MAC) will begin the MAC Tournament in the quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed and take on No. 6 Ball State (14-10, 12-8 MAC) on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Ohio is 38-28 all-time against Ball State. The teams split the season series, 1-1. Ohio took down Ball State last time out on Feb. 10, 88-66, on the road. Cece Hooks was named MAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year. Hooks is the first player to win the Player of the Year award for Ohio since Caroline Mast won the honor for three-straight seasons from 1984-86. Hooks has now won the Defensive Player of the Year award for the third-straight season and is one of just two players in league history to have won the award three times. Hooks produced one of the best individual seasons in Ohio women's basketball history. The Dayton, Ohio native was named MAC Player of the Week a league-high five times this season and is currently ranked third in the nation in points per game at 26.3.

This marks the 31st appearance for the Cardinals in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in program history.  Ball State has advanced to Cleveland 19 out of the past 21 seasons.  The Cardinals are 20-29 all-time in MAC Tournament play and have advanced to the MAC Tournament finals on five occasions. This is the first time the Cardinals have been the No. 6 seed under ninth-year head coach Brady Sallee and only the second time in tournament history. The last time BSU was the No. 6 seed was in 2000. That year Ball State defeated No. 11 Central Michigan, 94-81 in the first round and then lost in the quarterfinals to No. 3 Toledo, 81-65. The No. 6 seed has won the MAC Tournament only once since the tournaments induction in 1982. That team was No. 6 Toledo which defeated the No. 4 seed Northern Illinois in the championship game in 2017 by score of 82-71.