Mid-American Conference

Akron 74, Central Michigan 72
Bowling Green 66, Miami 53
Buffalo 47, Northern Illinois 43
Eastern Michigan 75, Toledo 61
Ohio 60, Ball State 53
Western Michigan 78, Kent State 55

Courtesy of home MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Akron 74, Central Michigan 72
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Coming off a 20-point loss to Ohio last Saturday, their second-highest marginal loss of the season, the Chippewas bounced back with a better performance. But in the end, it would not be enough to get back on the winning side.

The Central Michigan women's basketball team fell to Akron at McGuirk Arena on Saturday afternoon, 74-72, marking its second-straight Mid-American Conference loss and dropping its record to 9-8 overall, 4-2 in conference play.

It was CMU's first loss to a MAC opponent on its home court since February, 2013, when Ball State topped the Chippewas, 67-63. The defending MAC-Tournament champion Zips are 15-3, 5-2.

"I read in the paper that January of 2012 was the last time that we had lost a game in January (prior to this season)," coach Sue Guevara said. "Now we have lost two. Understand that this is a different team. It's not the end of the world. We're 4-2 in conference and we have a long way to go.

"I think that in a tight game that you lose by two, you can't go 3-for-9 from the free throw line. We've been shooting the ball better from the line, but we did not tonight."

Akron's 20 points off transition was another factor that led to the Chippewas' defeat, Guevara said, adding that the Chippewas' defense struggled to get up and down the floor in stretches throughout the game.

"We knew (Hannah) Plybon could shoot the ball and we knew (Sina King) could shoot the ball," Guevara said of two Zips that combined for 40 points Saturday. "With those kids, even in transition, you have to know what toothpaste they're using. You have to get up there, and we struggled doing that."

CMU was behind, 70-61, with 4:25 remaining, but erased the deficit with an 11-2 run to forge a 72-72 tie with 43 seconds left. The Zips reclaimed the lead with a two-point basket on their next possession, making the score 74-72 with 17 seconds to go.

Out of a CMU timeout, Crystal Bradford dribbled the clock down before missing on a potential game-tying drive in heavy traffic. King grabbed the rebound for Akron and called a quick timeout with 1.9 seconds left.

All the Zips had to do was inbounds the ball and run off the remaining time. But airtight CMU defense forced a 5-second violation during the inbound attempt, giving possession and life to CMU. Guevara called another timeout to draw up a final play to tie or win the game.

CMU inbounded to Jas'Mine Bracey under the hoop, but a swarm of Zip defenders forced her to miss the shot from close range as time expired, giving Akron the victory in nail-biting fashion.

CMU's final play was drawn so that the inbound passer would have the option of passing to an open three-point shooter or Bracey down on the block. However, the three-point option was erased when the shooter failed to get open off a screen, Guevara said.

"Our three-point shooter, who could have been open, was not open," Guevara said. "But Jas'Mine did get down (to the block). I thought we still had a decent amount of time on the clock to catch and get it up, but it was just kind of a hurried shot."

Senior guard Kerby Tamm tied her career-best with six three-pointers -- a feat she has accomplished four times in her career. She also tied her career-high in points with 20. She finished at 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) shooting, while adding four rebounds.

"I think as a shooter, you just always have to come out ready to shoot the ball," said Tamm, who, like most of the Chippewas, had struggled with outside shooting in recent games. "I know that if I miss, I'm expecting the next two to go in. I think my teammates found me well on the perimeter, so credit to them. I just have to keep building off it."

Freshman forward Tinara Moore had her best game in a CMU uniform, posting career-highs in points and rebounds (12 each) and blocks (five).

"I was pretty active, but it was my team that was getting shots up so that I could rebound the ball. Just being physical was the key, and confidence," Moore said.

"I thought (Moore) gave us good minutes," Guevara said. "That's what we need. We have to go inside, we have to. And with (Moore), she got it and she was able to score. I thought she was a little tougher and she grew up today. It was really good for her confidence and it was really good for mine, to be quite honest with you."

Bradford, a senior guard, had an uncharacteristic game, going scoreless in the first half and finishing just 5-for-23 (21.7 percent) from the field. But she was still able to pick up her sixth double-double of the season and 50th of her career, with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Bradford brought her career rebounding total to 1,099, passing Julie Roberts, who totaled 1,089 in 1978-81, as the all-time rebound leader in CMU history. She is the most prolific rebounder in school history, regardless of gender. Dan Roundfield, who went on to play in the NBA after wearing the maroon and gold from 1972-75, finished his collegiate career with 1,031 boards.

"Bradford did not shoot the ball well (tonight), and she has not shot the ball well in a minute," Guevara said. "But she set the all-time record for rebounds at CMU, and we're only six games into conference (schedule). So maybe she's not scoring (to her capability) right now, but she is doing some other things that we need.

"(Bradford) drives me out of my mind and I love her. I love the kid, I do. My job, and my staff's job, is to help her get better, and we will. Everybody in this room, for the most part, has seen her play and shoot the ball well.

"I thought about this earlier: What did Aaron Rodgers say when they (Green Bay Packers) lost their first two games (this season)? Relax, relax. So let's all just calm down and we'll get it together."

The Chippewas play host to Kent State (3-14, 1-5) on Wednesday (7 p.m.) at McGuirk.


Bowling Green 66, Miami 53
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick more than doubled her previous career-best scoring effort, outscoring Miami University by herself in the first half, as the Falcons downed the RedHawks, 66-53, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 24) at the Stroh Center.

Kirkpatrick scored 18 points to pace four double-digit scorers for the Falcons (9-9, 2-5 Mid-American Conference). Senior Deborah Hoekstra had a double-double, with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds as the Falcons had a 39-32 advantage on the glass, while sophomore Rachel Konieczki and freshman Rachel Myers each chipped in with 10 points.

Hannah McCue was the lone double-digit scorer for the RedHawks (3-15, 0-7 MAC), pacing the visitors with 18 points.

The Falcons built a 31-9 halftime lead, largely due to an epic stretch of dominant defense. BGSU held Miami scoreless for a span of over 11 minutes in the first half. MU missed 17-straight shots, and BG scored 17-straight points during that time.

BGSU allowed the RedHawks to shoot just 14.3 percent from the field in the first half, as Miami made only four shots in 28 attempts in the opening 20 minutes.

BGSU built a game-high 24-point lead early in the second period, before the RedHawks began to close the gap. Miami rallied to get as close as eight points midway through the period, and a McCue three-pointer made it a nine-point game with four-and-a-half minutes on the clock, but BG would build the lead back out as high as 16 points, largely by hitting shots from the free-throw line down the stretch.

The Falcons, one of the nation's top-shooting teams from the stripe, went 27-of-33 on Saturday afternoon (81.8%). BG made 17-of-20 shots from the line in the second half, including 11-of-14 in the game's final three-plus minutes.

Kirkpatrick's career day saw her go 6-of-8 from the field, including a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range. She also hit 4-of-5 shots from the free-throw line.

Kirkpatrick outscored the RedHawks by herself in the first half, coming off the bench to score 13 points as BG built that 31-9 lead at the intermission. Hoekstra scored nine of her 13 points in the second half to pace a balanced attack, as Myers added eight points and Konieczki seven in that second stanza.

The Falcons now head to the MAC's 'West Coast' for a Wednesday (Jan. 28) game against Northern Illinois University. Then, BGSU returns home for the next two games, beginning with a Saturday (Jan. 31) contest vs. the University of Toledo.


Buffalo 47, Northern Illinois 43
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo, State University of New York women's basketball team shot 47.8 percent in the second half to defeat Northern Illinois in come-from-behind fashion, 47-43, Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena. The win was UB's sixth straight over Northern.

The Bulls (10-8, 3-4 MAC) were held to a season-low 11 first-half points on 4-for-26 shooting as the Huskies (6-10, 2-4 MAC) secured a 20-11 halftime gap. UB answered to tally its second victory of the season following a nine-point halftime deficit.

"What a tough game we played today – that's what you call an ugly win," said third-year head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "Northern Illinois did a tremendous job of forcing us to play ugly, their defense is tenacious."

The Bulls opened the second with a 14-2 run that ate up eight minutes of clock and secured UB the lead for good. UB led by as many as six, 35-29, at 8:40, but the Huskies made it a two-point game on five occasions down the stretch, lastly with 24 ticks on the clock. NIU picked up a steal off the Bulls' baseline inbound, but a monster block by senior captain Christa Baccas led to a fast break Ayana Bradley layup that sealed UB the victory.

"I thought that (Kristen) Sharkey did a tremendous job of being patient on the block, dribbling out and seeing the cutters as they come through. We were able to offset their great defense with a pretty good offensive performance today," Legette-Jack said.

Senior captain Kristen Sharkey led the Bulls for the sixth time this season with an 18-point performance. Her offensive output moved her into 18th all-time at UB with 1,053 career points. She chipped in seven boards, while Baccas and freshman Stephanie Reid led the Bulls with eight each, a season-high for Reid. The pair also paced UB with four assists each. Baccas and Bradley added seven points apiece with Baccas tallying three blocks in 40 minutes of play. Reid and Bradley each made a pair of steals.

Ally Lehman led Northern with 10 points and four steals. Kelly Smith and Amanda Corral added eight points each with Corral grabbing a contest-best 10 boards. The Huskies have lost four of their last five games.

UB led the rebounding margin, 43-36, though the Huskies converted 32.7 percent of their shots to the Bulls' 30.6 percent.

The Bulls, who have a mid-week MAC bye, will return to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 31 with a 2:30 pm tip at Eastern Michigan.


Eastern Michigan 75, Toledo 61
TOLEDO, OH – Toledo ran into a buzz saw and sustained a 75-61 setback against Eastern Michigan on Saturday before a season-high 4,171 fans in Savage Arena. With the loss, UT falls to 11-7 overall, 4-3 in the Mid-American Conference.

The Rockets were limited to 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the field, including 25.0 percent (4-of-16) from three point-land, and guilty of 19 turnovers to see their four-game winning streak against the Eagles (10-7, 3-3 MAC) come to an end.

EMU took full advantage of Toledo’s miscues and translated them into a whopping 27 points to claim its second win in Lucas County since 2009.

The Rockets entered today’s MAC West Division showdown averaging only 13.9 turnovers per game, the fourth-best total in the league. They were also hitting a league-high 38.5 percent from three-point range in conference games before clashing with the ultra-athletic Eagles.

Senior Inma Zanoguera paced Toledo with 15 points, while junior Brenae Harris had 12 points and a career-best 10 rebounds to post her first collegiate double-double.

The Midnight Blue & Gold also received seven points and a game-high 11 boards from sophomore Janice Monakana and seven points from junior Ana Capotosto in a losing effort.

Toledo native Cha Sweeney led Eastern Michigan with a contest-best 23 points, while Rogers High School teammate Sasha Dailey chipped in with 14 points off the bench. The duo sharp a combined 14-of-24 from the field and totaled six steals.

UT looked sharp at the outset and hit seven of its first 11 shots to jump out to a 14-8 lead at the 13:15 mark. Zanoguera triggered the strong start with three early baskets to force EMU into a timeout.

The Eagles responded well out of the stoppage in play and reeled off the next nine points to assume its first lead, 17-14, with 11:40 remaining in the opening period. Dailey was responsible for back-to-back field goals in the burst to prompt Toledo into taking a timeout.

After its red-hot start, UT experienced some trouble taking care of the ball and in the process went cold from the field to trail 37-29 at the intermission. The Rockets missed 11 of their final 15 field-goal attempts in the opening period and had seven turnovers to dig themselves a hole they would be unable to get out of.

To make matters worse, the Eagles’ Sweeney knocked down two big baskets in the closing moments of the half to silence the big crowd. The second-year guard finished with four field goals and a team-high 10 points in the first stanza.

Sweeney remained red-hot shooting the ball to begin the final 20 minutes and drained a pair of early triples to extend EMU’s lead to 43-29 at the 18:45 mark.

The Rockets just did not have an answer for Eastern Michigan’s quickness and found themselves behind 54-40 with 11:10 left in regulation. The tandem of Janay Morton and Dailey accounted for three straight field goals during a stretch to force Toledo into calling another timeout.

Moments later, the Eagles put the game away with an 11-0 run to stretch the margin to 65-44 at the 5:45 mark.

The Rockets will look to bounce back against arch-rival Bowling Green on Saturday, Jan. 31 when they make the short trip to Wood County. The opening tip is slated for 4:00 p.m. in the Stroh Center.


Ohio 60, Ball State 53
MUNCIE, Ind.-  The Ball State women's basketball team fell to Mid-American Conference East Division leader Ohio 60-53 Saturday evening in Worthen Arena.  With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 9-9 overall and 5-2 in league action while Ohio improves 15-3 on the year and 6-1 in MAC Play.

"The tougher team won and the points in the paint show it 28-to-8," Ball State head women's basketball coach Brady Sallee said.  "No matter what the miss matches were they were tougher than us in every position.  They were the better basketball team.   I give them a lot of credit.  We have got to learn from this if you get out toughed it’s never going to work.  We will try to figure that part of it out."

Nathalie Fontaine led all scorers with an 18-point performance.  Jill Morrison chipped in 12 points while teammate Moriah Monaco finished the night with 11.  Candyce Ussery led Ball State defensively with seven rebounds.

The Cardinals found themselves trailing by 15 points (45-30) with 12:44 left in the game.  However, the Cardinals climbed their way back into the ball  game after orchestrating a 16-0 run in a span of six minutes to take a 46-45 lead over the Bobcats at the 7:10 mark.  Monaco would play a huge part during that run after hitting back-to-back three point baskets while also knocking down two free throws.

Unfortunately, Ohio would remain strong on defense in the end, and would go back up by six with 2:36 on the clock.  After that, the Bobcats controlled the remainder of the contest to win the game by seven (60-53) despite Ball State's efforts.

Ohio jumped out to a quick 9-3 advantage over the Cardinals in the opening minutes of the ball game.  Ball State would quickly answer with a 15-5 scoring spree which was sparked by a layup from Fontaine to put the Cardinals up 15-14 at the 8:15 mark.  After that, both teams traded baskets, with Ball State holding on to a slim 23-22 lead with 3:26 left on the clock.  Ohio would close the opening half with a 6-2 run to take a 28-25 advantage at intermission.

The Ball State women’s basketball team continues Mid-American Conference cross-division action on the road Wednesday at Miami for a 7 p.m. tipoff in Millett Hall.


Western Michigan 78, Kent State 55
?KENT, Ohio – Kent State (3-14, 1-5) struggled to control the ball Saturday afternoon as the team fell to Western Michigan (12-6, 5-2) by a score of 78-55 on Alumni Day.