Wednesday’s Women’s Basketball Results
Central Michigan 75, Akron 55
Buffalo 77, Eastern Michigan 55
Ball State 66, Kent State 57
Miami 73, Northern Illinois 52
Western Michigan 41, Toledo 38
Bowling Green 74, Ohio 53
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Central Michigan 75, Akron 55
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio — Central Michigan Women's Basketball defeated Akron, 75-55, in Mid-American Conference play at Rhodes Arena Wednesday night.
CMU needed no outside motivation Wednesday as Head Coach Kristin Haynie was absent from the midweek trip due to a minor medical procedure, leaving assistant Chelsie Butler to stand in for the role for the first time in her career.
"I know what she likes, I know how she wants this team to run," Butler said. "I wanted to go out there and make her proud.
"Our conversations were more about Xs and Os, time management, game management, that kind of thing. It wasn't just me. [Toccara Ross], Jenna [Allen] and Jared [Roane] were amazing. There were a lot of things I was missing that I usually see on the bench, so being able to have them in my ear all game coaching me through it was awesome. Everyone played a huge role tonight."
The Chippewas were led by senior guard Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double and the dynamic freshman duo of Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass), who each added 16 points.
After struggles from the field in recent games, Lawson went 6-for-11 from the field to go along with a 6-for-6 effort at the free throw line. However, Butler noted that the senior's biggest impact on the game may have been before it started.
"All day today, she kept asking 'are you ready head coach?' Every time she saw me today, she was telling me that I got this, that I was going to do great. She was excited for me."
On Lawson's performance: "She's been in the gym, holding herself accountable. After the Toledo game, she immediately texted me some things that she knew she struggled with and was better tonight. She's really growing and finding her voice, and finding the leadership role we need her to be in."
The Chippewas logged runs of 10-0, 17-0, and 16-6 throughout the contest, fueled in part by the play of Darrington and Morson who have both burst onto the scene with breakout performances in recent weeks.
"We knew their potential coming in. They're freshmen so you're going to have growing pains, but I think they're finally gaining their confidence. During one of the timeouts, I asked the team what they're seeing, and Mayla [Ham] responded, 'Anna's going to work, we need to get the ball to Anna.' It helps them have confidence when their teammates are pouring that same confidence into them."
The victory marked the program's first 20-point margin in league play since Jan. 23, 2021, and the most points scored in a regulation win since Feb. 15, 2023. The Chippewas won the turnover battle for the fourth time this season, ceding fewer turnovers than their previous outing for the fourth straight game.
Central Michigan held the lead at the end of the first quarter for the second straight game, after doing so just twice this season prior to last Saturday's matchup against Toledo. CMU gave up just two turnovers in the first 10 minutes.
A Morson bucket in the final minute of the frame marked the final lead change of night and set the table for what became a 10-0 run; the rest of the run was supplied by three straight baskets in the paint from Darrington to open the second quarter.
The Zips pulled back within a possession, 23-20, with 6:33 to go in the second; CMU responded by shutting Akron out for all but the final two seconds of the frame, scoring 17 points in the process, leading to the 40-22 margin at the break.
Jayda Mosley (Cincinnati, Ohio / Purcell Marian) used the second of her three long-range buckets to log CMU's first 20-point lead at the first media break of the third quarter.
The Chippewas finished the job in the final minutes with a 16-6 run, in response to Akron working the margin down to just 10 points, 59-49, with just over six minutes to go.
Buffalo 77, Eastern Michigan 55
Box Score
YPSILANTI, MI – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (14-2, 3-2 MAC) led for all but two minutes as they defeated Eastern Michigan 77-55 at the Gervin GameAbove Center on Wednesday night.
Overall, nine Bulls scored on the night, led by Chellia Watson who scored a game-high 21 points. Senior guard Sitota Gines had a banner night as she scored a career-high 18 points to go with six rebounds and two steals and Terah Harness also scored in double figures with 11 points, including three makes from beyond the arc.
Gines gave the Bulls a spark in her first start of the season, scoring UB's first seven points of the game, and Buffalo led 13-10 at the first media timeout. Noelani Cornfield turned defense into offense, coming up with a steal and finishing the fastbreak layup before Gines put an exclamation point on the quarter with an and-one bucket in the final seconds to give the Bulls a 20-13 lead at the end of the first.
Buffalo continued to attack to start the second quarter as Alexis Davis scored on back-to-back possessions before Harness drilled a transition triple to cap a 7-0 run and force an early EMU timeout. The hosts answered with a 7-0 run of their own to cut the lead to single digits before Davis answered with a second chance layup to put the Bulls back up by 10 at the 4:49 mark. Later, Watson and Gines got to the rim for a pair of layups, but the Eagles scored on their last two possessions to cut the lead to 38-30 at the half.
Cornfield and Watson exploded out of the locker room, getting to the rim at will, as they led the Bulls on a 10-2 run to start the third quarter and take a 48-32 lead. The Bulls continued to clamp down on defense as they held the Eagles scoreless for over seven minutes and extended the run to 12-0 on a Watson jumper and a layup by Ariana Seawell, to take a 50-32 lead at the media timeout. Buffalo continued to pour it on as Harness and Gines drilled a pair of corner triples and later, Paula Lopez converted an offensive rebound putback for a layup and Watson raced up court and finished off glass at the buzzer to give Buffalo a 63-38 lead at the end of the third.
After a slow start to the fourth quarter for both teams, Harness drained a transition three and then Watson hit Jordyn Beaty on the block for a layup to give UB a 73-49 lead with 2:45 to go and that was more than enough to secure the victory.
The Buffalo defense shined on the night as the Eagles had more turnovers (23) than made field goals (19) and UB capitalized, scoring 22 points off those miscues. The Bulls also dominated inside, outscoring EMU 44-18 inside while also adding 12 second chance points and 10 fastbreak points.
Ball State 66, Kent State 57
Box Score
KENT, Ohio - In yet another highly contested Mid-American Conference game, Ball State (13-4, 5-0 MAC) walked away with a 66-57 road win at Kent State (10-7, 3-2 MAC) Wednesday night at the M.A.C Center.
With the win, Ball State remains undefeated in MAC play with a 5-0 mark for the second-straight season. The Cardinals also extended its win streak to seven games.
It comes to no surprise that Ball State's defense was a big part of tonight's outcome against Kent State. The Cardinals' ball handling was near perfect, committing a season low seven turnovers. Defensively, Ball State forced Kent State to commit 17 turnovers and capitalized by turning those miscues into 18 points.
Kent State would open the game with an 8-2 run in a span of a five minutes which left BSU a bit in shock. The Cardinals' defense kept the Golden Flashes from expanding their lead and BSU's shots began to fall after an Ally Becki layup. From that moment on the Cardinals outpaced the Golden Flashes 14-2 which was capped off by a Madelyn Bischoff 3-pointer that would allow BSU to take the 16-12 lead over Kent State into the second stanza.
The first half continued to be entertaining as both teams played closed to one another in the second quarter. The Golden Flashes knotted the contest 31-31 with 1:06 left to play but a Grace Kingery steal helped the Cardinals have the last possession prior to intermission. Kingery was sent to the line and the true freshman knocked down both free throws to give BSU the 33-31 edge over Kent State at the break.
Ball State turned up its defense in the third quarter which gave the Cardinals more opportunities to score. Some steals and crucial defensive rebounds eventually led to back-to-back 3-pointers from Lachelle Austin and Kingery that would increase Ball State's lead to 13 (49-36) by the 4:58 mark. The Cardinals would outscore the Golden Flashes 18-7 to go up by 13 (51-38) as both teams headed into the final 10 minutes of play.
Kent State opened the final 10 minutes with a 12-2 run to make it a 3-point ball game (53-50) with 5:30 left on the clock. The Cardinals continued to hang on, highlighted by some key plays on defense and would build their lead back up to eight (60-52) after an Alex Richard layup.
It was still a tight contest (60-55) at the 1:39 mark when Maliyah "MJ" Johnson made a layup that would spark a 6-0 run to finish out the contest and seal the victory for Ball State.
For the game, Austin led the Cardinals with 17 points while Richard ended the night with 16. Becki and Kingery each tallied 10 points apiece.
Miami 73, Northern Illinois 52
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. – The Miami University women's basketball team won its second-straight contest, downing Northern Illinois 73-52 on Wednesday evening. Enjulina Gonzalez scored a game-high 25 points (20 in the first half) to help the RedHawks improve to 10-5, 3-2 MAC. Chelby Koker led NIU (7-9, 1-4 MAC) with 14 points.
How it Happened:
- With the game tied at nine apiece, the RedHawks scored seven-straight, five from Gonzalez and a layup from Tamar Singer. After NIU converted a layup to make it 16-11, Gonzalez beat the buzzer to put the RedHawks up 18-11.
- The Huskies cut Miami's advantage to just three, 22-19, with 5:35 to play in the first half. Gonzalez scored 10 points following the media timeout to help the RedHawks close the opening half on a 15-4 run. The RedHawks went to the locker room up 37-23, highlighted by 20 first-half points from Gonzalez and a stifling defense that held NIU to 1-of-10 shooting from long distance.
- Maya Chandler scored Miami's first four points of the second half and following her third bucket of the quarter, Miami led 47-32 with 5:43 to play. NIU's triple made it 47-35, but five straight free throws from Amber Tretter, game Miami a 17-point advantage, their largest lead to that point. Miami led 55-40 after three quarters of play.
- NIU cut the deficit to 14 early in the fourth, but a triple from Singer and a three-point play from Tretter pushed Miami's advantage to 19, 63-44 with seven minutes to play. The Huskies never got closer than 14 points the remainder of the game
Western Michigan 41, Toledo 38
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan women's basketball team defeated University of Toledo 41-38 Wednesday evening. In the victory, head coach Shane Clipfell tied Fran Ebert (1967-82) for the most wins in program history with 179. Tonight also marked his 250th career win in his head coaching career. To lead the way offensively, graduate student Hannah Spitzley scored a game-high 14 points and tied her career high with seven steals to pace WMU.
During the first quarter of Wednesday's contest, The Brown and Gold scored eight points. After a layup from Alli Carlson and a three-pointer by Hannah Spitzley, the Broncos raced off to an early 5-2 lead. With 1:48 remaining in the first, Sptizley would hit her second three-pointer of the quarter to propel WMU to an 8-7 advantage. At the end of the first, the Broncos trailed the Rockets 9-8.
After a layup from Lauren Audino and a three-pointer by Marina Asensio, the Broncos tied the contest up at 13 all. At the conclusion of the half, behind a layup from Artemis Kouki, a free throw from Audino, and a layup by Carlson, WMU had tied the contest up at 20 all. The Broncos closed out the first half with a 5-2 advantage heading into the break.
During the third quarter, WMU scored 11 points and limited Toledo to a game-low eight points. After a three-pointer from the Rockets, graduate student Megan Wagner scored a fastbreak three-pointer and Asensio made a jumper to put the Broncos ahead 29-26 in the closing minute of the quarter. In the final moments of the third, Spitzley made a buzzer-beating layup to propel WMU to a 31-28 lead.
In the fourth and final quarter, the Broncos continued their defensive dominance and limited Toledo to 10 points. After a layup from Spitzley and a free throw from Carlson, WMU raced off to a four-point advantage. With three minutes remaining in the contest, the Broncos continued to stay aggressive and built a seven-point lead after free throws from Asensio, Audino, and Spitzley.
After a 5-0 run by the Rockets, Asensio made a pair of free throws with less than 10 seconds remaining in the quarter, to secure the Bronco victory.
Bowling Green 74, Ohio 53
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – Bowling Green State University shared the basketball, to say the least, on Wednesday night (Jan. 15), as the Falcons rolled to a 74-53 victory over Ohio University at the Convocation Center.
The Falcons (8-8, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) had 23 assists on 26 field goals in the victory, with four players scoring in double digits and five different players dishing out at least two assists.
Fifth-year Falcon Lexi Fleming led the team in scoring, with 19 points, and now has a career total of 999 points.
Paige Kohler flirted with a triple-double, as the sophomore had 18 points, along with eight rebounds and a game- and career-high eight assists. Senior Amy Velasco and freshman Johnea Donahue scored 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Bailey Tabeling had a game-high 26 points for the Bobcats (3-12, 1-4 MAC), but was the only player to score in double digits for the hosts.
BGSU nearly doubled up the Bobcats on the boards, with a 42-22 rebounding advantage. The Falcons shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field, including a 12-of-29 (41.4%) effort from the arc.
The Falcons held Ohio to a 32% field-goal rate, as the 'Cats went 16-of-50 on the night.
BGSU used a 10-0 scoring run to take a 24-7 lead late in the first quarter. The Bobcats hit a three-pointer just before the quarter ended, beginning a 17-3 run that cut the Falcons' lead to just three points, 27-24. But, BG ended the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 36-26 lead into the intermission, and the margin remained in double digits for the remainder of the night.
Tabeling scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, but BGSU then went on a 10-2 run, capped by a Donahue three-pointer that pushed the margin over 20 points midway through the period. The lead reached a game-high 24 points after Kohler knocked down a step-back three-pointer, then drove the paint and hit a floater with just under four minutes to go.
The Falcons had 12 assists on 12 first-half buckets, and each of BGSU's first 17 field goals of the night came with an assist. Keiryn McGuff grabbed a teammate's missed shot and laid the ball back up and in with 3:38 remaining in the third quarter, for the Falcons' first unassisted hoop of the night.
