CLEVELAND – The 2024-25 Mid-American Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament opens today, March 12, with four quarterfinal matchups inside Rocket Arena.
Wednesday, March 12th -- MAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals
Game 1: No. 1 Ball State (24-7, 16-2 MAC) vs. No. 8 Western Michigan (12-17, 8-10 MAC),
Dave Bacon (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats |11 AM ET (ESPN+)*
Ball State Cardinals
Wednesday's game against Western Michigan will mark the 95th time in program history the two schools have met with Ball State leading the all-time series record, 55-39. The Cardinals won the two-game series over the Broncos this season after beating WMU 61-51 in Muncie (2/2/25) and then in Kalamazoo by a 55-45 decision (3/1/25). Ball State has won 11-straight over Western Michigan.
With the win against Buffalo on March 5, the Cardinals claimed sole possession of the Mid-American Conference regular season title for the first time in 22 years. The last time the Cardinals earned the title was in 2002-03. Ball State will enter next week's MAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed in Cleveland for the first time since 2009 when Ball State won the tournament.
This marks the 35th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in program history. Ball State has advanced to Cleveland 23 out of the past 25 seasons. The Cardinals are 24-33 all-time in MAC Tournament play and have advanced to the MAC Tournament finals on six occasions. Ball State defeated Bowling Green in 2009 in the MAC Tournament Championship game. This is the 10th time in current head coach Brady Sallee's tenure the Cardinals have punched their ticket straight to the MAC Tournament in Cleveland.
Ball State head coach Brady Sallee owns a 8-11 overall Mid-American Conference Tournament mark. The last time the Cardinals reached the final game was in 2022 when Ball State fell to Buffalo by a score of 79-74.
Ball State has been the No. 1 seed in the tournament only four times; 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2025.
Ball State owns a 10-2 record in the 2025 MAC Tournament bracket. The two losses for the Cardinals game against second-seeded Toledo and fourth-seeded Kent State.
Western Michigan Broncos
Western Michigan clinched its trip to Cleveland after finishing in eight place in the MAC standings. WMU defeated Ohio 75-56 in its second to last game of the regular season to lock in its spot. The Broncos were 8-10 in conference play.
This is the third meeting between the Broncos and the Cardinals.
The first meeting came back on Feb. 1, with BSU winning over the Broncos at home 61-51. The second meeting was on March 1. with the Cardinals winning 55-45.
In the two meetings, WMU has held Ball State to its lowest point total in conference play (55) and its third-lowest (61). In the series-opener, they also held the Cardinals to 36 percent shooting.
This is the sixth meeting between Western Michigan and Ball State at the MAC Tournament, with BSU holding a 3-2 edge. The last came in 2018 when the Broncos upset the third-seeded Cardinals 65-54 in the Quarterfinals.
Western Michigan has been one-and-done in its past two trips to the MAC Tournament and has lost three-straight games in Cleveland. Last season the eight-seeded Broncos fell to top-seeded Toledo 72-61. In 2022, WMU was the seven seed and fell to No. 2 Buffalo 63-49. The third loss came back in 2020 against Ohio in the Quarterfinals, 84-75, after WMU had defeated Bowling Green in the first round to earn the trip to Cleveland.
WMU is 26-33 all-time in the MAC Tournament.
Game 2: No. 4 Kent State (20-11, 12-6 MAC) vs. No. 5 Miami (19-10, 11-7 MAC),
Dave Bacon (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats |Time TBA (ESPN+)*
Kent State Golden Flashes
Kent State begins the path to a second consecutive Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament championship on Wednesday afternoon against No. 5 seed Miami. The quarterfinal contest is expected to tip around 1:30 p.m. at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
The Golden Flashes (20-11, 12-6 MAC) secured their third 20-win campaign in a row on Saturday with a 69-62 Senior Day victory over Toledo. Seniors Jenna Batsch and Bridget Dunn had memorable performances in their final time playing at the M.A.C. Center. Batsch led all scorers with 27 points and recorded a career-high six steals. Dunn finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season and recorded a career-high five assists.
Kent State is making its 37th appearance in the MAC Tournament and has a 39-31 record in tournament play. The Golden Flashes have advanced to the quarterfinals in Cleveland in eight of nine seasons under head coach Todd Starkey.
Kent State has advanced to the semifinals 20 times, recording an 13-6 record in those games (2020 game was not played after tournament was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic). The Flashes have won four MAC Tournament titles: 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2024. Kent State appeared in the championship game seven straight years from 1996-2002 and has played for the title 13 times overall.
During that seven-year stretch, the Flashes owned an 18-4 MAC Tournament record.
Game 3: No. 2 Toledo (22-7, 13-5 MAC) vs. No. 7 Central Michigan (14-16, 9-9 MAC)
Dave Bacon (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Time TBA (ESPN+)*
The No. 2 seed Toledo women's basketball team begins its run at the 2025 Mid-American Conference Championship with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 7 Central Michigan at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. Toledo and Central Michigan will tip off at approximately 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday and will air on ESPN+, WCWA 1230 AM and The Varsity Network app.
The Rockets (22-7, 13-5 MAC) make their fourth-straight appearance in the MAC Tournament as a top-two seed, having reached at least the semifinals in their last three trips and winning the 2023 tourney. Central Michigan (14-16, 9-9 MAC) will play in its first tournament game since 2021.
Toledo won 10 of its last 12 games to close the regular season and clinched the No. 2 seed on Wednesday with a 79-70 win at Northern Illinois. The Rockets were defeated 69-62 by Kent State in the regular season finale. Nan Garcia had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds at KSU.
Toledo won both matchups in the regular season, 71-66 in Mt. Pleasant on Jan. 11 and 80-70 at Savage Arena on March 1. Toledo leads the all-time series, 58-36 and the two teams are tied, 3-3 in neutral site games. The Rockets and Chippewas last matched up in the MAC Tournament on March 11, 2020, a 78-71 Rocket victory.
Central Michigan Chippewas
Central Michigan takes its spot in the 2025 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Wednesday (March 12) afternoon to battle the second-seed Toledo at approx. 4 p.m. ET at Rocket Arena on ESPN+.
The seventh-seed Chippewas return to the league tournament for the first time since 2021, also the last time they won the program's fifth tournament title (1983, 1984, 2013, 2018, 2021). CMU has a 33-34 overall record in MAC Tournament contests since the league tournament began in 1982.
Should Chippewas win Wednesday's contest, they would advance to a semifinal matchup set for Friday, March 14 at approx. 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ against either No. 3 Buffalo or No. 6 Bowling Green. A win in that game would give CMU a berth in the MAC Championship, scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. The league champion automatically advances to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Central Michigan will face Toledo for the third time this season, seeking to avenge a regular season sweep by the Rockets. Jan. 11's matchup in Mount Pleasant could be marked as the starting point of the Chippewas' upward momentum as both freshman standouts, Madi Morson and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington collected 19 points in a 71-66 defeat. On March 1, CMU jumped out front early on the Rockets, 11-4, but could not hang on for the victory, 80-70—Darrington and Morson combined for 44 points in that contest.
Central Michigan finished seventh in the MAC standings with a 9-9 league record, clinching its berth in an overtime victory at fifth-seed Miami (OH), 69-66, then finished the final week with a 70-61 senior day victory over Akron.
Game 4: No. 3 Buffalo (24-6, 13-5 MAC) vs. No. 6 Bowling Green (18-12, 11-7 MAC)
Dave Bacon (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Time TBA (ESPN+)*
Buffalo Bulls
The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (24-6, 13-5 MAC) will face sixth-seeded Bowling Green in the MAC Tournament on Wednesday in the fourth quarterfinal game of the day. This is the fifth time the two programs will face off in the MAC Tournament, with the last meeting coming on March 13, 2024, when the Bulls defeated the Falcons 70-62 in the quarterfinals.
This is the first time the Bulls have entered the MAC tournament as the three seed.
This is the 54th overall meeting between Buffalo and Bowling Green with the Falcons owning a slim 28-26 series advantage. The Bulls have won four straight over the Falcons, most recently a 70-60 win at the Stroh Center in the lone meeting of the year.
Buffalo finished the regular season with a 24-6 overall record and 13-5 league mark. The conference announced its postseason awards on Tuesday morning, with Chellia Watson receiving First-Team All-MAC recognition, Kirsten Lewis-Williams named Second Team All-MAC and Noelani Cornfield named to the All-Defensive Team.
The Bulls are led offensively by Watson who leads the MAC and ranks in the top 20 nationally in total points (610), points per game (20.3), field goals made (233) and attempted (521). Lewis-Williams is averaging 13.6 points per game while leading the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg) and Cornfield is also averaging in double figures at 10.6 ppg, while leading the team and ranking 18th nationally in assists per game (5.7).
As a team, the Bulls lead the league in scoring offense (74.3), scoring margin (+14.8), field goal percentage (.461), assists (16.8), and turnover margin (+7.5) while also ranking in the top three in scoring defense (59.5), field goal defense (.383), steals per game (10.5) and free throw percentage (.770).
Bowling Green Falcons
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team heads to downtown Cleveland this week, as Mid-American Conference Tournament play begins. Head coach Fred Chmiel and the Falcons, the sixth seed for the eight-team tournament, will face the third-seeded University at Buffalo in quarterfinal-round action on Wednesday evening (March 12) at Rocket Arena. The BGSU-UB game, the fourth and final contest of the day, is tentatively scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
BGSU enters Wednesday's Buffalo game with an all-time record of 48-29 in MAC Tournament contests. The Falcons have won 11 league tournament titles, the most of any conference institution, and BG has the second-highest winning percentage (.623) of any team in tourney games. BGSU's conference tournament win total also places the Falcons second among MAC teams. A complete list of BGSU's game-by-game results in the MAC Tournament can be found in the PDF version of these notes.
The Falcons and Buffalo are meeting for the fifth time in MAC Tournament play, and the third time in downtown Cleveland. BGSU is 1-3 in tourney meetings with UB, including an 0-2 record on the road and a 1-1 mark at neutral sites. The teams have met on two previous occasions, both within the last four years, inside the building now known as Rocket Arena. The Falcons picked up 80-67 win over UB in the league tournament semifinals in 2021.
The teams are meeting in the quarterfinal round for the second-straight season. Last March, the Bulls came away with a 70-64 win.
