Ball State 69, Toledo 61
Buffalo 66, Bowling Green 45
Northern Illinois 62, Akron 56
Ohio 58, Kent State 44
Western Michigan 69, Central Michigan 64
Courtesy of home MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Ball State 69, Toledo 61
TOLEDO, OH – Toledo suffered a 69-61 loss to Ball State on Saturday before a season-high 5,056 fans in Savage Arena. With the setback, UT falls to 12-9 overall, 5-5 in the Mid-American Conference.
Senior Inma Zanoguera led three Rockets in double figures with 19 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and a contest-best six assists to post her 17th career double-double, while junior Ana Capotosto and freshman Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott had 10 points each.
Capotosto added a career-best 12 caroms to tally her first collegiate double-double and mark the first time this season that two UT players had a double-double in a game.
Zanoguera’s and Capotosto’s efforts on the glass helped the Midnight Blue & Gold finish with a plus-14 advantage (51-37) on the boards.
Despite the respectable numbers put up by the aforementioned trio, the Rockets were held in check offensively and limited to 31.8 percent (21-of-66) from the field, including 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from three-point range.
Nathalie Fontaine paced the Cardinals with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds, followed by closely by Shelbie Justice with 17 and Moriah Monaco had 12 off the bench.
Ball State took control of the game early and benefitted from back-to-back field goals by Fontaine to assume a 14-9 lead at the 11:20 mark. The All-MAC selection was able to get inside the UT defense and converted a pair of layups to give the visitors an advantage they would not relinquish.
Moments later, the Cardinals received three-point field goals from Monaco and Justice to extend their margin to 22-14, forcing UT into a timeout with 7:12 left in the opening half.
With the Rockets struggling to put the ball in the basket, Bravo-Harriott delivered a bit of a spark with back-to-back field goals to trim the deficit to 27-23 at the 1:48 mark.
Unfortunately for the Midnight Blue & Gold, they would not score for the remainder of the half and found themselves down 32-23 at the intermission.
The duo of Zanoguera and Bravo-Harriott kept the Rockets within striking distance in the first stanza, combining for 18 of the 23 points.
Wearing pink jerseys for their annual "Rockets for the Cure" game, UT came out on the locker room energized to start the second half, utilizing a layup from Bravo-Harriott and a trey by junior Brenae Harris to pull with four points, 32-28, with 18:03 left in regulation.
Ball State was quick to counter, though, going on a 15-2 run to once again extend the margin to double figures, 46-30, at the 11:14 mark. The Cardinals received baskets from five different players in the burst, sparked by five points each from Fontaine and Justice, to claim their largest lead of the contest.
With time becoming a factor, Toledo fought back with a 14-5 run to close the gap to 52-46 with only 6:58 showing on the clock. Capotosto fueled the burst with a pair of three-point field goals from the corner to force BSU into a timeout.
The stoppage in play was just what the doctor ordered for the Cardinals, as Jill Morrison nailed a triple from the wing to stop UT’s momentum. At the other end of the floor, Toledo was snake bit by a pair of turnovers on its ensuing possessions.
UT then made one final push in the waning moments of regulation by stringing together layups from sophomore Sophie Reecher and Harris to make it a two-possession difference, but consecutive baskets from BSU’s Fontaine sealed the victory for the visitors.
The Rockets will try to snap its two-game losing skid when they travel to reigning MAC West Division champion Central Michigan (11-10, 6-4 MAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 11. The division showdown versus the Chippewas will begin at 7:00 p.m. in McGuirk Arena and can be seen on ESPN3.
Buffalo 66, Bowling Green 45
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo, State University of New York women's basketball team shot a season-best 49.2 percent from the floor en route to picking up its fourth straight win. The Bulls (13-8, 6-4 MAC) upended visiting Bowling Green (9-13, 2-9 MAC), 66-45, Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena.
UB led by as many as 29, its largest lead of the season, with 6:50 left in the game. The 21-point gap was the Bulls' third 20-point Mid-American Conference win of the season and second in three games.
"What a great team win," praised third-year head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "These young ladies are locked in for each other. They love each other. They're playing for each other. They're playing with each other. It's really neat to see other kids get in the game and to see energy on the bench from the starters. We're coming together."
The Bulls won the tip and 13 seconds later senior Christa Baccas found sophomore Alexus Malone for the first two points of the game. UB never looked back. The Blue & White powered ahead to lead by as many as 15 in the first. They held a 35-21 gap at the break.
The Falcons pulled within 12 at 16:41 of the second, but UB outscored BGSU 21-4 over the next 10 minutes to power to victory.
UB posted a 40-4 advantage in points in the paint as senior Kristen Sharkey led the game with 18 to go with a career-best five assists. Junior Mackenzie Loesing added 13 points and Malone 12 on 6-for-7 shooting. Malone had a game-high eight rebounds and Sharkey grabbed seven to help UB lead the category, 37-25. The Bulls recorded 17 second-chance points to the Falcons' zero.
Freshman Stephanie Reid chipped in seven points and four assists, while sophomore Joanna Smith made a trio of steals. Senior Ayana Bradley had four points and four rebounds in 12 minutes of play.
Leading the Falcons was Rachel Myers with 12 points. Miriam Justinger tallied nine and Deborah Hoekstra and Kennedy Kirkpatrick each chipped in eight. Hoekstra had a team-best six boards and Rachel Konieczki made four steals. The Falcons committed 23 turnovers to the Bulls' 16, while shooting 30.6 percent from the floor.
With the win UB snapped a 20-game losing skid to the Falcons dating back to 2002-03.
The Bulls hit the road for a pair of games. UB has a 7 pm contest Wednesday at Akron followed by a 2 pm game Saturday at Western Michigan.
Northern Illinois 62, Akron 56
DeKALB - Trailing Akron (17-5, 7-4 MAC) by 15 points with 8:38 remaining, NIU (10-10, 6-4 MAC) reached the .500 mark and won its fourth-straight game as the Huskies defeated the Zips, 62-56. Amanda Corral (Hobart, Ind./Hobart), who hit the go-ahead shot with 43 seconds remaining, finished the night with a career-high 31 points.
The comeback was the largest of Head Coach Kathi Bennett’s five year tenure at NIU and the Huskies first double-digit comeback since a 10-point rally versus Western Michigan when NIU defeated the Broncos March 8, 2014, 59-51.
Sophomore Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds while freshman Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) added 12 points and eight rebounds. Jenna Thorp (Hinckley, Ill./Hicnkley-Big Rock) scored all seven of her points in the Huskies 26-5 run in the final eight minutes of the game.
“That was great win for us with how the team stayed together and believed, even being down by 15 points. When you do that, good things are bound to happen,” said Bennett.
The Huskies rushed out of the gate with gumption, taking the opening tip and starting the contest on an 8-0 run as Corral and Smith jumpstarted NIU. The offensive oriented Zips rallied back and took its first lead of the game with 9:07 left, 15-14, however, NIU would rally to take back that lead as it capitalized on a 6-0 run to lead, 20-15.
The Huskies and Zips would trade points in the final eight minutes but the Zips would take the lead into the halftime locker room, 27-26. Corral led the NIU offense with 11 points while Hannah Plybon also added 11 points for Akron. The Zips, who lead the MAC in scoring with 77.1 points per game, was 10-for-28 (.357) from the field in the opening stanza while NIU was 12-for-32 (.375).
The Zips started the second half on a 10-0 run to build an 11 point lead with 16:25 left in regulation. A pull-up jumper by Lehman broke the UA scoring run and shifted some momentum in NIU’s favor as the Huskies brought it back to within six points, 42-36, seven minutes into the stanza.
Going on an 8-0 run, the Zips took their 15 point lead on a jumper by Kerri McMahan with 8:58 remaining, just before Corral was forced to the bench after receiving a three fouls in a span of 1:01. A three-pointer by Smith and a jumper by Lehman put NIU within eight points and poised the team for a comeback.
“When we cut (their lead) down at that point, I thought ‘we’re going to do this.’ I could just tell with the look in our players eyes. Amanda and Jenna wanted the ball and when you get that look, you have to go with it. I told them don’t be afraid to take shots and Jenna took a long a three that brought us back within one and Amanda tied the game on a three-pointer,” added Bennett.
A putback and a pair of free throws by Thorp, as well as a trey by Corral, gave the Huskies a 14-0 run and put NIU within one point with 2:59 remaining, 51-50.
Leading by three points, 56-53, with 1:28 left, Akron could not stop Corral from tying the game on a three-pointer with 1:19 left. After a DiAndra Gibson turnover, Corral converted the go-ahead layup and followed with four free throws to reach her 31 points and secure the Huskies first victory over the Zips since 2012, 62-56.
Corral’s 20 point second half was the largest total by an NIU player this season, surpassing Lehman’s 18-point second half versus Valparaiso on Nov. 20. It was the second time in the last four games that Corral eclipsed the 30-point mark in a game.
While Lehman contributed 10 points and Smith added 12 to support Corral’s scoring, Lacia Gorman (Fort Wayne, Ind./Wayne/Wisconsin) dished a career-high four assists to lead the game in helpers. Thorp finished with seven points, all in the final five minutes, and tied her season in rebounds with eight.
The four game MAC winning streak is NIU’s longest since Jan. 2009 and improves NIU to 7-1 at the NIU Convocation Center this season with four home games remaining. It’s the first time since 2006-07 that the Huskies have been .500-or-better through 20 games.
Northern Illinois University returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 11 when it hosts MAC West leader Western Michigan (15-7, 8-3 MAC). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Central.
Ohio 58, Kent State 44
Athens, Ohio - The Short Story: The Ohio women's basketball team (18-3, 9-1 MAC) faced early resistance from a persistent Kent State (3-18, 1-9 MAC) squad but caught fire in the second half en route to its eighth-straight victory, winning 58-44 Saturday night at the Convocation Center.
OHIO STARTERS: #2 Mariah Byard, #4 Kiyanna Black, #5 Quiera Lampkins, #10 Lexie Baldwin, #14 Kat Yelle
KENT STATE STARTERS: #0 CiCi Shannon, #1 Naddiyah Cross, #3 Larissa Lurken, #21 Melanee Stubbs, #35 Jordan Korinek
How It Happened:
- The Bobcats opened the game slowly, shooting 3-of-11 from the field and falling behind 15-8. But a 12-2 run that included five points from Kiyanna Black pushed the Bobcats ahead 20-17 at the 6:21 mark of the first half.
- Kent State carried a 25-23 lead into half, holding the Bobcats to 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) shooting from the field.
- Black led the Bobcats with eight points at the half while Quiera Lampkins scored five points and hauled in five rebounds.
- Melanee Stubbs and CiCi Shannon each scored nine points for the Flashes in the opening half. Shannon also led Kent State with seven rebounds.
- Ohio won the turnover battle 12-6 in the opening 20 minutes.
- After going back and forth for much of the second half, Ohio found breathing room on a 20-2 run and took a 55-37 lead on the back of four consecutive triples from Black.
- Black was Ohio’s leading scorer with 20 points, with 12 coming in the second half.
- Kent State was led by Stubbs who scored 12 points. Shannon recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
- Mariah Byard added eight points for the Bobcats.
- Quiera Lampkins led Ohio with seven rebounds to go along with 11 points.
- After allowing the Flashes to shoot 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) in the first half, Ohio limited Kent State to 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) in the second half and 18-of-40 (45 percent) for the game.
- Ohio forced the Flashes into 25 turnovers.
- The Bobcats shot 18-of-48 (37.5 percent) in the contest.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Ohio reached the 18 win mark for the first time since 2007-08.
- The win improved the Bobcats’ record to 9-1 in the MAC and they maintain a two game lead in the East Division.
- Black reached a double-digit point total for the 19th time this season and the 47th time in her Ohio career.
- The Bobcats won eight straight games for the first time since 2007-08.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Bob Boldon:
“KB (Kiyanna Black) is really good. Sometimes really good players step up and win games for you and that’s exactly what happened this evening.”
Junior guard Mariah Harris:
“I feel like I just need to be more confident in myself and it’ll help the team.”
Junior guard Kiyanna Black:
“I just feel like I’m very confident in myself, so sometimes I take risky shots. Sometimes they go in, sometimes it comes to bite me. But I just stepped up and made the shots.”
COMING UP
The Bobcats hit the road for their next matchup, traveling to Bowling Green for a game against the Falcons on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.
Western Michigan 69, Central Michigan 64
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan got 27 points and 14 rebounds from junior Miracle Woods and a career-high 17 points from junior Jessica Jessing as the Broncos defeated rival Central Michigan Saturday, 69-64.
The win was the first for WMU over CMU since Feb. 27, 2010 and a first ever for the Bronco senior class.
The victory also keeps Western Michigan in sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 15-7 overall, 8-3 MAC record. The Broncos are 9-1 on their home floor this season and the team’s 15 wins are the most for the program since the 2003-04 team won 19 games.
The Broncos led by as many as 19 in the first half and held a 15-point advantage at halftime, 40-25, but had to hold off the Chippewas in the final minutes. Central Michigan clawed its way back into the game in the second half and tied the contest at 61-61 with 4:49 remaining.
Senior Marquisha Harris made a free throw to put WMU ahead, 62-61, then senior Jazmine Windham hit a clutch three-pointer from the wing for a 65-61 lead.
Central Michigan scored the next three points on a free throw and a jumper by Crystal Bradford to inch within one with 34 seconds left. The Broncos broke CMU’s press on the inbounds and Windham found Jessing streaking along the backside for an open fast break layup.
Windham sealed the win stealing the ball on CMU’s next possession and Alex Morton hit a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining for the five-point victory.
Woods’ 27 points gives her 999 for her career and her 14 rebounds, which was also a career-high, puts her overall rebounding total at 494. Woods shot an impressive 9-for-12 from the floor and had two blocks.
Jessing hit three 3-pointers in the game and Windham finished with nine rebounds, five points, three assists and a steal.
Senior A.J. Johnson recorded five first-half assists and scored five consecutive points in the second half on a three-pointer and a stop-and-pop jumper on the run to help curb a CMU run.
Western Michigan shot 42.9 percent for the game and held Central Michigan(11-10, 6-4 MAC) to 39.3 percent.
Bradford led the Chippewas with 18 points on 8-for-22 shooting and just three rebounds, in part due to a great defensive job by Windham. Da’Jourie Turner had 16 points for the Chippewas and Kerby Tamm recorded 11.
Western Michigan travels to Northern Illinois on Wednesday and returns to host Buffalo on Saturday, Feb. 14 for the annual Pink Game at 2 p.m. The Bronco men’s team will follow the women’s matchup on the 14th as part of a doubleheader.
