Akron 54, Kent State 53
Eastern Michigan 56, Ball State 41
Miami 59, Bowling Green 51
Northern Illinois 69, Central Michigan 62
Ohio 78, Buffalo 70
Toledo 67, Western Michigan 57
Courtesy of home MAC Athletic Communications Department
Akron 54, Kent State 53
KENT, Ohio – Another Kent State-Akron PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge lived up to its billing Wednesday night at the M.A.C. Center, as both teams battled back and forth before the Zips were able to pull away with a last-second 54-53 victory.
The Golden Flashes took an early lead, 7-2, but the Zips were able to work their way back in to the game to make it a back-and-forth end to the first half. Neither team was able to shoot more than 30% in the opening twenty minutes as Akron had a narrow 21-20 lead at the break.
Down by one, 33-32, Kent State took the lead back at the 11:05 mark of the second half when Larissa Lurken was fouled and made both her shots to take a one-point advantage.
A defensive stop on the other end gave the ball back to the Flashes as Jordan Korinek did work in the paint to grow the home team's lead to 36-33.
Shortly after, Naddiyah Cross sunk a jumper then she immediately forced a turnover in the backcourt to keep Kent State up by three. But Akron quickly answered to get back in front 41-40 with seven minutes remaining in the game.
Out of the media timeout, Cross was big again with a three from the corner, but the Zips were quick to reply to stay ahead by two. Cross then went to the line where she made it a one-point game. The Flashes went back in front with five minutes to play on a jumper by Melanee Stubbs.
Shots were sunk at both ends of the court leading into the final media break, where Akron led 52-48 with 3:17 left to play. After being perfect at the line all game, the Zips found a bad time to miss at the charity stripe as the lead diminished to one with 48.2 seconds to go.
Akron inbounded and missed a shot to set Kent State up for the victory. A foul off the ball put Lurken back at the line with 14.8 seconds to go. Her first tied the game - the second put Kent State in front 53-52.
With 4.8 to go, Sina King drove to the basket, made the shot and got the foul to give the Zips the lead back. A long toss down the court to look for another Golden Flashes' shot landed in the hands of the Zips as the buzzer sounded to end the game.
Kent State shot 43% in the second half to make one more field goal than Akron on eight fewer attempts on the night. Akron was able to control rebounds 46-37, including 17 on the offensive side of the floor for nine second chance points.
Lurken led in scoring with 11 points while Stubbs netted ten. Mikell Chinn led the team in rebounds with seven while totaling a career-high 11 assists.
The Golden Flashes head out for their last road game of the conference season on Saturday when they play Miami at 1 p.m. They close out the regular season next Wednesday and Saturday hosting Ohio and Buffalo, respectively.
Eastern Michigan 56, Ball State 41
MUNCIE, Ind. - Something was amiss from the start Wednesday night for the Ball State women’s basketball team.
The Cardinals couldn’t shoot straight, they didn’t take care of the ball, and they didn’t play with vigor on defense.
That made for a predictable outcome as the Mid-American Conference West Division leaders fell 56-41 to Eastern Michigan at Worthen Arena. Ball State tied its season low for points against a team it beat 72-62 on the road two weeks earlier.
“We stunk, and you have to give Eastern Michigan credit for coming in here and really putting it on us,” Cardinals coach Brady Sallee said. “Sometimes there’s games you can’t get out of your own way. I’ll tell you what, we were in our own way tonight.”
The game started slowly for the Cardinals (15-11, 11-4 MAC) as they failed to attack the 2-2-1 full-court press employed by the Eagles (15-11, 8-7 MAC).
Sallee said his team was on its heels against the press and looked “lethargic” once it set up on offense.
“We wanted to be in attack mode against their press,” he said. “We were throwing it over the top and jacked up a few shots, but there was no attack in anything we were doing. … The foot wasn’t on the gas.
“We were in neutral and hoping the car would roll down the hill sometimes. That’s no way to play this year of year.”
The timid approach on offense resulted in Ball State’s second-worst shooting performance of the season.
The Cardinals, second in the MAC in field-goal percentage (.428) coming into the game, hit just 23.6 percent. Eastern Michigan has held four other opponents to under 30 percent this year.
“We aren’t the second-best shooting percentage team in the league because we’re jacking shots,” Sallee said. “It was no different than the effort we played with on defense, no different than us taking care of the ball, no different than our effort on the boards in the second half. It just all looked the same.”
Nathalie Fontaine made a modest 5-of-14 shots (.357) and the rest of the Cardinals combined to hit just 8-of-41 (.195).
Ball State came in with the third-best 3-point percentage (.329) in the MAC but made only 5-of-26 from the arc for 19.2 percent.
The Cardinals also turned the ball over 16 times.
“It looked like we had multiple players who didn’t really want the ball,” Sallee said of the offensive woes. “We were kind of choking some passes and didn’t move the ball with conviction.”
Fontaine posted her eighth double-double of the year with 12 points and 11 rebounds. She helped the Cardinals gather 41 rebounds (17 on offense), but they allowed Eastern Michigan to get 47 boards (19 on offense).
Renee Bennett tied her career high with three blocks.
The loss prevented the Cardinals from clinching a tie for the MAC West championship. They lead Western Michigan by two games (with three to play) going into a game on the Broncos’ home court at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Miami 59, Bowling Green 51
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University women’s basketball team used a steady offensive effort throughout the game and a shutout defensive performance over the final nine minutes to secure a 59-51 victory over Bowling Green Wednesday night. The RedHawks improve to 6-20 overall and 3-12 in the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons fall to 9-17 overall and 2-13 in the MAC.
Miami was able to keep BGSU out of the paint all night, as the RedHawks held the Falcons to only 10 points down low the entire game. However Bowling Green stayed in the contest by hitting 10 three-pointers. MU was able to counter by hitting eight three-pointers of its own.
Junior forward Hannah McCue had four of those three-pointers, as she finished with 14 points. She also brought in 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Freshman guard Baleigh Reid led the ‘Hawks with 15 points, while senior point guard Courtney Larson was also in double figures with 12 points.
After freshman guard Kayla Brown opened the game with a layup, Bowling Green countered with a three-pointer to take a 3-2 lead. Larson followed with a three-pointer at the 19:00 mark to put the RedHawks in front. They would never trail again.
With Miami in front 10-8 at the 16:24 mark, it would go on a 13-0 run to take a 23-8 lead with 10:53 to go. McCue hit a pair of three-pointers, while junior forward Jessica Rupright also hit a triple. Bowling Green fought back to close to within seven at 25-18, but a three pointer from Brown and a layup by Ana Richter made it a 12-point game once again at the 2:25 mark. The Falcons closed on a 5-0 run to send the game into the break with the RedHawks up, 30-23.
McCue had nine in the first half, while Brown had seven. Miami shot 39.3 percent (11-for-28) for the period, including 46.2 percent (6-for-13) from behind the arc.
Reid took the ball to the basket early and often in the second half as the ‘Hawks pushed the advantage back to 11 at 40-29 with 15:12 to go. Miami’s shot went cold over the next three minutes, allowing the Falcons to go on a 10-1 run to pull with three at 41-39 at the 13:03 mark. A free throw from Reid and a three-pointer by Larson made it a six-point game, but the Falcons answered with five more points to pull within four at 48-44 with 9:30 to go.
The RedHawks’ defense took over as it did not allow Bowling Green to hit a single field goal over the next 8:52 of the game. During that time frame, McCue and Reid hit layups as part of a 6-2 run that made it 54-46 with 59 seconds to go. The Falcons finally scored on a three-pointer with 38 seconds left, but Miami hit all of its free throws down the stretch, while a steal and layup from Reid sealed the 59-51 win.
Miami finished the game shooting 40.8 percent (20-for-49), while holding Bowling Green to 39.6 percent (19-for-48) shooting. Brown had eight points, three assists, two steals, three rebounds and one block in 35 minutes of action. The Falcons were led by Rachel Myers with 13 points.
Miami has its final home game of the season on Saturday when it welcomes Kent State to Millett Hall for a 1 p.m. contest. Prior to the game, there will be a ceremony honoring seniors Larson and Katy Dolesh. It is part of a doubleheader that will see the men’s basketball team take on Bowling Green at 3:30 p.m.
Northern Illinois 69, Central Michigan 62
DeKALB - The NIU women’s basketball team (11-14, 7-8 MAC) used team defense, ball distribution and a season-high eight three-point field goals to defeat Central Michigan (12-14, 7-8 MAC) Wednesday night at the NIU Convocation Center, 69-62.
Amanda Corral (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) scored 25 points while Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) distributed a career-high 10 assists. Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) added 16 points as well. The Huskies accounted for a season-high 20 assists in the game and eight three-point field goals.
“I’m very proud of the way this team bounced back after Saturday’s loss and they showed a great mentality to overcome that and win tonight,” said Head Coach Kathi Bennett. “Ally did a great job defensively on Crystal (Bradford) and it was the best performance I’ve seen against her by one of our players. She distributed the ball really well tonight, finding the open players and the gaps (in CMU’s defense).”
The Chips hit two-straight three pointers to start the game and take a 6-0 lead. The Huskies did not sit idle for long as it rallied back, taking a 9-8 lead on a Renee Sladek (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) layup with 16:49 left.
NIU would go on a 9-2 run to build a 18-12 lead and follow that up with 7-0 run later in the half to go on top by eight points, 25-17, with 8:22 remaining on a trey by Lehman.
She would lead the Huskies in points (9), rebounds (6) and assists (4) as she was 4-for-8 from the field at halftime. Corral only scored seven points in the first half, allowing her to explode for 18 in the second period.
The Huskies would carry their lead through the final 20 minutes of the half, though Central Michigan knocked on the door throughout the period, coming within five minutes of NIU five times in the stanza. With 3:52 left in regulation, CMU’s Aleah Swary made a three-point field goal to bring the Chips within one point, 55-54.
Northern Illinois University responded with a 7-0 run to go back up by eight as Jenna Thorp (Hinckley, Ill./Hinckley-Big Rock), Smith and Corral all attacked the paint with layups to go back up by eight with 1:48.
The Chippewas were forced to foul in the final minutes of the period, however, they sent Corral to the line nine times in the period, where she made eight of her shots in the half. Overall, Corral was 10-for-11 at the charity stripe against the Chips.
The Huskies 69-points were the most scored this season by NIU in their 15 Mid-American Conference games this season.
Lehman was just shy of the Huskies first triple-double in 20 years, finishing with nine points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. As a team, NIU dished a season-best 20 assists while only committing seven turnovers. Corral scored nine of her 25 points from behind the three-point line and finished the game 6-of-16 from the field. Smith led NIU in field goals with seven.
Lehman’s 10-assist game was NIU’s first since Courtney Shelton dished 12 at Indiana on Dec. 17, 2011.
After shooting .387 from the field in the first half, NIU finished with a .481 percentage in the final 20 minutes (13-for-27) to close the contest 25-for-58 for a clip of .431. Da’Jourie Turner led CMU with 20 points, followed by Crystal Bradford, who added 19 points for the Chips.
The Huskies will return to action Saturday at Eastern Michigan in the Convocation Center. Tipoff between NIU and Eagles is set for 1 p.m. Central.
Ohio 78, Buffalo 70
Athens, Ohio - The Ohio women's basketball team (22-4,13-2 MAC) clinched a share of its first-ever Mid-American Conference East Division title with a 78-70 victory against Buffalo (15-11, 8-7 MAC) Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
OHIO STARTERS: #2 Mariah Byard, #4 Kiyanna Black, #5 Quiera Lampkins, #10 Lexie Baldwin, #14 Kat Yelle
BUFFALO STARTERS: #1 Stephanie Reid, #4 Joanna Smith, #25 Kristen Sharkey, #34 Alexus Malone, #44 Christa Baccas
How It Happened:
- Ohio took its first lead, 16-14, at the 10:37 mark of the first half with the offense largely propelled by Kiyanna Black who scored 10 points in that stretch.
- The Bobcats held the Bulls scoreless for six minutes, building a 27-19 lead.
- At the half, Ohio held a 31-24 lead.
- Buffalo turned the ball over 16 times in the first half compared to Ohio's 10 turnovers.
- Black led all scorers with 14 points in the first half.
- Quiera Lampkins added five points in the opening stanza.
- Mackenzie Loesing paced Buffalo in the first half with 13 points and was 3-of-6 from behind the arc.
- The Bobcats opened the second half on an 18-4 run that included a pair of three-pointers from Black and Mariah Byard, expanding its lead to 49-28 at the 13:34 mark of the second half.
- Buffalo would counter with a 20-2 run of its own to cut the Ohio lead to 51-48 with 7:46 remaining in the game.
- Ohio shot 25-of-59 (42.4 percent) from the field for the game.
- Black finished a team-high 26 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists.
- Lampkins added 15 points and six rebounds.
- Byard scored 19 points.
- Buffalo turned the ball over 27 times.
- The Bulls shot 23-of-58 (39.7 percent) in the contest.
- Mackenzie Loesing was Buffalo's leading scorer with a game-high 32 points.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With the win, Ohio clinched a share of its first ever MAC East title.
- Black reached double digits in scoring for the 23rd time this season the 52nd time in her Ohio career.
- Black has scored at least 20 points in seven games this season.
- By hitting nine threes, Ohio set a new record for three-pointers made in one season with 240, breaking the previous record of 234 set in the 2007-08 campaign.
- Jasmine Weatherspoon recorded a career-high seven steals.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Bob Boldon:
"I think it's exciting. I'm really happy for the kids. They put in a lot of work this summer to try to get to this position."
Junior guard Kiyanna Black:
"I mean, it's exciting, but we really want the MAC Tournament championship banner."
Senior guard Mariah Byard
"It's really great. I can't put it any other way. It's really a great year to go out on. I mean, my first three years here were kind of tough, so for us to accomplish something like (a division title) is awesome."
COMING UP
The Bobcats remain in Athens for their next contest, hosting Bowling Green on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.
Toledo 67, Western Michigan 57
TOLEDO, OH – Toledo extended its winning streak to three-consecutive games with a 67-57 victory against Western Michigan on Wednesday before 3,638 fans in Savage Arena. With the win, the Rockets improve to 16-10 overall, 9-6 in the Mid-American Conference.
Junior Brenae Harris paced UT with a game-high 24 points, followed by senior Inma Zanoguera and junior Ana Capotosto with 14 each. The trio accounted for 52 of the team’s 67 points and helped the Midnight Blue & Gold sweep the regular-season series against the Broncos (16-10, 9-6 MAC) for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.
Harris was nothing short of brilliant in a career-high 39 minutes, shooting 10-of-15 from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line to post at least 20 points for the fourth time this year.
Capotosto was equally as impressive off the bench and tallied 11 of her points in the second half to lift Toledo to the double-digit triumph.
As a team, the Rockets shot 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the field, including 30.0 percent (3-of-10) from three-point land, and 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the charity stripe. Toledo did a bulk of its damage on the interior and held a 34-26 advantage in points in the paint. The home team also finished with a 47-39 edge on the glass, fueled by a game-high nine caroms by sophomore Sophie Reecher.
Miracle Woods led Western Michigan with 14 points and seven rebounds. The 2013-14 second-team All-MAC honoree was the only Bronco in double figures.
Toledo limited WMU to 31.9 percent (23-of-72) from the floor, including an even better 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from three-point range, to hand its division rival its sixth loss in the last seven trips to Lucas County. The Broncos came into tonight’s contest fifth in the MAC in overall field goal percentage, converting 40.9 percent.
At the outset, UT took advantage of a 14-0 run to assume a 21-9 lead at the 9:14 mark, forcing WMU into a timeout. The burst was fueled by seven points from Harris and four by Zanoguera to prompt the visitors into a stoppage in play.
The Broncos finally ended their eight-plus minute scoring drought and strung together a 17-2 run to give themselves a 26-23 advantage with 1:56 left in the first half. The big contributors in the rally were Michelle O’Brien and Woods with six points each to turn a 12-point deficit into a three-point lead.
UT freshman Jada Woody stopped Western Michigan’s momentum with a layup at the 1:39 mark and helped Toledo end the half on a mini 5-2 burst to draw the teams even at 28-28 at the intermission.
The squads traded points for the first 10 minutes of the second stanza with neither team holding more than a three-point lead, before UT utilized a game-changing 12-3 run to create a 53-46 lead with 5:41 left in regulation. Capotosto started the pivotal run by scoring six of the first seven points, while Harris capped the rally with a pair of jumpers to give the home team a lead they would not relinquish.
Following a field goal by WMU’s Teagan Reeves, the Rockets put the game away by registering six of seven points over the course of 1:20 to open up a 59-49 cushion, forcing WMU into calling another timeout at the 3:39 mark. Capotosto buried a pair of free throws and converted a layup to extend the margin to double figures for the first time in the contest.
UT did not allow the margin to dip below seven points for the remainder of the match-up and settled for the impressive 67-57 triumph.
The Rockets will look to the momentum going on Saturday, Feb. 28 when they close out their home schedule against Central Michigan. The opening tip against the reigning MAC West Division champion Chippewas is slated for 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena.
Prior to Saturday’s game, UT’s two seniors - Inma Zanoguera and Stephanie Recker - will be honored. The Rockets will also pay tribute to senior managers Andrea Pierson and Derrick Lawson, as well as student athletic trainer Alex Shoup before the start of their final regular season home game.
