Wednesday’s Women’s Basketball Results
Ball State 68, Miami 55
Kent State 81, Bowling Green 71
Western Michigan 65, Eastern Michigan 51
Akron 74, Ohio 61
Northern Illinois 59, Toledo 58
Buffalo 81, Central Michigan 55
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Ball State 68, Miami 55
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - The Ball State women's basketball team (9-4, 1-0 MAC) opened the New Year on a high note after earning a 68-55 victory over Miami University (7-4, 0-1 MAC) in its Mid-American Conference opener Wednesday afternoon at Millett Hall.
It was a team effort today for the Cardinals, which was led in scoring by Ally Becki who had 22 points. Becki also gathered nine rebounds while also dishing out seven assists. Grace Kingery dropped in 18 points, including five made 3-pointers. Defensively, Elise Stuck pulled down a personal best 10 rebounds.
For the game, the Cardinals' defense continues to give their respective opponents trouble this season as Ball State scored 31 points off Miami's 24 miscues.
Ball State struggled offensively to start today's contest. The RedHawks opened the contest with a 7-0 run. The Cardinals then answered with a late 13-3 run of their own to close out the first quarter to give BSU the 13-10 lead over Miami heading into the second frame.
The Cardinals continued to control the tempo of the game in the second frame of play eventually building a 13-point cushion (32-24) with 5:50 remaining in the first half. Miami made a short-lived comeback that would cut BSU's lead to five (26-21). Kingery's 3-pointer at the 3:20 mark stopped Miami's momentum. The Cardinals were then able to close the half with a 32-26 advantage over the RedHawks at intermission.
Stuck opened the third frame with a layup to keep the Cardinals in the driver's seat. Ball State went back up by 11 points (44-33) as Kingery drained another one from behind the arc with 5:11 left in the third period. Ball State's defense would pick up allowing the Cardinals to take a 50-41 cushion over the RedHawks into the final stanza.
Miami tried to knock off the preseason favored Cardinals in the final 10 minutes of play. The RedHawks came to within four to five points on a couple of occasions, but Ball State was able to stay the course to claim today's victory.
Kent State 81, Bowling Green 71
Box Score
KENT, Ohio — Seven different players contributed nine or more points on Wednesday afternoon, as Kent State beat Bowling Green, 81-71, in the Mid-American Conference opener.
The Golden Flashes (8-5, 1-0 MAC) went 11-of-12 at the foul line over the final 1:43 to thwart a late rally after a 15-point lead had been trimmed to four. The nation's best free throw shooting team shot 19-of-22 overall from the charity stripe in the contest.
A pair of late baskets by sophomore Riley Rismiller gave Kent State a 29-26 lead heading into the locker room following a defensive battle in the first half. The Flashes swatted six of their season-best eight shots while limiting the Falcons to 28.1% shooting during the opening 20 minutes.
Both teams found a rhythm offensively in the third quarter, which Kent State won 25-21 to increase its lead to seven entering the fourth.
The Flashes scored on their first four possessions to take the largest lead of the game, 64-49, with 7:48 to play, but Bowling Green battled to get within 70-66 as 2:08 remained. Kent State was able to combine defensive stops with excellent free throw shooting to extend the lead back to double-digits.
Senior Jenna Batsch led the balanced scoring effort with 15 points. Sophomore Janae Tyler (13), sophomore Riley Rismiller (11), senior Bridget Dunn (10) and junior Dionna Gray (10) joined her in double-figures, while sophomore Mya Babbitt and freshman Meghan Murray added nine points each. Dunn had a team-high three blocked shots and grabbed seven rebounds to share the lead with Babbitt.
Western Michigan 65, Eastern Michigan 51
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team defeated Eastern Michigan University 65-51 Wednesday afternoon. In the win, junior Marina Asensio supplied a game-high 22 points to lead the Brown and Gold.
The Broncos raced off to a 17-9 advantage in the first quarter after limiting EMU to 16.7% from the field. With less than one minute remaining in the quarter, redshirt junior Artemis Kouki converted on her and one opportunity to improve WMU's lead to 17-7.
In the second quarter, WMU's offense erupted for 23 points behind eight made field goals and a 66.7% shooting performance.
After EMU cut the the women's basketball team's lead down to two with 7:46 remaining in the half, WMU responded and outscored their foes 21-3 capped off by a buzzer-beating jumper by Asensio to propel the Brown and Gold into the break with a 40-20 lead.
With just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter, EMU cut the Brown and Gold's advantage to 43-30. In response to EMU's run, redshirt junior Maggie Stutelberg caught fire and recorded the final eight points of the Broncos offensively to end the quarter. Behind Stutelberg, WMU entered the fourth quarter with a 51-36 over the Green and White.
During the fourth quarter Wednesday, The Broncos led by as many as 14 points. With just over six minutes remaining in the fourth, a three-pointer by Asensio increased WMU's advantage to 59-45. In the final two minutes of the contest, a layup from Sarah Rekowski improved WMU's lead back to a comfortable 12 points. Rekowski would score on three consecutive offensive possessions for WMU to conclude the contest.
Akron 74, Ohio 61
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - Sophomore Teniesha Clarke (Burlington, Ontario) scored a career-high 20 points to help lead the University of Akron women's basketball team past the Ohio Bobcats, 74-61, in the Mid-American Conference opener for both schools on Wednesday (Jan. 1).
The Zips had three players score in double figures, led by Clarke, who had 20 points. Junior Liisa Taponen (Tampere, Finland) tacked on a career-best 17 points, including 14 in the decisive second half, while senior Alexus Mobley (Indianapolis, Ind.) helped out with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Led by freshman Ni'Rah Clark's (Toledo, Ohio) five offensive rebounds, Akron did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down a season-high 19 boards that resulted in 19 second-chance points.
Akron did a great job disrupting Ohio shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Clark's three rejections led the way individually for the Zips.
Akron struggled to find its shot out of the gate, falling behind 21-16 at the end of the first quarter.
Ohio built a 27-20 advantage before Akron went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from redshirt senior Shelbee Brown (Memphis, Tenn.), to narrow its deficit to 27-25. The Zips were unable to narrow the gap any further and entered halftime trailing 33-31.
Akron came out of halftime on fire, going on a 13-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Mobley, to grab a 44-33 lead with 6:07 to go in the third. Before the conclusion of the third period, the Bobcats had cut into that lead, but the Zips still entered the fourth quarter with a 55-47 edge. Akron played well near the basket, scoring 14 of its 24 points in the paint.
Akron kept its lead intact before going on a 6-0 run, finished off by Taponen's layup, to grow the lead to 63-49 with 7:25 to go in the contest. Akron took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 14 of its 19 points in the paint.
Northern Illinois 59, Toledo 58
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team won its Mid-American Conference opener for the first time in six seasons Wednesday, hanging on for a 59-58 win over the Toledo Rockets at Savage Arena.
"I was really proud of us defensively," said head coach Lisa Carlsen. "We talked about how every game in the MAC is a 40-minute battle. You have to understand that the ebbs and flows of a game and I thought we did a good job of staying locked in and connected."
The Huskies snapped Toledo's 20-game home court winning streak on Wednesday, which was tied for the fifth-longest in the country. NIU also snapped the Rockets' 23-game home winning streak against MAC opponents.
Chelby Koker (Racine, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) led NIU with 16 points, adding five rebounds and five assists. The sixth-year guard was 5-for-12 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
"She played like a seasoned veteran today," Carlsen said of Koker's performance. "She understood time and score and what we needed at any given time. That's why I've said all along we're better with Chelby on the floor. I'm proud of her leadership and the way she was able to keep everyone together. It really was a group effort today and she was a big part of that."
Alecia Doyle (Carterville, Ill./SEMO) had 14 points and six rebounds. Brooke Blumenfeld (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) scored all 10 of her points in the second half.
NIU (7-5, 1-0 MAC) trailed 32-30 with 5:42 to play in the third quarter. A Sidney McCrea (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie) three sparked an 11-2 run to end the quarter to give the Huskies a 41-34 lead, their largest of the game. Blumenfeld and Doyle combined to score the last six points of the run.
Toledo (8-3, 0-1 MAC) answered with an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter. A Khera Goss three with 8:19 to play put the Rockets up 42-41. Sparked by layups from Blumenfeld and Brooke Stonebraker (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles), NIU went on a 10-4 run over the next 3:20 to take a 51-46 lead. The Rockets rallied to tie the game at 53-53 with 1:38 to play, as a pair of Kendall Carruthers free throws leveled the game to cap a 7-2 run.
Koker broke the tie with two free throws at the 1:19 mark to give NIU a 55-53 lead. Carruthers split a pair of foul shots on Toledo's next possession to make the score 55-54 with 0:54 left. The two teams traded baskets on their next trip, with a Carruthers putback making the score 57-56 with 0:03 left. Toledo fouled McCrea with 0:03 seconds left, who split two free throws to give the Huskies a 58-56 lead. After a timeout, Sammi Mikonowicz made an open layup to tie the game with 2.3 seconds left.
NIU had a chance at the last shot of the game. Koker threw a lob pass to Doyle who missed an initial layup and was fouled on the putback. Doyle split her two free throws, allowing Toledo to run one last play with 1.1 seconds left. Nan Garcia's three-point try missed the mark and NIU came away with the 59-58 win.
NIU shot 39.3 percent from the field, including a 58.3 mark in the second half, and was 6-for-11 from the three-point arc. The Huskies held Toledo to 4-for-21 from long range and 32.3 percent overall from the floor. NIU turned the ball over a season-low 12 times and scored 14 points off 12 Toledo turnovers. Carruthers led the Rockets with 16 points as Goss added 15 points.
Buffalo 81, Central Michigan 55
Box Score
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (12-0, 1-0 MAC) made a statement in their Mid-American Conference opener as they defeated Central Michigan in wire-to-wire fashion, 81-55, at Alumni Arena on Wednesday afternoon.
The 26-point win was the largest margin of victory over a MAC opponent in the Becky Burke era.
It was a balanced effort as 10 Bulls scored on the day, including three in double figures, led by sophomore Kirsten Lewis-Williams who recorded the first double-double of her carer with a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. Chellia Watson stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Alexis Davis added 10 points.
The Bulls opened the game on a 6-0 run to force an early CMU timeout at the 7:23 mark. Buffalo continued to attack as Lewis-Williams and Watson got to the rack on back-to-back possessions before Terah Harness drilled a triple from the top of the key to put UB up 13-2. Watson continued to attack as she got a pair of floaters in the lane to drop and then Buffalo executed an out-of-bounds play to perfection as Noelani Cornfield hit Davis with a lob pass for a layup at the buzzer to give the Bulls a 22-6 lead at the end of the first.
After a sluggish start to the second quarter for both teams Watson found Harness for a transition baseline jumper and Davis blew by her defender for a layup off glass to put UB up 29-14 at the media timeout. Harness and Davis scored on two straight possessions and then, after some free throws, the Bulls would take their largest lead of the half, 36-19, but the Chippewas would hit a pair of threes in the final minute to cut the UB lead to nine at the half.
The visitors scored on their first possession of the third quarter to pull within single digits before Cornfield hit Harness for a three and Sitota Gines found Davis on the block for a layup, before blowing by her defender for an and-one bucket of her own to put UB up 45-31 at the media timeout. Lewis-Williams continued to attack, converting an and-one bucket out of the break. Then, after a scoring drought, Watson got a runner to fall and Lewis-Williams hit Mallory Daly for a layup in traffic before Daly found Lopez with a skip pass for a triple at the buzzer to give UB a 59-41 lead at the end of the third.
Lewis-Williams continued to make an impact as she scored six points in the opening two-plus minutes of the fourth quarter to put UB back up by 20. Later, Daly drilled a triple and Watson followed with a pair of paint buckets and the Bulls would cruise to victory.
Buffalo continued their dominance in the paint, outscoring the Chippewas 42-18 inside, while also edging the top rebounding team in the MAC on the glass. Buffalo continues to turn defense into offense as they forced 20 CMU turnovers and scored 18 points off those miscues. The Bulls executed at a high-level in transition once again, scoring 22 fastbreak points.
