Kraft MAC Women's Basketball Tournament Pairings Set
Feb. 26, 2002
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CLEVELAND -- For the third time in the last seven years, Kent State will be the top seed in the Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, which begins on Saturday, Mar. 2 on campus sites. The five first-round winners will meet in at Cleveland's Gund Arena with Kent State, Ball State and Toledo, all of whom earned first round byes.
Quarterfinal action of the Kraft MAC Women's Basketball Tournament will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 6, while semifinal games are slated for noon and 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 8. The 21st edition of the league's championship game is Saturday, Mar. 9 at 1:00 p.m. Fox Sports Net Ohio will carry the semifinals and the championship game, as will WADL-TV in Detroit. Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh will air the title game on a tape-delayed basis at 4:00 p.m. on Mar. 9.
This is the third year that all 13 MAC schools qualified for the tournament and the top three seeds earned first round byes.
The Golden Flashes (17-10), who defeated Ohio 92-42 in the regular season finale on Tuesday, finished with a 13-3 conference record. KSU shares the MAC overall regular season crown with Ball State, which won at Toledo, 81-67. KSU will face the winner of the No. 8 Ohio (12-15, 7-9)/No. 9 Bowling Green (9-18, 6-10) contest at 2:00 p.m. on Mar. 6. Kent State also won its fifth straight East Division title along with its fifth MAC regular season crown.
The Cardinals (21-6), who earned the No. 2 seed with a 13-3 league mark, in the process claimed their first-ever West Division crown as well as their first-ever regular season title in the program's 27-year history. KSU won the tiebreaker with BSU, based on the Golden Flashes' 64-57 win on Feb. 13. Ball State will play the winner of the No. 7 Eastern Michigan (17-10, 10-6)/No. 10 Marshall (9-18, 5-11) contest at 7:00 p.m. on Mar. 6.
Toledo claimed the No. 3 seed and the final first round bye and ended the regular season with a 12-4 record. The Rockets (17-10), who are the defending tournament champion, will attempt to win their league-record eight MAC tournament title. UT will play in the final quarterfinal game on Mar. 6 at 9:30 p.m., and will face the winner of the No. 6 Northern Illinois (15-12, 10-6)/No. 11 Buffalo (9-18, 4-12).
East Division runner-up Miami (17-10, 11-5) earned the No. 4 seed and will host No. 13 Akron (1-26, 0-16) at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. The winner of that game will play the winner of the No. 5 Western Michigan (15-14, 11-5)/No. 12 Central Michigan (10-17, 2-14) game at 4:30 p.m. on Mar. 6. The Broncos host the Chippewas this Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
The tournament champion will earn the MAC's automatic berth into the 64-team NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship.
2002 Kraft MAC Women's Basketball Tournament
Mar. 2, 6, 8-9
* Campus Sites Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Saturday, March 2 - First round games on campus sites
Game 1 - No. 8 Ohio 74, No. 9 Bowling Green 68
Game 2 - No. 5 Western Michigan 77, No. 12 Central Michigan 67
Game 3 - No. 4 Miami 80, No. 13 Akron 60
Game 4 - No. 7 Eastern Michigan 68, No. 10 Marshall 49
Game 5 - No. 6 Northern Illinois 56, No. 11 Buffalo 41
Wednesday, March 6 - Quarterfinals, Gund Arena
Game 6 - Ohio vs. No. 1 Kent State, 2 p.m.
Game 7 - Western Michigan vs. Miami, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8 - Eastern Michigan vs. No. 2 Ball State, 7 p.m.
Game 9 - Northern Illinois vs. No. 3 Toledo, 9:30 p.m.
Friday, March 8 - Semifinals, Gund Arena (Fox Sports Net Ohio/WADL-TV)
Game 10 - Winner G6 vs. Winner G7, 12 p.m.
Game 11 - Winner G8 vs. Winner G9, 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 9 - Championship game, Gund Arena
(Fox Sports Net Ohio/Pittsburgh [Tape 4 p.m.]/WADL-TV)
Game 12 - Winner G10 vs. Winner G11, 1 p.m.
