CLEVELAND – After 129 non-conference battles, the Mid-American Conference opens the new calendar year with conference matchups on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday this week. 

Upcoming Schedule
Wednesday, January 1
Ball State at Miami, 1PM ET (ESPN+)
Bowling Green at Kent State, 1PM ET (ESPN+)
Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan, 1PM ET (ESPN+)
Akron at Ohio, 4PM ET (ESPN+)
Northern Illinois at Toledo, 4PM ET (ESPN+)
Central Michigan at Buffalo, 6PM ET (ESPN+)

Saturday, January 4
Central Michigan at Ball State, 1PM ET (ESPN+)
Ohio at Northern Illinois, 2PM ET (ESPN+)
Toledo at Akron, 2PM ET (ESPN+)
Miami at Western Michigan, 2:30 PM ET (ESPN+)
Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green, 7PM ET (ESPN+)

Sunday, January 5
Buffalo at Kent State, 2PM ET (CBS Sports Network)

Below is a team-by-team preview for the conference openers courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications departments. 

Team-By-Team Previews (In Order of Current Standings)
1. Buffalo (11-0)
The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (11-0) opens Mid-American Conference action on Wednesday as they host Central Michigan in a 2pm contest.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Brian Koziol (play-by-play) and Matt Mattia (color) announcing and can be heard on ESPN 1520 and the Varsity Network with Jack Kreuzer on the call.

This is the 38th overall meeting between Buffalo and Central Michigan with the Chippewas owning a slim 19-18 series advantage. The Bulls have won five of the last six, including a series sweep last year.

Buffalo closed out the non-conference slate in style as they defeated Le Moyne 107-59 at Ted Grant Court on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Bulls improve to 11-0, the best start in program history. Six Bulls scored in double figures on the afternoon, led by Chellia Watson who scored a game-high 20 points. Senior Ariana Seawell recorded a UB career-high with 17 points while sophomore Kirsten Lewis-Williams scored 15 of her 16 points in the second half. Senior Terah Harness and sophomore Alexis Davis scored 14 points, the latter adding 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, and Noelani Cornfield stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

The Bulls, who are currently ranked sixth in the Mid-Major Top 25, have four players averaging in double figures on the season, led by Watson who is averaging 19.6 points per game. Harness (11.9 ppg) and Lewis-Williams (11.9 ppg) are also averaging in double figures while Davis is nearly averaging a double-double at 10.6 ppg and 8.4 rpg. Cornfield is averaging 9.6 points per contest while leading the team and ranking in the top 20 nationally in assists per game (5.8).

As a team, the Bulls lead the league in scoring offense (80.1), scoring defense (56.2), scoring margin (+24.9), field goal percentage (.458), field goal defense (.358), assists (201) and turnover margin (+9.1) while also ranking in the top three in 3FG defense (.268), rebounding (40.8), steals per game (11.4) and free throw percentage (.779).

2. Toledo (8-2)
The Toledo women's basketball team begins Mid-American Conference play in a New Year's Day battle with Northern Illinois at Savage Arena on Wednesday. Tip off is set for 4:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
 
The three-time defending champion Rockets (8-2) enters the matchup on a four-game winning streak, its longest of the season. The Rockets knocked off mid-major stalwarts Troy and Liberty at the Cherokee Invitational before returning home for a record 114-30 blowout victory against Defiance. Six Rockets scored in double figures, led by freshman Faith Fedd-Robinson with 16 points on 7-of-10 from the field.
 
The Huskies (6-5) have won two straight games coming into league action. NIU defeated Viterbo University (Wis.), 92-44 on Saturday, led by Alecia Doyle with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
 
Toledo leads the all-time series 42-23 and has a 24-6 record in the Glass City. UT has won six of the last seven in the series and each of the last three games at Savage Arena.

Toledo enters play on Wednesday with a 25-16 (.610) record in MAC openers, including victories in four straight.

The Rockets defeated Miami, 70-52, to begin MAC competition last season. Toledo can win its fourth-consecutive MAC home opener with a victory on Wednesday.

The last time Northern Illinois was UT's MAC opener was on Dec. 12, 2020. Toledo won an 82-79 thriller in DeKalb behind 30 points in the fourth quarter.

3. Ball State (8-3)
Opening Tip:
- Wednesday's game against Miami will mark the 74th time in program history the two schools have met with the RedHawks leading the all-time series 40-33. Ball State has won its last seven meetings against Miami. Under 13th-year head coach Brady Sallee the Cardinals are 14-1 against the RedHawks dating back to Sallee's first season in 2012-13. The last time Ball State lost to Miami was on Jan. 19, 2019 in Oxford by a score of 60-57.

- The Miami RedHawks are the closest Mid-American Conference opponent distance wise from the Cardinals. It takes approximately just a little over 71 miles from Oxford, Ohio to Muncie, Ind.

- The Cardinals and the RedHawks met only once last season with Ball State winning that lone meeting in Muncie on Jan. 24 by a 91-56 decision.

- Ball State rings in the New Year after a successful 2024 campaign. The Cardinals went 24-6 in 2024 while ending the non-conference season with an 8-4 mark. BSU turned in an impressive performance to close out this non-conference season as the Cardinals wrapped up the 2024 year with an awe-inspiring 112-35 victory over Anderson University on Dec 19. The 112 points was also a program record for the largest margin of victory. The old record was 61 points against Taylor with Ball State winning that contest 106-45 on Jan. 28, 1975.

- Miami went 2-0 back on Dec. 20-21 at the Christmas Classic, capturing wins over George Washington (74-49) and Florida International (62-55) to end the 2024 non-conference season with a 7-3 ledger. The last time Miami won seven of its first 10 games was back in 2018-19, when the RedHawks opened the year 8-2.

- The Cardinals are 7-5 in their Mid-American Conference openers under 13th year head coach Brady Sallee and 3-2 when opening league play on the road.

- The last time Ball State opened Mid-American Conference play against Miami was on Jan. 2, 2000 in Oxford, Ohio. 

A look back at MAC Play:
Ball State had a highly successful 2023-24 season under the direction of head coach Brady Sallee who is entering his 13th season. The Cardinals tallied 28 overall wins and 16 MAC victories, with both being program records. Ball State earned the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament, reaching the semifinals for the third-straight season, and received votes in the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll for nine straight weeks during the year. Ball State ended the season by hosting the first round of the inaugural NCAA Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament.

4. Miami (7-3)
ON TAP: The Miami University women's basketball team opens Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 1 versus Ball State inside Millett Hall. Opening tip is slated for 1 p.m.

FINDING HER GROOVE: Over the past five games, Enjulina Gonzalez has averaged 23.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She has scored at least 18 points in each of the past five contests, including 27 in a win at Dayton and 29 points at FIU, helping the RedHawks to a 2-0 weekend. She was named to the Christmas Classic All-Tournament Team last weekend.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Amber Tretter recorded 10 double-doubles last season as a true freshman with the RedHawks. In fact, her 222 rebounds was the most in a single-season by a freshman in program history. This season she is nearly averaging a double-double in points (11.0) and rebounds (7.5), despite only playing 24.6 minutes per contest. She has two double-doubles this season and four different times finished a contest with nine rebounds.

ABOUT BALL STATE: The Cardinals are 8-4 this season and are coming off a 112-35 victory over Anderson University on Dec. 19. Ball State features a lineup with five double-digit scorers, led by Ali Becki (13.3) and Alex Richard (12.3). BSU ranks third in the MAC in scoring (73.4) and defense (60.8).

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 74th meeting between the two schools, with Miami holding a 40-33 series advantage. Ball State has won the last seven meetings and 14 of the last 15, dating back to the 2012-13 season. Miami's last win over BSU in Millett Hall was Jan. 19, 2019.

CHRISTMAS CLASSIC RECAP: Miami went 2-0 back on Dec. 20-21 at the Christmas Classic, capturing wins over George Washington (74-49) and Florida International (62-55). Miami trailed for just 32 seconds (Down 3-2 vs. GW) the entire weekend and connected on 20-of-43 three pointers (46.5%).

BEEN A WHILE: The last time Miami won seven of its first 10 games was back in 2018-19, when the RedHawks opened the year 8-2. Last year, the RedHawks finished the season 9-20 and didn't pick up their seventh win of the year until Feb. 17.

FORCING THE ISSUE: Miami has forced 239 turnovers this season, tops in the conference. The RedHawks are 5-2 on the year when they force their opponent into 20-plus turnovers.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: Miami is averaging 68.8 points this season after averaging 53.9 points last year. Helping with the offensive improvement have been three point shooting, assists and rebounds. This season Miami is connecting on 8.0 three's per game (4.9 in 2023-24) and are outrebounding their opponents by 4.2 boards/game (-3.8 in 2023-24). Miami is also averaging 14.8 assists per game, compared to 11.6 last season. 

5. Kent State (7-5)
Preview story coming soon. 

6. Bowling Green (6-5)
JUMP BALL
• The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team heads to Northeast Ohio to begin the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule with a New Year's Day matinee. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons meet Kent State University on Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 1), with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center.

THE FALCONS VS. THE MAC
• Historically, the Falcons have been one of the top programs in the Mid-American Conference. Entering the Kent State contest, BGSU has gone 458-267 (.632) in league regular-season games. The Falcons have the second-highest winning percentage of all MAC institutions, and the second-most conference wins of all 12 programs.

• BGSU has won 15 MAC regular-season titles, which is tied for the highest total of any conference institution. And, the Falcons have won a league-best 11 MAC Tournament titles.

• BG leads the all-time series with all 11 conference foes, making the Falcons – obviously – the only team in the league with a winning record against every other school. BGSU also has the most overall victories and highest overall winning pct. of any league institution.

THE FALCONS – A QUICK OVERVIEW
• The Falcons are 6-5 on the season, after seeing a four-game winning streak snapped with a 67-59 loss at Duquesne in the final non-conference contest (Dec. 21). BGSU is 4-0 at home, 0-5 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site games to date, and the Falcons have a scoring margin of +1.5 and a rebounding margin of +4.5.

• BGSU opened the campaign with a 71-67 win over Southern Miss at the Stroh Center, but suffered a pair of seven-point losses on the road to Horizon League foes Detroit Mercy and Cleveland State. Then, however, the Orange and Brown returned home and exploded for a 51-point win over St. Bonaventure.

• The Falcons went on the road and faced a pair of nationally-ranked teams, falling to #13/12 West Virginia and #12/11 Ohio State, but BG posted a 2-0 record over the Thanksgiving holiday, downing Stetson and Arkansas at the Daytona Beach Classic.

• The Orange and Brown flattened Stetson, 79-43 (Nov. 29), before picking up a 79-78 victory over Arkansas the following afternoon (Nov. 30), in a game that featured four lead changes in the final 30 seconds. Then, the Orange and Brown returned home and picked up a 78-59 win over Xavier (Dec. 7), before taking a break for fall semester exams.

• The Falcons then captured a second consecutive win over a Big East Conference foe, with a 64-62 victory against Marquette (Dec. 18), before the loss at Duquesne.

• Three players are scoring in double digits, with three others averaging more than seven points per game. Senior Amy Velasco leads the way with 18.1 ppg, and she also paces the Falcons with 4.7 assists per contest. Velasco has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season and in 12-straight games dating to last winter.

• Sophomore Paige Kohler has 11.7 ppg, while fifth-year collegian Erika Porter is averaging 11.4 ppg along with 5.5 rebounds per game. Kohler has 4.6 rpg, and she has made a team-leading 22 three-point field goals, including seven in the win over Arkansas. Porter is shooting a BG-best 55.0 percent from the field.

• Sophomore Taya Ellis and freshman Lauren Gerken have 7.5 and 7.2 ppg, respectively. Fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming made her return to the court in the Xavier game and has averaged 8.7 points per contest in the last three games. Gerken is third on the team in rebounding (4.6 rpg) and three-pointers made (14), while Ellis is averaging a BG-best 8.8 rebounds per contest and also leads the Falcons with 1.2 blocked shots per outing.

• Sophomore Keiryn McGuff is averaging 5.0 ppg and 6.5 rpg in her first two games of the season, while junior Kendal Moxey also averages 5.0 ppg and freshman Johnea Donahue 4.9. Donahue leads BGSU with 2.9 steals per game, while Moxey is 23-for-43 (53.5%) from the floor and posted season-high totals of 12 points and six rebounds in the Marquette matchup.

• The Falcons returned seven players who saw action on the 2023-24 team that went 16-15 overall and 10-8 in MAC play. BG won four of the last six regular-season games, and the Falcons advanced to national postseason play with trip to the WNIT.

• BGSU was picked to finish fourth in the MAC in the preseason coaches poll last season. Despite losing more than 120 player-games due to injury in 2023-24, the Falcons finished the regular season in a tie for fourth in the conference.

• The Falcons got off to a 5-1 start last season, before ending pre-conference play with a 6-4 mark. Three of those four losses came to nationally-ranked teams (#4/4 Iowa, #1/1 South Carolina and #16/15 Indiana) in the month of December. 

• A total of 14 Falcons saw action last season, but only eight of the 14 players who began the season on the roster suited up for the last 10 games of the year.

• BGSU's other returnees from last season are third-year Falcons Emily Siesel and Jasmine Fearne. Siesel played in 26 games off the bench last winter, while Fearne is back after missing the entire '23-24 campaign due to injury.

• The Falcons' seven newcomers include a pair of junior-college transfers in Moxey and Kristiana Kulackovska, along with five freshmen – Donahue, Gerken, Laila Harrison, Brook Simpson and Taylor Wallace.

7. Northern Illinois (6-5)
After closing the 2024 calendar year with wins over Idaho State and Viterbo, the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team opens the Mid-American Conference season at Toledo on Wednesday. Tip-off is at 3 p.m. CT.
 
The game will be broadcast on WDKB 94-9, the NIU Huskies app and TuneIn. It will also be telecast on ESPN+.
 
Wednesday's game marks the third time NIU is playing on New Year's Day. The Huskies earned a 91-61 win over Stetson on Jan. 1, 1984. Thirty-eight years later NIU opened MAC play at Central Michigan but lost 72-68.
 
NIU (6-5) scored a season-high 92 points last Saturday in a 92-44 win over Viterbo. The Huskies also set season-highs by shooting 54.4 percent from the field, making 13 three-pointers and shooting 56.5 percent from the three-point arc. Saturday's win marked the first time NIU held back-to-back opponents to 50 points or less since the end of the 2014-15 season.
 
Junior guard Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO) led NIU in scoring for the third time this season with 20 points against Viterbo. She was 8-for-13 from the field with two three-pointers. Doyle is NIU's leading scorer going into league play at 13.0 points per game.
 
Graduate forward Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) has scored in double figures in each of the last four games. Stonebraker was an efficient 5-for-7 against Viterbo for 10 points, adding three rebounds and two blocks. She has had multiple blocks in each of the last three games and is third in the MAC with 1.1 blocks per game. Over the last four games Stonebraker is averaging 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.75 blocks per game.

8. Akron (6-6)
Preview story coming soon. 

9. Central Michigan (4-7)
Central Michigan Women's Basketball rings in the New Year at undefeated Buffalo Wednesday (6 p.m. ET), opening up the 2025 Mid-American Conference schedule with its longest trip league play. The Chippewas visit Ball State (Sat., 1 p.m. ET) before returning to host Miami (OH) January 8, Toledo January 12.

10. Western Michigan (3-7)
The Western Michigan University women's basketball team will open the 2025 calendar year at cross-state rival Eastern Michigan University at the George Gervin Game Above Center on Wednesday, January 1, at 1:00 PM on ESPN+. 

Last Time Out 
The women's basketball team concluded the 2024 calendar year with an 83-75 loss to Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday. In the loss, graduate student Hannah Spitzley and junior Marina Asensio scored 46 points and supplied nine steals as a unit.  

During the contest, Spitzley's six swipes tied Gabi Saxman (at Kent State 1/28/23, vs. App State 2/10/24) and Kaitlyn Zarycki (vs. Davenport 12/2/23) for the sixth most steals recorded in single-game program history. 

Offensively, graduate student Megan Wagner improved her career assist total to 236 and is now four assists away from becoming the 16th Bronco in program history to accumulate 240 career assists.

Series History 
In the all-time series dating back to 1968, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan are tied up with 52 wins each. Since the 2016-17 season, The Brown and Gold have shifted the series back in their favor, capturing 10 wins and suffering six losses against their cross-state foes. Last season, WMU continued its recent success over the Eagles and swept the Green and White in the season series for the second time in the past three years -- marking the first time since 1992-93 until the 1995-96 seasons (eight straight wins) that WMU would sweep their cross-state foes twice over three years.

11. Ohio (2-8)
Ohio women's basketball (2-8, 0-0 MAC) kicks off 2025 with some MAC play in Athens on Wednesday, Jan. 1 when Ohio hosts Akron (6-6, 0-0). Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN+. Ohio is then back on the road on Saturday, Jan. 4 when they head to DeKalb, Ill. to take on Northern Illinois (6-5, 0-0 MAC). Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET inside the NIU Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN+. 

Ohio is coming off a competitive matchup at Georgia on Saturday afternoon. Senior Kennedi Watkins led the team with 15 points, finishing 7-for-14 from the field. Sophomore Bailey Tabeling and senior Kate Dennis  added eight points each for the Bobcats.

Akron comes to Athens with a 6-6 record and is coming off a win on Dec. 28 against Miami (Hamilton). NIU hosts Ohio with a 6-5 record. The Huskies are coming off a win over Viterbo on Dec. 28 and will travel to Toledo on Wednesday before hosting the Bobcats. 

12. Eastern Michigan (1-9)
After the ball drops to ring in the new year, the ball will go up on a new season as the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team will play host to rival Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference opener for both sides inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center Wednesday, Jan. 1. 

The 1 p.m. contest between the Eagles (1-9, 0-0 MAC) and Broncos (3-7, 0-0 MAC) will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Brent Balbinot (play-by-play) and Greg Steiner (analyst) on the call while fans can also listen live on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network app with Tom Helmer on the call from courtside. Live stats will be available at EMUEagles.com/livestats while periodic updates will be posted on the team's official X account (@EMUWBB).
 
FREE THROWS
» Eastern is set to play on New Year's Day for only the second time in program history and the second time at home. The first instance came 20 years ago (Jan. 1, 2005) in a 71-46 win over Columbia.
» The series with Western Michigan is the most-played in program history with the intrastate rivals set to meet for the 97th time this week. EMU leads, 53-43.
» Sisi Eleko scored 12 points and added 10 rebounds against St. Thomas (Dec. 28) to post her league-leading seventh double-double, which also ties for the 10th-most in NCAA Division I. Eleko also leads the MAC in points per game (19.8) and rebounds (11.4) while ranking 24th and sixth, respectively, on the national ledgers.
» Olivia Westphal continues to lead the MAC with 2.9 made three-pointers per game, which also ranks 20th nationally. She has drained 26 triples through nine games played this year after collecting just 23 in 28 games last year. She has made 2+ triples in 10 consecutive games dating back to last season.
» The Eagles connected on six three-pointers against St. Thomas (Dec. 28) to extend their current streak to 113 consecutive games with at least one made triple. The last time EMU was held without a three-pointer was Nov. 29, 2020, against UIC (0-of-15).
» Speaking of three-pointers, the Eagles have made at least five triples in all 10 games played this year and 11 overall dating back to last season. The 11 games mark the longest streak since the 2013-14 season when the same squad opened their year on a 13-game streak.
» WMU Head Coach Shane Clipfell is quite familiar with Eastern as he served as the interim head coach for the Eagles during the 2006-07 season in which he guided the team to a 13-12 record.