Saturday’s Women’s Basketball Results
Western Michigan 73, South Alabama 67
Ball State 87, Troy 86
Miami 78, Georgia Southern 67
Kent State 68, App State 63
Eastern Michigan 76, Arkansas State 73
Toledo 76, Southern Miss 67
Northern Illinois 71, Texas State 69
Bowling Green 93, Coastal Carolina 82
Louisiana 82, Akron 71
Old Dominion 84, Ohio 76
Marshall 88, Central Michigan 81
Louisiana Monroe 73, Buffalo 64

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Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Western Michigan 73, South Alabama 67
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan University women's basketball team had a big second half performance to earn a 73-67 win over the South Alabama Jaguars on Saturday.

The Broncos were able to go 1-1 in the MAC-SBC Challenge this season with their six-point win over South Alabama this weekend. WMU's defense took advantage of the Jaguars ball handling, forcing 15 turnovers and winning the game under the glass 33-31. Sophomore guard Kailey Starks had a career performance for the Brown and Gold on the floor, scoring 33 points with seven rebounds, three steals, a block, and an assist. Also helping Western Michigan to its first 70+ point game in over a month was sophomore guard Alli Harness with 12 points and a rebound.

"I'm feeling great, and I'm really excited we won!" said Starks following the game. "We did not do our job at Ohio. So, we were ready and prepared to win today and we played really hard. We have to scout well and prepare well for Miami on Tuesday. We need to come in with the same mentality like we did today and work hard."

It was a back-and-forth game early on Saturday as both offenses scored out of the jump. The Broncos had the first run of the day to take a four-point lead less than three minutes in. South Alabama matched with a run of its own to take its first lead of the afternoon. The lead was swapped three more times in the first ten minutes with the Jaguars making the last shot of the quarter. WMU trailed by only a basket going into the second quarter.

The second quarter started almost exactly like the first with the teams going bucket for bucket. The Brown and Gold put together five straight points in under 30 seconds to get back in front by three. South Alabama continued to match Western Michigan' scoring as the lead was traded another five times in four minutes. The Jaguars had an 11-3 run in the final three minutes to keep the lead. But Harness made a clutch three pointer for the Broncos with under 10 seconds to go for a 39-36 score at halftime.

WMU's offense struggled to get going early in the second half as South Alabama grew its lead to nine points. But once the Brown and Gold's offense got going it didn't stop, putting together a nine-point run to tie the game up midway through the third. The Jaguars responded with a three to retake the lead, but Western Michigan continued to cut into the deficit at the line. The Bronco defense held South Alabama scoreless for almost three minutes to end the quarter, making it a 56-56 game before the final frame.

Ball State 87, Troy 86
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. – In a heart-pounding conclusion to their annual "Think Pink" game, the Ball State women's basketball team (19-5, 10-1 MAC) secured a narrow 87-86 victory over Troy University (19-5, 10-2 Sun Belt) on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena.

It came to no surprise that the contest would come down to the wire after the up-and-down affair that lasted the entire 40-minute duration, which consisted of nine ties and 13 lead changes. The Cardinals used a 13-1 run in the final minutes, capped off by the game-winning three-pointer from Zhen Verburgt.

The victory marks a successful sweep of the MAC-SBC Challenge for the Cardinals, who previously defeated Arkansas State in the first leg of the scheduling alliance back in November. Today's contest served a dual purpose, as both teams along with the fans dressed in pink to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research, supporting the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

The matchup featured two of the premier mid-major programs in the country. Entering the day, both sitting second in their respective conference standings. Troy jumped out to an early 22-18 lead after the first quarter, fueled by their relentless offensive rebounding—a category in which they lead the nation.

Some pivotal possessions and a successful 3-pointer as time was winding down from Gorini Giorgia allowed Ball State to erase an early deficit and take a narrow 44-40 lead over the Trojans heading into halftime.

After the break, Bree Salenbien and Gracey Kingery helped the Cardinals surge offensively, creating an eight-point gap (57-49) over the Trojans at the 6:52 mark of the third quarter. Unfortunately, the advantage didn't last long as Troy answered back with a 19-9 scoring spree to end the third frame with a 68-66 lead over the Cardinals.

The outlook appeared dire for the Cardinals as they trailed the Trojans by 11 (83-74) with a little over four minutes to play. Refusing to back down, the Cardinals ramped up their signature high-pressure defense. Kingery knocked down a pair of crucial free throws, followed by an Alba Caballero jumper and a driving layup from Karsyn Norman, cutting the deficit to six with two minutes left on the clock.

Trailing 86-80, Salenbien converted a gritty second-chance bucket before another Norman layup, which brought the Cardinals within striking distance with 49 seconds remaining in the contest. In the final seconds, Salenbien found a wide-open Verburgt, whose jumper hit the bottom of the net as the Worthen Arena crowd erupted, sealing a thrilling 87-86 comeback victory.

For the game, Tessa Towers led the Cardinals' charge with 19 points and nine rebounds while Kingery finished the contest with 17 points followed by Salenbien, who ended the game with 14. 

Miami 78, Georgia Southern 67
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio –Amber Tretter scored a career-high 32 points and added 13 rebounds as the RedHawks picked up a 78-67 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon. The RedHawks, winners of 12-straight, improve to 19-4 overall. GSU falls to 17-6.

Amber Scalia added 21 points to go along with four three-pointers, Ilse de Vries poured in 14 points and Tamar Singer added nine assists en route to owning the program record for assists in a season (178).

How it Happened:

• Tretter scored the game's first six points and the RedHawks held Georgia Southern without a field goal for the first five minutes of the contest to claim an early 6-2 lead. The Eagles responded with an 8-4 run to knot the game at 10 apiece before Scalia scored on back-to-back layups to put the RedHawks up 14-10. After GSU cut the Miami advantage to three, 18-15, Scalia knocked down a straight-away triple as time expired to spot Miami a 21-15 lead after 10 minutes of play.
• A triple from Tretter midway through the second quarter pushed Miami's advantage to 26-20 and the RedHawks led 28-23 at the second quarter media timeout. Four-straight GSU points, cut the Miami lead to one before a triple from de Vries made it 31-27. Miami led 38-34 at the half.
• The Eagles opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run and took their first lead of the contest, 41-38. Tretter responded with five-straight points to claim a 43-41 Miami advantage. After GSU tied the game at 43 apiece, Scalia converted a pair of free throws and de Vries knocked down a triple for a five-point Miami advantage. The teams exchanged the next several baskets until Tamar Singer found Tretter for a wide-open layup as time expired in the third quarter for a 58-50 Miami lead.
• Miami scored five points in the first 60 seconds of the fourth quarter to gather a 13-point lead, forcing a GSU timeout. The Eagles got as close as 68-61 with 4:49 to play, but four-straight points from Tretter pushed Miami's lead back to double-digits late in the final stanza. 

Kent State 68, App State 63
Box Score
KENT, Ohio — Kent State led by as many as 14 points but needed a 13-0 run during the fourth quarter to beat App State, 68-63, on Saturday in a MAC-Sun Belt Challenge contest inside of the M.A.C. Center.

The Golden Flashes (11-12) led 53-50 after Journey Hildebrand banked in a shot just before the third quarter buzzer but went scoreless until Hildebrand drained a corner triple with 5:31 remaining to get within 58-56. The sophomore then scored inside off a feed from senior Dionna Gray to tie it and put Kent State ahead 60-58 on a pullup jump shot with 3:52 to play.

Senior Tatiana Thomas continued the run with a basket in the post and freshman Anna Campanelli added four free throws to grow the lead to 66-58 with 44.2 seconds on the clock. App State finally ended a scoring drought of nearly seven minutes with two baskets to get within 66-63. Gray then sank a pair from the charity stripe with 1.7 seconds led to put the game out of reach.

Hildebrand finished with a season-high 17 points and career-high eight rebounds. Thomas neared a triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and career-high seven steals, the most by a Kent State player since Feb. 29, 2020. Campanelli and Rismiller added 13 points and 10 points, respectively.

Eastern Michigan 76, Arkansas State 73
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team came back from an 11-point deficit via 23 second-half points from Peyton Hill to upend Sun Belt Conference leader Arkansas State University, 76-73, in overtime, in the second leg of the MAC-SBC Challenge, at the George Gervin GameAbove Center, Saturday, Feb. 7.

Hill's (St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy) mid-range jumper with 17 seconds to go gave Eastern the one-point lead and the ensuing defensive stand, and Fernanda Ovalle (Santiago, Chile/Montverde Academy/Xavier) secured the victory from the free-throw line.

How it Happened
The Eagles and Red Wolves struggled to get things going at the start of the game as Eastern was shooting 3-for-8 and Arkansas State was 3-for-11 by the 4:38 mark of the first period. The Red Wolves' aggressive full-court trap put pressure on the Eagles, resulting in a 10-2 ASU run over the remaining 2:56 of the period, forcing four EMU turnovers, bringing the score to 21-14.

The physicality continued into the second period, with Eastern scoring 16 of its 23 total points by the 4:12 mark of the quarter. Eastern was able to turn the defensive momentum in its favor, going on a 10-3 run during a four-minute cold streak from ASU with three forced turnovers by EMU, resulting in a 27-26 score in favor of the Red Wolves at the 3:23 mark. Eastern and Arkansas State continued to go back-and-forth, closing the period with a 33-28 score, with Arkansas State on top.

Arkansas State grew its lead to nine points out of the half as the score was 43-34 by the first timeout of the quarter at the 4:31 mark. Eastern went on a 7-0 run in the final 2:47 of the quarter to trim the Red Wolves' lead back down to just two, 49-47, at the end of the quarter.

Both teams exchanged blows in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter as the Red Wolves kept their lead at two with under four minutes to go. At 3:06, Sisi Eleko (Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy/Canisius) made an equalizing bucket to bring the score to 59-59. Arkansas State scored the next five points of the game. With 34 seconds left, Hill knocked down a three-pointer to keep EMU in the game at 64-62. A dribbling violation by the Red Wolves gave the Eagles the chance to tie or win the game with 8.9 seconds left, leading to a Hill layup with 5.7 remaining, evening the score once again. A blocked three-point attempt by Ovalle sent the game into overtime with a score of 64-64.

Neither team missed a shot in the first 2:55 of the overtime period. Arkansas State held a one-point edge with 17.1 seconds left, until Hill made another clutch basket to make the score 74-73, EMU. After holding the Red Wolves to zero points in the final 2:36 of the overtime period, the Eagles won by a score of 76-73, securing the upset win over the No. 6 ranked mid-major team in the country. 

Toledo 76, Southern Miss 67
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio – A season-high scoring effort from Patricia Anumgba and double-doubles from Evalyse Cole and Faith Fedd-Robinson lifted the Toledo women's basketball team to a 76-67 victory at Savage Arena in the MAC-SBC Challenge on Saturday.

The Rockets (12-9) did not trail throughout the entire game, taking and maintaining a seven-point lead into halftime. UT led in the third quarter by 15, but the Golden Eagles (12-12) would not go away, getting with two with 3:46 to play. Toledo rallied for 12 of the game's last 17 points to put things away.

UT assisted on 21 of its 27 field goals and out-rebounded Southern Miss, 45-35. Toledo also held the advantage from beyond the arc, holding the Golden Eagles to just 1-of-11 shooting for a 6-1 advantage in three-pointers made.

Northern Illinois 71, Texas State 69
Box Score
DeKALB, IL - The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team scored the final five points on Saturday against the Texas State Bobcats, with Nevaeh Wingate's (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John's) layup with 0.6 seconds left got the Huskies a 71-69 win at the NIU Convocation Center.

"I'm really proud, excited and happy with our effort for 40 minutes today," said head coach Jacey Brooks as NIU snapped a four-game losing streak. "The last two seconds made me the most proud. Basketball is a game of runs and when we got on a heels we were still battling. When Texas State made a big shot, we made a big shot. I saw so much growth from our team today."

NIU (5-18) went on a 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter, sparked by an Emilie Sorensen (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) three, to take a 64-58 lead with 5:12 to play. Texas State answered with three straight three-pointers from Saniya Burks and Mia Galbraith to go up 67-64 with 2:54 to play. Sorensen tied the game at 69-69 with 1:16 to play on her sixth three-pointer of the game. After the two teams traded scoreless possessions, Texas State had a chance to take the lead with 0:32 to go. The Huskies forced a shot clock violation to earn an opportunity to win the game with 0:02. On the ensuing inbounds, Maria Serracanta (Sabadell, Spain/Mercer) found Wingate under the basket for the layup that put NIU up 71-69 with 0.6 seconds left. Texas State turned the ball over on their last possession, giving NIU its fifth win of the year.

"It's nerve wracking a little bit because it's the last shot," Wingate said. "When Coach drew it up, I made sure I knew what I had to do and made my layup."

Wingate finished the game with 21 points, going 8-for-14 from the field with a team-high six rebounds. Sorensen also had 21 points, making a season-high six three-pointers and adding five rebounds. Serracanta had a game-high seven assists.

"I'm proud of Emilie that she kept shooting," Brooks said. "She kept her confidence when Texas State when zone. Kudos to the girls for finding her in open spots. That three in the corner  to tie the game was huge. I'm proud of her that she kept that composure and confidence."

The Huskies used a 9-0 run over 5:21 in the first half to build a 22-11 lead with 6:34 left in the second quarter. Texas State scored the next seven points as a Kyra Anderson layup made the score 22-18 with 3:44 to go in the half. Anderson scored six straight points late in the quarter to get the Bobcats within one, 27-26 with 0:53 left until halftime. Cyra Conwell (Chicago, Ill./Butler College Prep) made two free throws with 0:02 left to give NIU a 29-26 halftime lead.

Texas State (10-13) used another 7-0 run at the start of the third to take a 33-30 lead with 8:11 left in the quarter. After the Huskies took back the lead 38-37 on a Wingate basket, Mia Galbraith made a layup to start an 11-5 Bobcats run that put Texas State up 47-42 with 0:56 left in the third. The Huskies scored the final four points of the third on layups from Marta Hermoso (Seville, Spain/McNeese) and Teresa Mbemba (Benguela, Angola/Presbyterian) to cut the Bobcats' lead to one, 47-46, going into the fourth.

NIU shot 66.7 percent from the field in the fourth quarter to finish the game shooting 44.6 percent. The Huskies tied their season-high for threes with nine and shot 75 percent from the free throw line. NIU also held a 31-26 edge on the glass, turning 10 offensive rebounds into 14 second chance points.

Bowling Green 93, Coastal Carolina 82
Box Score