Buffalo 87, Akron 80
Eastern Michigan 60, Northern Illinois 52
Miami 66, Kent State 59
Ohio 67, Bowling Green 47
Toledo 62, Central Michigan 53
Western Michigan 51, Ball State 50
Courtesy of home MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Buffalo 87, Akron 80
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo, State University of New York women's basketball team led visiting Akron for 38 minutes en route to a crucial 87-80 Mid-American Conference victory Saturday at Alumni Arena.
The Bulls (16-11, 9-7 MAC) placed four in double figures and tallied its second-highest point total of the season while improving to 9-2 during Saturday action. UB snapped a 10-game losing skid to the Zips (20-7, 10-6 MAC) on its senior day and regained a 21-20 series advantage. Ayana Bradley, Christa Baccas and Kristen Sharkey were honored pregame for their contributions to the program.
"Our leadership is strong. Our foundation is set. I think this is a program that's on the rise based on the fact that we have great leadership," praised third-year head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "The future is bright. We're set for future greatness. They (underclassmen) fly because our seniors give them permission."
Led by freshman Stephanie Reid and sophomore Joanna Smith, the Bulls placed four in double figures for the first time since Jan. 10 at Miami (OH). It is the first UB duo to score 20 each since Sharkey and Alexus Malone put up 21 and 20, respectively, against Northern Illinois a season ago. They each posted career-high tallies with Reid draining a team-high 21 and Smith 20, 16 of which sparked UB to a 10-point first-half gap. Smith added a career- and contest-best five assists and Reid and Sharkey chipped in four apiece.
Malone scored in double digits for the 17th time this season with a 17-point performance on 6-for-9 shooting. Baccas added 15 and a season- and game-best four steals. Sharkey led UB with nine boards. She added nine points good for an even 1,200 for her career.
The game was tied for two minutes, lastly at 4-4, before a Smith three secured the Bulls an indefinite advantage. UB led by 10, 26-16, at 4:50, but an Akron timeout led to nine straight visitor points in just 1:22. The Bulls outscored the Zips, 10-1, down the stretch, topped off by a buzzer-beating fastbreak layup by Reid.
Sharkey fed Baccas for a three-point play at the 13-minute mark and UB's largest spread of the day, 54-35. The Zips chipped away at their deficit to sneak within 63-54 at 7:03. The Bulls, who entered the game averaging 64.2 points, stayed a step ahead on 50.0 percent second-half shooting. A nine-point game with 1:14 lingering, the Bulls made good on 7-of-10 at the line to seal the win.
Akron's Anita Brown led the game with 31 points and Sina King drained 24. She grabbed 10 boards for the game's lone double-double. Hannah Plybon scored 16, highlighted by a game-high four threes.
The Bulls shot 45.3 percent from the field to the Zips' 42.6 percent showing. Akron marginally outrebounded UB, 40-39, but led the turnover count, 19-15, creating 19 points for the Bulls. UB had 13 steals to Akron's seven.
In the hunt for a first-round bye, UB will close out the regular season with back-to-back road games at Bowling Green Wednesday at 7 pm and Kent State Saturday at 2 pm.
Eastern Michigan 60, Northern Illinois 52
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team picked up its ninth victory in the last 13 games Saturday, Feb. 28, at EMU's Convocation Center over the visiting Northern Illinois University Huskies (11-15, 7-9 MAC), 60-52. The Eagles (16-11, 9-7 MAC) used Sera Ozelci's (Ankara, Turkey-TED Ankara College) first career double-double and 21 points from sophomore Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) to avenge an early-season overtime loss to the Huskies, Jan. 3.
Ozelci scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including a 3-for-5 mark from downtown. The junior guard picked up her first double-double in an Eagle uniform with a career-high 10 rebounds. Sweeney notched a game-high 21 points, making good on 7-of-9 free throw attempts. Senior Brianna Puni (St. Charles, Mo.-Incarnate Word) matched a season-high with 14 points and was only a pair of rebounds shy of her second career double-double.
The Huskies were led by Ally Lehman who scored a team-high 15 points. Kelly Smith finished with 13 points, while forward Renee Sladek posted nine points and 10 boards. The EMU defense held Amanda Corral scoreless for only the second time in her career as the senior was averaging 20 points per game in her previous nine contests.
The Green and White shot better in the second half, posting an overall field goal percentage of 40.4 (23-57) in the game. EMU connected on five triples, but only shot a 56.3 percent (9-of-16) clip from the charity stripe. NIU was 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the floor, including a 3-of-15 (20 percent) mark from behind the arc and 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from the free throw line. Eastern owned the paint, pulling in 10 more rebounds than Northern Illinois (42-32) and scoring 28 points down low compared to 16 from the Huskies. NIU won the turnover battle, 16-15, but the Eagles netted 16 points off of the 15 Huskies mistakes. Northern Illinois entered this afternoon's contest second in the country in turnovers per game at 10.7.
The first half saw seven lead changes and five ties, with neither team holding a lead of more than four points. NIU jumped out to an early 6-2 advantage, which matched the largest lead of the afternoon for the visitors. Only Sweeney, Puni, and Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) could find the bottom of the net for the Eagles in the opening frame until Ozelci scored the final five points for EMU. That gave the Green and White a 26-24 lead as the teams hit the locker rooms for the halftime break.
Eastern was led by Sweeney, who scored nine points in the first half. Morton and Puni each tallied six points while Ozelci netted five points and grabbed nine rebounds in the opening frame. EMU shot 36.7 percent (11-of-30) which was slightly better than the 35.7 percent (10-of-28) clip from the Huskies. Both teams knocked down a pair of triples and shot 2-of-5 from the charity stripe in the first half.
NIU was led by Kelly Smith, who scored nine in the opening half. Ally Lehman recorded seven points and hauled-in four rebounds for the Huskies in the first 20 minutes. EMU out-rebounded NIU by a 22-18 margin and scored 14 points in the paint compared to just six from Northern Illinois. NIU forced seven Eagle turnovers, but could only turn those into four points while EMU forced six Huskies miscues and scored seven points off those mistakes.
EMU connected on three of its first four field goal attempts to begin the second half, including a pair of triples from Ozelci to extend the Eagle lead to 34-26. A pair of free throws from Sweeney following the first media timeout of the second half (15:33) gave the Green and White its first double-digit lead of the game, 40-29.
NIU used a 6-0 run to pull within six, 45-39, with just under 12 minutes to play, but that was as close as the Huskies could get the remainder of the contest. Puni answered with a pair of baskets to extend the lead back out to 11 points, 56-45, with 3:23 on the game clock.
The Huskies got within six once again with under a minute to play using a Danny Pulliam triple and a pair of Renee Sladek free throws to make the score 58-52 in the Eagles favor. Even though the Green and White only converted on 2-of-5 free throws in the closing minute, the Eagles were able to hold on for the 60-52 victory.
Eastern Michigan returns to the Convocation Center Wednesday, March 4, as the Eagles host Western Michigan University in the 2014-15 regular season home finale at 7 p.m. The Broncos claimed the teams first meeting, Jan. 28, in Kalamazoo by a final score of 83-56.
Miami 66, Kent State 59
OXFORD, Ohio – Baleigh Reid scored a career-high 22 points to help send the Miami women’s basketball seniors out of Millett Hall on a high note in a 66-59 win over Kent State on Saturday afternoon.
Miami (7-20, 4-12 Mid-American) secured a season sweep of Kent State (5-22, 3-13 MAC) with the victory in Courtney Larson and Katy Dolesh’s final home game.
The RedHawks scored four of the game’s first six points on a Molly McDonagh layup and a Reid jumper, but the Golden Flashes ripped off eight-straight points to grab a 10-4 lead four and a half minutes into the contest. A transition layup by Reid halted the run, but layups by CiCi Shannon and Jordan Korinek extended KSU’s lead to 14-6 with under 13 to go in the opening stanza.
Reid finished off a nice passing possession with a three-pointer from the corner to cut the gap to 14-9, giving her seven of MU’s nine points at the time. Kent State continued its hot shooting, at one point shooting 10-of-13 from the floor to push its lead to 10 points on three separate occasions.
Trailing 25-15, the RedHawks reeled off eight-straight points points as McDonagh scored on a nice up and under move, Larson drained a three at the top of the arc and Hannah McCue scored three points the old fashioned way on a layup to cut the gap to 25-23 with 6:37 left in the half. A Reid three-pointer two minutes later tied the score at 27-27 and Larson’s trifecta capped a 15-2 RedHawk run that put them on top 30-27 with 2:49 left in the half. The teams traded baskets for the rest of the half with Reid’s jumper in the closing seconds sending Miami to the locker room with a 35-32 lead at the break.
Neither team scored for the first three minutes of the second half, though Kent State eventually got five-straight points from Jordan Korinek to take a 37-35 lead with 16:29 to go. A Larissa Lurken jumper put Miami down 39-35 and capped the Golden Flashes’ 7-0 run. Larson hit a baseline jumper for Miami’s first points of the half with 13:51 to go and Reid scored a layup to even the score on the next possession. After a sequence of MU offensive rebounds led to a foul, Jessica Rupright calmly hit two free throws to give the Red and White a 41-39 lead with 12:39 left.
Lurkin hit another jumper to even the score at 41 apiece on the ensuing KSU possession, though MU responded with jumpers from Larson and Kayla Brown to grab a 45-41 lead midway through the second half. The RedHawks eventually stretched their lead to 55-47 with 3:33 remaining, their largest lead of the game. Lurkin answered with a three-pointer to pull the Golden Flashes within five, but Rupright hit a long jumper to up the lead to 57-50. After KSU split a trip of its own to the charity stripe, McCue knocked down two free throws to move the lead back to eight and Kent State would get no closer than six the rest of the way.
After a hot-shooting first half, both teams cooled off considerably from the floor in the second. The Golden Flashes shot 42.1 percent overall while the RedHawks made 40 percent of their shots. MU hit all five of its three-pointers in the first half and finished 5-of-12 from beyond the arc while KSU went 4-of-13 from long range. The RedHawks outscored the Golden Flashes by 10 from the foul line, making 17-of-21 free throws (81 percent) against KSU’s 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) line. Kent State did enjoy a slight 36-32 advantage in rebounding, though Miami forced 19 KSU turnovers against 13 of its own, outscoring Kent State 19-8 off turnovers.
Reid’s 22 points tied KSU’s Lurken for the game high while Larson joined her teammate in double figures with 15 points. Shannon posted an 11-point, 13 rebound for Kent State while Korinek also chipped in 11.
The RedHawks return to action on March 4 when they travel to Akron.
Ohio 67, Bowling Green 47
Athens, Ohio - The Ohio women's basketball team (23-4, 14-2 MAC) clinched its first Mid-American Conference regular season title since 1994-95 with a 67-47 victory against Bowling Green (9-18, 2-14 MAC) on Saturday inside the Convocation Center.
OHIO STARTERS: #2 Mariah Byard, #4 Kiyanna Black, #5 Quiera Lampkins, #10 Lexie Baldwin, #14 Kat Yelle
BOWLING GREEN STARTERS: #3 Deborah Hoekstra, #11 Rachel Myers, #12 Rachel Konieczki, #23 Kennedy Kirkpatrick, #30 Miriam Justinger
How It Happened:
- Ohio opened up a 22-11 lead with a 9-0 run at the 9:28 mark of the first half that included baskets from four different Bobcats.
- The Bobcats stretched their lead to as much as 18, taking a 36-18 advantage on a Lexie Baldwin bucket with 2:11 remaining in the first half.
- After the first 20 minutes, Ohio brought a 36-23 lead to the locker room.
- Kiyanna Black led all scorers with 10 points at the half.
- Quiera Lampkins scored nine points while grabbing five rebounds while Baldwin scored six points and hauled in six boards.
- Miriam Justinger and Rachel Konieczki were the leading scorers for the Falcons in the opening stanza, with each scoring seven points.
- The Bobcats stretched its lead to as much as 23 points in the game.
- Ohio shot 25-of-57 (43.9 percent) from the field for the game.
- Black was the leading scorer for the Bobcats with 15 points.
- Lampkins added 14 points for Ohio with nine rebounds.
- Baldwin grabbed seven boards and scored 12 points.
- The Falcons shot 15-of-46 (32.6 percent) from the field.
- Bowling Green was paced by Deborah Hoekstra, who scored 13 points and 12 boards.
- Ohio controlled the boards with a 37-31 rebounding advantage.
- Ohio had 30 points in the paint compared to Bowling Green's 12.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With the win and Ball State's loss, Ohio won its third MAC regular season championship in program history and first since the 1994-95 season.
- Black reached double digits in scoring for the 24th time this season the 53rd time in her Ohio career.
- Ohio has won 14 games in the MAC for the first time since 1994-95.
- The last time the Bobcats won 23 games was in the 1994-95 campaign.
- Ohio has won two games against Bowling Green for the first time since March 5, 1996-Feb. 26, 1997.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Bob Boldon:
"It feels great. I think that our job as coaches is to give our athletes the best opportunity to succeed. That's why we practice, do game plans and things of that sort. And I guess that's why the number one seed (in the MAC Tournament) was so important."
Junior forward Lexie Baldwin:
"We have to fix those small mistakes so that whenever we do get to the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, we don't have those mistakes as often or at all."
Sophomore guard Quiera Lampkins:
"Coming from last year, being 9-23, it's a big deal (winning the MAC championship) but not a huge deal. I think if we win the MAC Tournament, that would be when everyone would be excited and everyone's pumped up and ready to go."
COMING UP
The Bobcats hit the road, traveling to Kent State to take on the Golden Flashes on Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m.
Toledo 62, Central Michigan 53
TOLEDO, OH – Toledo secured a 62-53 victory against Central Michigan on ‘Senior Day’ to run its winning streak to four-consecutive games before 4,031 fans in Savage Arena. With the triumph, UT improves to 17-10, 10-6 in the Mid-American Conference.
Playing in her final regular-season home game, senior Inma Zanoguera led three Rockets in double figures with 18 points, a game-high five assists, four rebounds and a contest-best three thefts. Zanoguera registered nine points in each half to score in double figures for a career-best 13th-straight contest and help the Midnight Blue & Gold sweep the regular-season series against the Chippewas (12-15, 7-9 MAC) for the second time in the last four seasons.
Freshman Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott added 16 points and sophomore Janice Monakana had 11 points with a game-high 10 boards to total her third-career double-double.
UT also received eight points from junior Brenae Harris and nine caroms by sophomore Sophie Reecher to surpass its win total from a season ago.
In a battle between the top two rebounding teams in conference games, Toledo finished with a 44-40 edge, fueled by the efforts of Monakana and Reecher.
Toledo also totaled 11 assists and a MAC-season low nine turnovers to post more helpers than miscues for the eighth time this season.
Da’Jourie Turner paced Central Michigan with a game-high 21 points, followed by Aleah Swary with 14. For the second time in as many games against the Rockets, reigning MAC Player of the Year Crystal Bradford did not play.
Bravo-Harriott knocked down her first four field-goal attempts at the start, including three triples, to help Toledo jump out to an 11-2 lead at the 16:40 mark. After missing all seven of her shots against Western Michigan on Wednesday, Bravo-Harriott came out on fire and sparked a quick start for the home team.
Moments later, Harris and Zanoguera each drilled three-point field goals to push Toledo’s margin to 22-12 with 11:00 left in the opening half. The Rockets hit five of their first seven shots from beyond the arc to race out to a 10-point advantage.
Central Michigan responded though, with a 17-0 run to give the visitors a 29-22 lead at the 4:17 mark. Five different Chippewas produced points in the six-plus minute burst, including two treys from Swary, to force UT into its second timeout in the half.
As hot as the Rockets were at the outset, they went cold from the field and were held scoreless for a period of 7:24 and had their 10-point lead turn into a seven-point deficit.
Zanoguera finally ended the drought with a jumper and helped Toledo score nine of the next 11 points before intermission. The Rockets seemed to have shifted the momentum in the division match-up, but CMU’s Swary hit her fourth triple with eight seconds left to give the visitors a 34-31 lead at the break.
The Chippewas then converted the first basket in the second stanza, before UT ripped off 15 of the next 17 points to reclaim the advantage for good, 46-38, at the 10:43 mark. The game-changing run was triggered by five points each from Bravo-Harriott and Monakana to give a home team a lead they would not relinquish.
With the offense re-finding its groove through the first 10 minutes of the second half, UT tightened up its defense and limited CMU to only one field goal during this stretch to build an eight-point cushion.
Toledo’s advantage remained at least seven points for the next six-plus minutes, before the home team put the finishing touches on the victory with a pair of layups from Zanoguera and one by Monakana to extend the difference to 60-47 at the 4:17 mark.
UT held CMU to 20.0 percent (5-of-25) from the field and a total of 19 points in the second half to send out its two seniors — Stephanie Recker and Zanoguera — with an important win.
With today’s victory, UT has guaranteed itself at least a home game in the opening round of the MAC Tournament. The Rockets also remained as the No. 4 seed and would receive a bye to the tourney quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12 in Cleveland if the regular-season ended today.
Toledo will look to continue its winning ways when it travels to Northern Illinois (11-14, 7-8 MAC) on Wednesday, March 4. The game against the Huskies is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (CT) in the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN3.
The Rockets secured a 73-57 triumph against the Huskies in the first match-up on Wednesday, Feb. 18 to claim their seventh-straight home victory in the series. A season ago, UT suffered a 68-59 overtime setback in DeKalb (Feb. 27).
Western Michigan 51, Ball State 50
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan survived final second theatrics and improved to 17-10 overall and 10-6 in the Mid-American Conference with a 51-50 victory over West Division leader Ball State Saturday.
A layup by Miracle Woods on a drive and dish by senior A.J. Johnson gave Western Michigan the 51-50 lead with 1:02 remaining. Junior Alex Morton had a chance to give WMU more breathing room getting fouled with 23 seconds left, but missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Ball State called a timeout and set up the last possession of the game. Nathalie Fontaine missed a jumper from the left elbow with three seconds left and Shelby Justice couldn’t convert a put back for the Cardinals as time expired.
“We caught a break and we survived. We had been struggling and we were due to get a break and got one,” said WMU head coach Shane Clipfell. “We scrapped and fought until the bitter end and were deserving of this victory.
“It was a happy locker room and it hasn’t been for 10 days or so. We didn’t play great, but we played good enough to win.”
Western Michigan’s victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Broncos, as well as a five-game skid against Ball State, dating back to the 2012 season.
With its 10th MAC win of the season, WMU reaches double-digit conference victories for the first time since 2006 and the team’s 17 overall wins are the most since the 2003-04 season (19-13 record).
Woods led WMU with 14 points and four rebounds, followed by nine points, four rebounds and four assists from Morton. Johnson also had four assists, as well as six points and six rebounds.
Western Michigan made a strong 10-4 run at the end of the first half to lead 28-23 at halftime. WMU shot 37.5 percent for the game and won the battle on the boards, 38-31. BSU shot 32.6 percent from the floor.
The Broncos remain tied for second place in the West Division with Toledo. Ball State clings to first in the division, one game ahead of WMU and UT with an 11-5 MAC record (15-12 overall). If the MAC Tournament started today, Western Michigan would be the No. 5 seed.
With two games left in the regular season, Western Michigan has a chance of sliding up to one of the top four seeds, earning an automatic bye to Cleveland, but would need help from a few of its counterparts, as Toledo holds the tiebreaker over WMU.
Western Michigan closes out the regular season with a trip to Ypsilanti on Wednesday, taking on Eastern Michigan (16-11, 9-7 MAC) at 7 p.m. and a home contest against Northern Illinois on Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m.
