Ball State 73, Central Michigan 64
Buffalo 59, Kent State 57
Eastern Michigan 73, Ohio 61
Toledo 73, Northern Illinois 57
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departmenets
Ball State 73, Central Michigan 64
Coach Brady Sallee offered one of those comments that sounds like a compliment, but is really intended to send a message after his Ball State women’s basketball team claimed a 73-64 victory Wednesday against Central Michigan.
Judging by the wry smile that creased the face of star player Nathalie Fontaine – the coach’s intended target – the remark was received and understood as she sat next to Sallee in the postgame press conference.
“The points were there, but that’s because she shot it on a record-breaking pace, and the points followed,” Sallee said of Fontaine’s first-half performance when she put up 11 shots to score 12 points.
That earned Fontaine a spot on the bench for six minutes in the second half after playing all 20 in the opening half. The junior bounced back like Sallee had hoped, and she helped the Cardinals break a 51-51 tie with 7:40 to play and go on to the nine-point win.
“One of the best things about coaching Nathalie is she responds,” Sallee said. “She doesn’t always play perfect, doesn’t always do the right thing, doesn’t always come ready to play. But for three years, when I’ve gotten after her, when I’ve challenged her, when a game has gotten after her, when the team has challenged her, most of the time she responds.
“She’s a gamer. She understands the role. She doesn’t like sitting … but she usually responds to that extremely well.”
Fontaine, the reigning Mid-American Conference West player of the week, was a catalyst for the Cardinals (14-10, 10-3) down the stretch.
She broke the tie with a free throw with 7:07 to play. Later, she scored layups on back-to-back possessions to put the Cardinals ahead 60-53.
Then she grabbed a rebound after a missed field goal by Central Michigan (11-13, 6-7 MAC) and was fouled. Fontaine hit both free throws to send Ball State to a somewhat comfortable 62-53 lead with 3:54 to play.
“Like coach said, in the beginning I wasn’t that hot and sat out; it felt like a long time,” Fontaine said. “Someone had to … I knew the (offensive) boards, for example, those plays are going to win games.
“I was just thinking, ‘We can’t lose the game. I have to do what I have to do.’ ”
One of the leading candidates for MAC Player of the Year, Fontaine finished with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double in the past four games. She has scored double figures in 22 of 24 games this year and has had a career-best 15 rebounds in two games.
Six of her rebounds against the Chippewas were on the offensive glass.
“In the second half, she was really efficient,” Sallee said of Fontaine’s 4-for-4 shooting for 11 points. “She played the game differently, and that’s what good players do. She was able to adjust. That’s the part of it that makes her a great player. She responds and doesn’t get pouty or (go) ‘Woe is me.’ ”
Fontaine had lots of help in the game. Shelbie Justice finished with 22 points – she hit 5-of-6 3-pointers - and nabbed eight rebounds. She tied the score 51-51 with a layup and scored seven more points after that.
“One of our keys coming into the game was rebounding,” Justice said. “Our focus was to crash (the boards) and we knew (Central Michigan wasn’t) going to box out, so we had to go and rebound the ball.”
Center Renee Bennett tied her career high with eight rebounds as she, Justice and Fontaine combined for 12 offensive boards and 26 rebounds overall.
Calyn Hosea had a career-high seven assists, and Candyce Ussery added four assists. Jill Morrison had 11 points.
The victory kept the Cardinals on top of the MAC West standings, a game ahead of Western Michigan.
“I think (players) understand we’re going to get everybody’s best shot,” Sallee said. “If there’s a night where we’re average, we’re going to be disappointed. That’s what this time of year is about when you’re on top. You have to fight like the dickens to stay on top.”
The Cardinals will travel to Northern Illinois for a 2 p.m. game Saturday.
With tonight's women's basketball win over CMU, all day tomorrow, Thursday, at the three Muncie-area Burger King locations, you can get a Whopper Combo Meal for only $4.00!!! Celebrate the Cardinals victory with $4 Whopper value meals all day tomorrow at the three Muncie Burger King locations
Buffalo 59, Kent State 57
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo, State University of New York women's basketball team held off visiting Kent State, 59-57, in Mid-American Conference action Wednesday at Alumni Arena.
The Bulls (15-9, 8-5 MAC) used stingy second-half defense and a full-court press to force the Golden Flashes (4-20, 2-11 MAC) to commit 17 turnovers in the latter half. Junior Karin Moss made six of her career-high seven steals in final 20.
For the fourth time this season, UB overcame a nine-point halftime deficit and battled back to win, while picking up its fifth straight home victory.
"No records matter in February," said third-year head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "In the Mid-American Conference, (February) is about go time and who is going to have resiliency for the longest period of time.
"I thought our team came out and played as hard as they could. I'm really proud of this team. I know they're getting it, and that we're on our way somewhere special."
Kent State shot 51.9 percent in the first, highlighted by a 13-1 run, and held a 33-24 gap at intermission. The Golden Flashes led by as many as 13, 27-14, at 4:23. It marks the second time this season, the first coming on Dec. 15 against St. Bonaventure, that the Bulls have battled from a 13-point deficit to win.
Sophomore Alexus Malone & junior Mackenzie Loesing hit back-to-back buckets to open the second and cut within five. It was the start of a 13-3 UB streak that led to UB's first gap of the game, 37-36, at 14:56. The lead changed eight times over the next seven minutes with the game being tied for the final time, 50-50, at 6:51. Senior Ayana Bradley, who was 2-for-2 from the floor, scored the first of UB's seven straight that led to its largest lead of the game at 4:13. Kent State made it a two-point game two minutes later, but the Bulls hit two free throws to secure a 59-55 edge with 18 ticks lingering in the game. The Flashes' leading scorer, CiCi Shannon, had a put-back with four seconds left in the game to finalize all scoring.
Loesing led the Bulls for the seventh time this season with a game-best 19 points. Malone added 12 and a Bull-best seven boards. Senior Kristen Sharkey tallied nine points and Moss chipped in eight. She posted career numbers with seven steals and five assists, with her steals ranking tied for the fifth most in a single game in program history. Bradley grabbed six boards in 16 minutes of action.
Kent State's Shannon tallied a double-double with a 13-point, 10-rebound showing. Jordan Korinek added 10 points, while three others scored eight. Mikell Chinn recorded seven assists and three steals.
The Golden Flashes led rebounding, 38-35, and shot 48.9 percent from the floor to UB's 36.5 percent. The Bulls, who picked up 28 points off KSU turnovers, hit just 19-of-38 from the charity stripe.
Though the Bulls won their sixth straight against KSU, the visiting squad owns a 26-9 advantage in the series history. The Blue & White has won six of its last seven games in 2015.
UB will host its second-to-last regular-season home game taking on the RedHawks of Miami (OH) Saturday at 2 pm. The game will double as UB's Play 4 Kay game. Fans are encouraged to join the Bulls in wearing pink.
Eastern Michigan 73, Ohio 61
Athens, Ohio - The Ohio women’s basketball team (20-4, 11-2 MAC) couldn’t overcome a 23-point performance by Eastern Michigan’s Cha Sweeney, as Ohio’s 10-game winning streak was snapped by the Eagles (14-10, 7-6 MAC), 73-61.
OHIO STARTERS: #2 Mariah Byard, #4 Kiyanna Black, #5 Quiera Lampkins, #10 Lexie Baldwin, #14 Kat Yelle
EASTERN MICHIGAN STARTERS: #21 Phillis Webb, #35 Brianna Puni, #13 Janay Morton, #23 Sera Ozelci, #24 Cha Sweeney
How It Happened:
- Ohio opened the game on a 16-5 run, with 12 of those points coming on four three-point shots from four different Bobcats.
- Eastern Michigan closed the gap to 18-17 with a 12-2 run, taking advantage of a 6:07 field goal drought by Ohio.
- The Bobcats took a 31-28 lead into the half.
- Kiyanna Black and Quiera Lampkins led Ohio with eight points each while Lampkins was also the top rebounder with six boards.
- The Eagles were paced by Jamiaca Bucknor, who scored a game-high 13 points in the opening stanza. Cha Sweeney also added 10 points.
- The three-ball helped keep Eastern Michigan in the game early on as the Eagles were 5-of-11 from behind the arc in the first half.
- Ohio shot 6-of-15 from the perimeter in the first 20 minutes.
- Eastern Michigan jumped out to a 38-35 lead at the 16:02 mark of the second half as the Bobcats started the half shooting 2-of-9 from the field.
- Despite a rally in the final minutes, Ohio couldn’t overcome the Eastern Michigan’s relentless offensive attack and 19-of-19 (100%) free throw shooting.
- Sweeney scored a game-high 23 points for the Eagles. Bucknor notched 17 points and Janay Morton added 14 to round out the three Eastern Michigan players in double digits.
- Lampkins led the Bobcats with 17 points and eight rebounds. Black added 12 points for Ohio.
- Lexie Baldwin hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds.
- Eastern Michigan shot 20-of-21 (95.2%) from the free throw line.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Black reached double digits in scoring for the 21st time this season the 51st time in her Ohio career.
- Baldwin grabbed a season-high10 rebounds.
QUOTABLE: Head Coach Bob Boldon:
“We lost to a team that was better than us. If you look at the stats here, they shot it better, turned it over the same, rebounded better, played harder."
Junior guard Kiyanna Black:
“We got what we deserved. We didn’t come out—we didn’t play hard. We took things for granted.”
COMING UP: The Bobcats hit the road for their next matchup, traveling to Akron for a game against the Zips on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m.
Toledo 73, Northern Illinois 57
TOLEDO, OH – Toledo played one of its most complete games of the year and secured an impressive 73-57 victory against Northern Illinois on Wednesday morning before 3,945 fans in Savage Arena. With the dominating performance, the Rockets improve to 14-10 overall, 7-6 in the Mid-American Conference.
The game was played in the morning as part of UT’s fourth-annual "Educational Day" promotion.
Freshman Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott led UT with a season-high 24 points, followed by senior Inma Zanoguera with 14 and sophomore Janice Monakana had 10.
Bravo-Harriott knocked down a season-best six triples and shot 9-of-14 from the field to score in double figures for the fourth-straight contest. The London, England native is contributing a squad-best 17.3 points during this stretch, shooting 50.0 percent (15-of-30) from beyond the arc.
Zanoguera added a game-high 10 assists to record her 18th career double-double, while Monakana just missed a double-double with a team-best nine rebounds.
The Rockets also seven points from junior Brenae Harris and six each by junior Ana Capotosto and sophomore Sophie Reecher to help them claim their seventh-straight victory over the Huskies (10-13, 6-7 MAC) at home.
As a team, the Midnight Blue & Gold shot a season-high 50.9 percent (27-of-53) from the field, including 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from three-point land, and 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the charity stripe to bounce back from a tough setback at Akron on Saturday. UT also finished with a 35-28 advantage on the glass and had 21 helpers, compared to only 11 turnovers against one of the better defensive teams in the MAC.
Amanda Corral paced NIU with a game-high 27 points. The 2013-14 third-team All-MAC selection was the only visiting player in double figures.
UT stymied NIU offensively all game and limited its division foe to 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the floor, including 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from three-point range.
After spotting the Huskies a 2-0 lead at the outset, the Rockets took the game over on the strength of a 14-2 run. Monakana and Bravo-Harriott started the burst with back-to-back treys, before freshman Jada Woody capped it with a pair of jumpers to give the home team an advantage they would not relinquish.
The margin remained at least eight points for the remainder of the half, as Toledo took a 36-22 lead into the intermission.
Northern Illinois tried to make a push at the beginning of the second half and cut the deficit to nine points, before Harris and Bravo-Harriott countered with three-point field goals to put the MAC West Division showdown out of reach.
Bravo-Harriott’s triple ignited a game-sealing 20-6 run to stretch the lead to 25 points, 60-35, with 9:15 left in regulation and the rout was on.
The Rockets will look to continue momentum from today’s dominating performance when they travel to MAC West Division rival Eastern Michigan (13-10, 6-6 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 21. Tipoff against the Eagles is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
UT and EMU will square off for the second time this year and the 75th time overall. Toledo dropped a 75-61 decision against Eastern Michigan in the first match-up on Saturday, Jan. 24 in Savage Arena to snap a four-game winning streak in the series.
