Women's Basketball

Kent State, Miami and Bowling Green Clinch Tournament Berths

Wednesday’s Women’s Basketball Results
Miami 82, Eastern Michigan 72 (OT)
Ball State 60, Central Michigan 58 (OT)
Kent State 76, Northern Illinois 58
Bowling Green 91, Ohio 61
Western Michigan 77, Akron 66
Toledo 71, Buffalo 68
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Miami 82, Eastern Michigan 72 (OT)
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Miami University women's basketball team captured an 82-72 overtime victory over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday evening. Enjulina Gonzalez had a game-high 20 points for Miami (17-9, 9-6 MAC) as the RedHawks clinched a spot in the 2025 MAC Tournament. Brooklyn Thrash had 16 points for the Eagles (2-24, 1-14 MAC). 

Amber Tretter added 16 points and 17 rebounds and Tamar Singer had 10 points, six assists and seven steals as the RedHawks raced out to a 39-16 halftime lead. EMU stormed back to claim a 65-61 advantage with 2:23 to play before Miami sent the game to overtime with a bucket from Gonzalez and free throws from Núria Jurjo and Tretter.

How it Happened:
  • The game began with close play, as Miami trailed 5-3 after putting in a few free throws. Gonzalez and Tretter led an 8-0 run with a collection of layups to jump ahead 11-5. A triple from Jurjo and a layup from Singer gave the RedHawks a 16-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
  • The Red and White opened the second quarter with back-to-back triples, extending its lead to 22-13. With the score at 22-16 with 7:50 remaining before the intermission, Miami scored 17 unanswered points to head into halftime with a 39-16 lead. Singer and Ilse de Vries combined for 10 points during that offensive push from the RedHawks. 
  • de Vries started the third quarter with a layup, and Katey Richason added a hook shot to keep the RedHawks on top 43-21. The Eagles went on to outscore Miami 11-3 to put the score at 46-32 with just over five minutes to play in the quarter. A pull-up jumper from Gonzalez and a layup from Richason fended off Eastern Michigan at 50-32. A flurry of threes brought the Eagles within four points at 54-50 heading into the final quarter of play. Eastern Michigan shot 8-of-11 from behind the three-point line in the third quarter.
  • Eastern Michigan tied the game at 57-57 with 6:33 remaining on the scoreboard and took their first lead since the start of the game at 60-57. Miami trailed 65-61 with 2:23 to play, but scored the final four points of the quarter to force overtime.
  • A layup and pair of free throws from Tretter kept the RedHawks above Eastern Michigan at 70-68 with 2:13 left in overtime. Richason used a traditional three-point play and a shot from beyond the arc to separate from the Eagles at 78-72. The Eagles came no closer, as Miami claimed an 82-72 overtime victory.

Ball State 60, Central Michigan 58 (OT)
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - With 30 seconds left in overtime, senior Ally Becki knocked down a jumper and then later secured the victory with a defensive rebound to lift the Ball State women's basketball team to a 60-58 overtime victory at Central Michigan Wednesday night at McGuirk Arena.

The extra frame was just as tightly contested as regulation but fortunately the Cardinals (21-7, 13-2 MAC) snapped a two-game losing streak and remained atop of the Mid-American Conference standings with their win over the Chippewas (12-15, 7-8 MAC).

Both teams started the game off slow in the first 10 minutes of action. The best way to describe the first stanza would be scrappy defense as Ball State and Central Michigan were knotted, 4-4 at the five-minute mark. The Cardinals and the Chippewas played toe-to-toe the remainder of the opening frame to make it a tied ball game 10-10 to end the quarter.

The second period mimicked the first as Ball State and Central Michigan continued their up-and-down affair. The first half alone resulted in six ties with the Cardinals only having the lead once. The Chippewas had the upper hand throughout the second frame. Down by four (23-19) with two minutes left, Marie Kiefer would finally score for BSU with 32 seconds on the clock to make the score 23-21 at intermission.

After the break, it was déjà vu throughout the remainder of the third and fourth quarters. Ball State finally got ahead of Central Michigan ever so slightly as Lachelle Austin and Elise Stuck were able to each make a pair of free throws, leading to the Cardinals 39-35 edge versus the Chippewas at end of the third.

The game remained close in the final quarter. Ball State trailed by four (49-45) in the final three minutes, but Austin registered back-to-back layups along with a big rebound from Kiefer that led to Ball State tying the contest 49-49. Those plays eventually sent the game into overtime.

Austin led the Cardinals in scoring with 17 points. Kiefer had a double-double after chipping in 10 points while tying her career-high in rebounds with 16. Becki finished the night with eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists. 

Kent State 76, Northern Illinois 58
Box Score
KENT, Ohio —Senior Jenna Batsch surpassed 1,000 career points on Wednesday evening at the M.A.C. Center as Kent State defeated Northern Illinois, 76-58, and secured its spot in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.

Batsch became the 25th member of the Golden Flashes' 1,000-point club on a driving layup from the right wing with 3:04 to play in the first quarter. She finished the night with 11 points, six assists and four steals.

Fellow senior Bridget Dunn recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Dunn now has four games with 15 or more boards and moved up three spots to sixth on Kent State's single-season rebounding list with 277.

Junior Dionna Gray led the Flashes in scoring with 14 points and had nine assists for the third time this season to match her career-high. Sophomore Janae Tyler was right behind with 13 points and senior Bianca Juzzo provided a spark off the bench, knocking down both of her three-point attempts and finishing with 10 points.

Kent State (18-10, 10-5 MAC) overcame an eight-point deficit and took its first lead of the game on a layup by Juzzo with 1:16 remaining in the second quarter. The Huskies made two free throws to go ahead 30-29 at halftime.

A 14-0 run during the third quarter helped the Flashes build a 16-point lead going into the fourth.

Bowling Green 91, Ohio 61
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team hit a school-record 18 three-point field goals on Wednesday evening (Feb. 26), in a 91-61 dismantling of Ohio University at the Stroh Center.

BGSU has won five consecutive games and seven of the last eight contests.

On Senior Night, fourth-year Falcon Amy Velasco had a double-double, with 22 points and 11 assists. Sophomore Paige Kohler also scored 22 points and dished out six assists, as the Falcons (16-11, 9-6 Mid-American Conference) had 26 assists on 31 field goals in the win.

Lexi Fleming and Erika Porter, the two players who were recognized along with Velasco in Senior Night festivities prior to tipoff, each scored 12 points in the victory.

Three Falcons – Kohler (six), Velasco (five) and Fleming (four) – made at least four three pointers.

Kennedi Watkins led the Bobcats (6-20, 4-11 MAC) with 16 points, while Bailey Tabeling added 14.

BGSU had a whopping 43-22 rebounding advantage in the win, and the Falcons outscored the Bobcats in each of the four quarters.

The Falcons shot 61.5 percent from the field in the first half, rolling up a 50-27 lead at the intermission. BGSU wound up shooting over 50% from the floor for the second-straight game, finishing with a 31-for-58 (53.4%) performance. BG went 18-for-36 (50%) from the arc.

With the win, the Falcons clinched a berth in the MAC Tournament in Cleveland. The tourney begins with quarterfinal-round games on Wednesday, March 12.

Western Michigan 77, Akron 66
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan junior guard Marina Asensio had a career-high 26 points as the Broncos snapped a three-game losing streak with a 77-66 win over Akron at University Arena on Wednesday night.

Asensio was 9-for-12 from the field, including 7-for-10 from three and dished out seven assists. Her seven triples were also a career-best mark. Graduate student Hanna Spitzley had 17 points and seven rebounds, while Alli Carlson had 16 points and four rebounds.

As a team, the Broncos shot 55.1 percent from the field and 13-of-30 from behind the arc. Although the Zips shot 50 percent from the field, the WMU defense held them to just 3-for-18 from three and also forced 16 turnovers.

Western Michigan jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first 6:40 of the first quarter. The offense for both sides picked up from there, with WMU heading into the second quarter with a 17-12 lead. The Broncos kept the Zips at bay and extended the lead to eight, 27-19, after a layup by D'Myjah Bolds. UA got within five at the 4:00 mark of the second, but the Broncos went on a 7-1 run to end the half with a 37-26 lead.

WMU opened the third quarter with a 8-4 run and had its largest lead of the game, 45-30, at the 5:55 mark after Asensio's second three of the quarter. The Zips roared back with an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 45-41 and kept pace with the Broncos, who led 50-46 at the end of the third.

The teams battled back and forth to open the fourth quarter until a layup by Ni'Rah Clark gave Akron its first lead of the game, 60-58. The lead didn't last long as Asensio hit another three to push ahead 61-60. Akron's Alexus Mobley got the lead back after a layup but the Broncos countered with a three by Carlson, taking a 64-62 lead with 4:08 left. Carlson then hit a jumper from the free-throw line to make it 66-62. Clark cut the lead back to two with another layup, but that was as close as the Zips got for the rest of the game. Asensio hit a jumper from the left elbow and then Carlson made another triple to put the Broncos up 71-64. Shelbee Brown hit a layup with 1:18 left to cut it to five, but that was Akron's last basket of the game. Asensio responded with her seventh three of the game and then WMU made three free throws in the final minute to clinch the win. 

Toledo 71, Buffalo 68
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's basketball team shot a season-best 62.8% from the field to overcome a ferocious Buffalo defense in a 71-68 victory at Savage Arena on Wednesday night.

Freshman Faith Fedd-Robinson led Toledo with 15 points on her birthday as the Rockets (20-6, 11-4 MAC) rallied from a four-point deficit in the fourth quarter, out-scoring Buffalo 21-14 in the final 10 minutes. Toledo's victory moves it to a tie for second place with Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference and completes the regular-season sweep over the Bulls (22-5, 11-4 MAC)