Akron 67, Bowling Green 59
Ball State 72, Miami 41
Central Michigan 66, Buffalo 58
Toledo 67, Kent State 49
Western Michigan 61, Ohio 51
Courtesy of home MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Akron 67, Bowling Green 59
AKRON, Ohio – After battling through seven ties and eight lead changes, a 23-6 second-half run lifted the Akron women's basketball team to a 67-59 victory over Bowling Green in the Zips' first conference home game Wednesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The victory marked only the fourth-ever triumph for Akron over the Falcons.
Senior Sina King (Waterford, Ohio) contributed 11 points to the pivotal run as she ended the night with a game-high 20 total points. She fell one rebound shy of her ninth double-double as she picked up nine boards, with six coming on the defensive end.
Junior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio) followed King with a 17-point, eight-rebound performance to go with three assists and pair of blocks. Brown also issued a 5-of-6 performance from the charity stripe.
Rachel Myers led Bowling Green (7-6, 0-2 MAC) with 17 points, while Deborah Hoekstra recorded a 12-point and 12-rebound effort.
Junior DiAndra Gibson (Ravenna, Ohio) was dominating on the glass for the Zips on the evening pulling down a game- and career-best 16 rebounds, including matching King for the most defensive rebounds recorded in game for Akron this season with 10.
Gibson, sophomore Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) and junior Megan Barilla (Fairview Park, Ohio) each distributed a game-high four assists for the Zips.
Akron (11-2, 1-1 MAC) shot 41.0 percent (25-of-61) from the field but struggled to connect from the outside, shooting just 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from three-point range, including 0-of-7 in the first half.
Nine of Bowling Green's 19 field goals came from beyond the arc, allowing Akron to outscore BGSU in the paint, 36-18. The Falcons issued a 19-of-57 performance from the field for 33.3 percent and went 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc.
Akron won the rebounding battle 43-33, including 14-9 on the offensive glass, and had strong ball control, posting just seven turnovers, the second-lowest mark in a game this season. Five of the turnovers came off BGSU steals, while Akron forced 10 Bowling Green giveaways.
The Falcons opened the game missing their first eight shots from the field, allowing Akron to get out to an early 6-0 lead before the teams traded momentum throughout the end of the half.
Bowling Green held Akron to one field goal over five minutes and netted a triple to knot the game at 14-all with 8:24 left in the first. After connecting on three-straight from beyond the arc, the Falcons rode a 10-3 run for a 24-18 lead at the 4:20 mark.
Akron closed the half scoring eight uninterrupted points with a Gibson lay-up putting the Zips ahead 26-24 at the intermission.
Plybon hit the Zips' first triple in eight attempts at the 16:29 mark of the second half for a 31-28 advantage. BGSU matched the long ball to momentarily tie the game before a King layup initiated the eighth and final lead change to place Akron ahead, 39-38, with 9:39 on the clock.
The King layup came amidst the 23-6 run spanning eight minutes that gave Akron a game-high 12-point lead (56-44) with 4:48 to play, which allowed the Zips to hold off the Falcons through the end of the game. BGSU got to within six of the Zips with 23 seconds left.
The Zips return to action on Saturday, Jan. 10 when they play host to Eastern Michigan at James A. Rhodes Arena. Tip off is set for 2 p.m.
Ball State 72, Miami 41
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State coach Brady Sallee said he went into the Christmas break and stewed for four days about the way his women’s basketball team was playing defense.
“I just didn’t like our effort level,” he said. “It was hard to watch us play.”
The result of that reflection was a revamped philosophy about the way the Cardinals play defense. The change has produced immediately results, evidenced by a 72-41 victory Wednesday against Miami in Worthen Arena and a 2-0 record in the Mid-American Conference.
The Cardinals’ former strategy on defense was to get in gaps and play underneath offensive players, making them shoot over defenders.
“Now we’re trying to work hard to get deflections,” Sallee said. “When we get them, you see us working hard trying to get those loose balls. It makes a difference on both ends of the floor for us.”
That was apparent against the RedHawks (3-10, 0-2 MAC). Ball State (6-7, 2-0) forced Miami into 31 turnovers and enjoyed a 29-5 advantage in points off those miscues.
Bowling Green made 19 turnovers in a loss to Ball State on Saturday, marking 50 miscues by the Cardinals’ past two opponents.
“Once we got a little bit used to (the new defensive mindset), we caught on to it and were like, ‘Yeah, this is something we could really do well at,’ ” said Ball State forward Shelbie Justice, who led with three steals and added 15 points. “We have a lot of improvement to do, but I think we’ll grow and like it, and get good things from it.”
Sallee likes the way his players have adopted the new defense. He said they’re even having fun in practice with it.
“We have a ways to go, but it’s good to see us get out and use some of our length to help us a little bit,” he said.
Miami committed 14 turnovers in the first half to Ball State’s three as the Cardinals rolled to a 38-22 lead at the break. The lead ballooned to 24 points five minutes into the second half and grew to as many as 32 late in the game.
Nathalie Fontaine led the Cardinals with 27 points, three shy of her career high. She made 10-of-15 field goals and 7-of-8 free throws.
“I was more in attack mode in this game and not settling for shots I was settling for in other games,” she said. “I took it to the rim stronger.”
At 2-0 with a win over perennial title challenger Bowling Green, the Cardinals like their start in the conference. But they say they aren’t satisfied.
Sallee admires his players’ ability to look beyond their 4-7 pre-MAC record that included losses to strong programs Purdue, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky.
“This team needs to be applauded,” he said. “It could have been easy for them to go under water a little bit.
“But (Fontaine and Justice) kept leading and kept telling them, ‘(the coach) might be crazy with the way he schedules, but there’s a method to the madness. Just keep coming to work and getting better.’ ”
Ball State will return to action Saturday when the Cardinals play host to a men’s-women’s doubleheader in Worthen Arena. The women will play Western Michigan at 2 p.m. and the men play Central Michigan at 4:30.
Central Michigan 66, Buffalo 58
Recap not yet available...
Toledo 67, Kent State 49
TOLEDO, OH – Toledo extended its winning streak to a season-high five-consecutive games with a 67-49 victory against Kent State on Wednesday in Savage Arena. With the triumph, UT improves to 9-4 overall, 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference.
Senior Inma Zanoguera paced the three Rockets in double figures with a game-high 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Freshman Jay-Ann Bravo Harriott contributed a season-high 15 points and four helpers off the bench, while sophomore Janice Monakana tallied 11 points and a contest-best 12 caroms to post her second double-double of the season.
As a team, the Rockets shot only 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from the field, including 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from beyond the arc. The Midnight Blue & Gold made up for the cold shooting night by converting 70.4 percent (19-of-27) from the charity stripe to register their sixth-straight victory against the Golden Flashes (2-11, 0-2 MAC).
CiCi Shannon led Kent State with 12 points, seven boards and a game-high two rejections. Jordan Korinek and Krista White were their next highest scorers with nine and eight points, respectively.
KSU’s Shannon dominated at the outset and helped the visitors assume a 13-7 lead at the 12:28 mark. The third-year center put up six points and five boards in the first six-plus minutes to give the Golden Flashes an early two-possession advantage.
The teams then traded baskets, before the Rockets converted three consecutive layups to knot the score at 17-17 with 7:58 left in the opening half. Monakana contributed the first two baskets to get the rally started, while junior Ana Capotosto tallied the other layup to force KSU into a timeout.
Kent State responded well out of the stoppage and received back-to-back jumpers from Melanee Stubbs and Korinek to take back the lead, 21-17, with a little under five minutes remaining the first stanza.
Toledo did not flinch, though, and countered with an 8-1 burst to build a 25-22 cushion with 2:49 remaining in the opening period. Four different Rockets accounted for points in the run, including the first of a season-high four treys by Bravo-Harriott.
Moments later, the Rockets benefitted from four straight points from Zanoguera in the closing moments to take a 34-31 lead into the intermission.
Zanoguera and Monakana scored eight points each in the first 20 minutes to pace Toledo.
Bravo-Harriott and Zanoguera remained locked in shooting the deep ball to start the second half, as both knocked down early three-point field goals to make the score 44-37 at the 11:26 mark.
It was a nip-and-tuck battle for the next couple of minutes until the Rockets strung together a game-sealing 7-0 run to extend their margin to double digits, 51-41, with 6:58 left in regulation. Monakana started the game-clinching run with a pair of charity tosses and Zanoguera capped it with a three-point play to five the home team some breathing room.
Toledo put the game in cruise control from there and never allowed the lead to dip below 12 points for the remainder of the MAC cross-division match-up.
The Rockets will now look to extend their winning streak even further against MAC East Division foe Ohio on Saturday, Jan. 10. The opening tip versus the Bobcats is slated for 2:00 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
Western Michigan 61, Ohio 51
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan women’s basketball team improved to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference, grinding out a gutsy 61-51 victory over visiting Ohio Wednesday at University Arena.
The win kept Western Michigan undefeated (6-0) at home this season. The 9-4 record is also the program's best start since the 2002-03 squad went 10-4 over its first 14 games.
Ohio (10-3, 1-1 MAC) entered the contest as one of the hottest teams in the conference and as the top three-point shooting team, leading the league in 3’s made and 3-point percentage.
The Bobcats dialed in right away, knocking down two three's that fueled a 10-0 run at the start of the game. Western Michigan called a timeout to regroup and from there went to work on the defensive side of the ball. The Bronco offense slowly got going as well and WMU outscored the Bobcats 22-13 the rest of the half. Jazmine Windham drained a three on the left wing at the halftime buzzer to put WMU within one at the end of the first period, 23-22.
The Broncos took their first lead early out of the break but never led by more than two possessions until under five minutes remaining in the game. WMU’s defense remained strong, holding Ohio to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half, and shots began to fall for the Broncos who shot 50 percent in the half and 4-for-7 from long range. Western Michigan went on to outscore Ohio 39-28 over the final 20 minutes.
Key plays down the stretch included three’s by junior point guard Alex Morton and senior A.J. Johnson. Morton’s shot pushed WMU’s lead to six with 4:20 to play. Ohio worked the deficit back down to three, but Johnson doubled it on her triple with 2:26 remaining. Miracle Woods delivered the back-breaker, following with an old-fashioned three-point play to put WMU up by nine, 57-48, with 1:37 to go.
Morton scored in double figured for the fifth-straight game, finishing with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Johnson tied Morton with a game-high 15 points and added four assists, one rebound and a steal.
The focus of Ohio’s defense throughout the night, Woods was held to just six field goal attempts and made two. She found a way to score however, shooting 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Her final line read 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Michelle O'Brien led the way on the glass, pulling down a team high-nine rebounds while chipping in six points.
Western Michigan shot 38.3 percent for the night and held the visitors to 35.8 percent. Ohio made only six three’s in the game, almost four less than its season average per game.
The Broncos also out-rebounded the Bobcats by six, 38-32, but committed five more turnovers, 19-14.
Kiyanna Black (12 points) and Quiera Lampkins (10 points) were the top scorers for Ohio.
Western Michigan heads out for its first MAC road games, playing Ball State (6-7, 2-0 MAC) Saturday at 2 p.m. and Buffalo (7-6, 0-2 MAC) Tuesday at 7 p.m.
