MAC Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket
MAC Women's Basketball Tournament Central
2015 MAC Women’s Basketball Tournament First Round
Game 1: No. 5 Western Michigan 65, No. 12 Bowling Green 42
Game 2: No. 9 Central Michigan 49, No. 8 Northern Illinois 44
Game 3: No. 6 Eastern Michigan 70, No. 11 Kent State 52
Game 4: No. 7 Toledo 62, No. 10 Miami 47
Courtesy of advancing MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Game 1: No. 5 Western Michigan 65, No. 12 Bowling Green 42
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The No. 5 seeded Western Michigan women's basketball team defeated No. 12 seed Bowling Green, 65-42, Monday at University Arena to advance to the second round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland.
The Broncos go on to face No. 9 Central Michigan Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena at noon. The Chippewas advanced after beating Northern Illinois in DeKalb, 49-44. WMU and CMU split their regular-season meetings this year, each team winning on its home floor.
Western Michigan has won a first round play-in game and advanced to Cleveland all three seasons under head coach Shane Clipfell. With Monday's win the Broncos improved their overall season record to 19-11, which equals the most wins since 2003-04. The Broncos will finish the 2014-15 season 12-2 on their home floor.
In the second round game Wednesday, Western Michigan will be looking for its first back-to-back MAC wins since the team won it all in 2003, rattling off four victories as the No. 4 seed and defeating Ball State in the title game.
Bronco senior forward Marquisha Harris came off the bench to total 13 points and six rebounds in the victory, both of which were team highs. Junior point guard Alex Morton had 10 points for her 10th double-digit scoring game of the season.
Western Michigan led start to finish and held a 28-17 advantage at halftime. The team recorded 16 assists and had just 11 turnovers. WMU outscored BGSU in the paint 36-16. All 13 players saw the floor.
The Broncos shot 59.1 percent in the second half and over 50 percent for the game. Defensively, WMU held Bowling Green to just 27.3 percent from the field and limited the Falcons to only three makes from behind the arc.
It was the second time this season Western Michigan defeated Bowling Green, also defeating the Falcons in the regular season, 82-52. Bowling Green concludes its season with a 9-21 overall record.
Game 2: No. 9 Central Michigan 49, No. 8 Northern Illinois 44
DeKALB, Ill. - It's on to Cleveland for the Central Michigan women's basketball team.
Jas'Mine Bracey and Da'Jourie Turner scored 14 points apiece and Kerby Tamm added 12 Monday as the Chippewas wrestled away a 49-44 win from Northern Illinois in a Mid-American Conference Tournament opener at the Huskies' Convocation Center.
CMU (13-17) will play Western Michigan (19-11) in a quarterfinal game at noon on Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
"I told our team, at this point I don't care how we win," CMU coach Sue Guevara said. "But if we can win with our offense struggling like it did and we can win because of our defense and our rebounding, guess what, we have one more time."
And another shot in Cleveland in what, as the season wound down, seemed like an increasingly unlikely scenario as three starters - Crystal Bradford, Jessica Green and Jewel Cotton - were lost for the season to injuries.
The Chippewas played Monday night without injured freshman guard Cassie Breen, who has been a key reserve all season.
"It's just been one thing after another and I'm just so proud of how we're hanging in there, how we're trusting each other, working with each other, staying together," Guevara said.
The Chippewas were severely tested by NIU (12-17), the MAC's best defensive team which had allowed opponents to score just 56 points per game this season.
The Chippewas used an early 11-0 run to seize a 17-6 lead, and by halftime were up 26-16. The lead hovered in the 5-10 point range throughout most of the second half until NIU drew to within three, 47-44, on a Jenna Thorp jumper with 1:38 left.
CMU 6:41 of the game without a field goal. A pair of Jones free throws with 8 seconds left iced it.
CMU outrebounded the Huskies, 48-32, overall including a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass.
Jones grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and Bracey added 12. It was Bracey's third consecutive double-double.
"Our rebounding and our defense kept us in it because heaven knows it wasn't our offense," Guevara said. "I just give our kids credit for hanging in there.
"Our three seniors (Bracey, Jones and Tamm), these last two games, even the game we lost against Eastern, they're playing their hearts out. It's just so good that they get to go back to Cleveland and our freshmen get to go and get that experience."
The Chippewas held NIU senior Amanda Corral to 11 points. Corral, who was named to the All-MAC First Team on Monday, came in as the MAC's fourth-leading scorer at 16.4 points per game.
"We did a really good job in our zone (defense) of bumping and talking and we knew where she was all the time," Guevara said. "We made it really tough for her to get her points."
Game 3: No. 6 Eastern Michigan 70, No. 11 Kent State 52
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the first time under third-year Head Coach Tory Verdi by way of a 70-52 victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes, March 9, inside the Convocation Center. The six seeded Eagles outscored KSU 43-24 in the second half to even their record to 19-19 all-time in the MAC Tournament.
The Green and White was led by Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers)'s 21 points, including a 3-for-6 mark from downtown. Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) and Jamaica Bucknor (New Haven, Conn.-Weaver (ASA College)) each had solid performances for the Eagles, finishing with 16 points apiece. Morton was only one rebound shy of her first career double-double, while Bucknor needed only two more boards for her third career double-double. CiCi Shannon and Melanee Stubbs led the way offensively for the Golden Flashes with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
EMU shot 40.6 percent (26-for-64) from the floor, including a 56.7 percent (17-for-30) clip in the second half. Kent State finished with a 39.3 shooting percentage, while connecting on 22-of-56 shots. The Eagles forced 17 turnovers, compared to just making six miscues themselves. The Green and White took advantage of the Golden Flashes errors, scoring 19 points off the 17 turnovers. Kent State won the rebound battle (39-37), but the teams each netted 26 points in the paint.
EMU grabbed an early 4-2 advantage following a three-pointer by Sera Ozelci (Ankara, Turkey-TED Ankara College (Odessa College)). The Golden Flashes responded by scoring the next six points to take an 8-4 lead, but another triple from Sweeney put an end to the mini KSU run.
The Green and White took the lead back by scoring seven consecutive points, including five from Morton to take a 14-10 advantage with 11:49 remaining on the first half game clock. Morton answered a Larissa Lurken three-pointer with her second triple of the half to extend the lead, 17-13.
Kent State knotted the score, 19-19, on a Jordan Korinek layup and a Melanee Stubbs jumper with just over seven minutes on the clock. The two teams went scoreless over the next 1:50 until Stubbs knocked down another mid-range jumper to give the Golden Flashes their first lead, 21-19, since the 14:31 mark.
A pair of Bucknor free throws tied the score for the fifth time of the first half, 25-25. Sweeney then cashed in on two-of-three from the line, but Lurken's second long ball of the half gave the Golden Flashes a one-point advantage, 28-27, which is what they would carry into the halftime break.
KSU shot 44.4 percent (12-for-27) from the floor in the opening half compared to a mere 26.5 percent (9-for-34) for the Green and White. Seven different Eagles scored in the opening 20 minutes, led by Morton's eight. Sweeney netted six points while Bucknor chipped in with four points and four rebounds. Stubbs and Lurken led the way for the Golden Flashes in the first half with eight points each. The first half was back-and-forth as the teams traded the lead six times and were tied on five different occasions.
EMU took the lead, 39-32, in the early stages of the second half as Bucknor found a good rhythm on the offensive end of the court. Bucknor knocked down a pair from behind the arc in the first five minutes to open up a seven-point lead for the Eagles. A Morton floater and Sweeney triple on consecutive trips down the court gave the Green and White its first double-digit lead of the game, 44-32, with 13:16 remaining in the second half.
Kent State used a 9-2 run over a span of about two and half minutes to cut into the EMU lead, but the 46-41 deficit was as close as the Golden Flashes would get the remainder of the contest. The Green and White pushed its lead back out to double figures on a Morton layup with just over seven minutes to play in the second half. EMU closed out the final 7:08 on a 16-8 run to secure the 70-52 victory over Kent State.
Eastern Michigan advances to the second round of the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament and will face either No. 7 University of Toledo or No. 10 Miami University Wednesday, March 11, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 2:30 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting EMUTix.com or by calling 734.487.2282.
Game 4: No. 7 Toledo 62, No. 10 Miami 47
Toledo, OH – Freshman guard Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott scored 17 points and sophomore center Sophie Reecher added 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead Toledo to a 62-47 victory over Miami in first-round Women’s Basketball Mid-American Conference Tournament action in Savage Arena Monday night.
The No. 7 seed Rockets advance to play No. 6 seed Eastern Michigan at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Wednesday. Game time is officially 30 minutes after the first game, which begins at noon, putting tipoff at approximately 2:30 p.m.
The Rockets out-rebounded Miami 50-32 and held the Redhawks to 32 percent from the floor and 1-of-14 from three-point range. Junior forward Ana Capotosto and senior guard Inma Zanoguera helped Toledo dominate the boards, adding 10 rebounds each.
Kayla Brown led the Redhawks with 15 points and Hannah McCue contributed nine points.
Toledo (18-12) never trailed to No. 10 seed Miami (7-23). Both teams started slowly, with each squad shooting 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from the floor during the first eight minutes of play. However, the Rockets took a 7-2 lead on a jumper by Zanoguera with 14:27 left in the first half. The Rockets extended their lead to six (10-4) before Miami rallied to cut the lead to 12-9 with 8:51 remaining in the first half. The Midnight Blue and Gold then went on a 10-2 run capped by a couple of free throws from Capotosto to put the Rockets ahead 22-11 with 5:24 left. Toledo would maintain the lead throughout the rest of the first half and take a 30-20 point lead into the locker room.
The Rockets started hot in the second half, extending their lead to 16 (42-26) on a 12-6 run capped by a three pointer from sophomore forward Janice Monakana with 15:56 remaining in the game. Toledo would continue to build the lead to as much as 20 points (56-36) before settling on a 62-47 victory.
