MAC Women's Basketball Tournament Continues Today in Cleveland
MAC Women's Basketball Tournament Central
MAC Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket
MAC Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals (Cleveland, OH)
No. 8 Buffalo No. 1 Ohio, 12:00 PM (Live Stream)
No. 5 Akron at No. 4 Toledo, 30 Min. Following (Live Stream)
No. 7 Western Michigan at No. 2 Central Michgian, 30 Min. Following (Live Stream)
No. 6 Eastern Michigan at No. 3 Ball State, 30 Min. Following (Live Stream)
No. 8 Buffalo No. 1 Ohio, 12:00 PM
(Live Stream) |
Live Stats
Buffalo: Making their fourth straight trip to the Mid-American Conference quarterfinals, the University at Buffalo women's basketball team (17-13, 8-10 MAC) is set to take on top-seeded Ohio on Wednesday at 12:00 pm at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The Bulls enter the MAC Tournament as the eight-seed while the Bobcats enter as the one-seed after going 16-2 in the MAC during the regular season.
Earning their fourth straight trip to the quarters, the Bulls will have to pull off a very difficult feat in order to make another semifinals appearance, beat a team three times in a season. The Bulls have handed the Bobcats their only two conference losses of the season as they look to bounce the defending MAC champs from the Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. The Ohio Bobcats enter Wednesday's MAC Quarterfinal matchup with the Bulls finishing the regular season as the top-seed. The Bobcats went 24-5 overall and 16-2 in MAC play, with both losses coming to the Bulls. Ohio is led by first team All-MAC performer Kiyanna Black who is averaging 18.4 points and 3.4 rebounds while making a MAC-high 112 three-pointers. Quiera Lampkins ranks second on the squad in scoring, averaging 14.2 points and 4.9 rebounds, while also earning second team All-MAC honors and MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Lampkins notched a MAC-leading 72 steals on the year. The Bobcats are averaging a MAC-high 72.9 PPG while allowing 59.1 PPG defensively.
Ohio: The number one seeded Ohio women’s basketball team (24-5, 16-2 MAC) begins its quest for back-to-back Mid-American Conference Titles on Wednesday, March 9 when the Bobcats take on No.8 Buffalo (17-13, 8-10 MAC) in the quarterfinals. This is the 46th Mid-American Conference game the Bobcats will take part in. The Bobcats are 18-27 all-time in MAC Tournamen games. Ohio is entering the tournament as the number one seed for the fourth time in program history. With a win against Bowling Green on March 2, the Bobcats clinched the number one seed and the MAC Regular Season title for the second-straight season. Buffalo is the only team to beat Ohio in conference play this season. This is the 24th meeting all-time against Ohio and Buffalo and the Bulls leads the all-time series 18-6. Last season, the Bobcats defeated the Bulls 63-55 in the semi finals of the MAC Tournament.
No. 5 Akron at No. 4 Toledo, 30 Min. Following
(Live Stream) |
Live Stats
Akron: Akron will be playing in its 30th all-time Mid-American Conference Tournament game when the Zips battle Toledo on Wednesday, March 9, at Quicken Loans Arena. Akron holds an 10-19 tournament record since 1995, including victories in six of its last eight tournament tilts. The Zips are 9-8 under head coach Jodi Kest and own 3-10, 4-6, 2-2 and 1-1 records, respectively, in the tournament's opening round, quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship game.
Akron holds a 1-4 all-time record in tournament action versus the Rockets with the Zips edging Toledo in the last meeting, 83-69, in the quarterfinal round on March 13, 2014. Akron is playing as the No. 5 seed for the first time in program history. A No. 5 seed has never won the MAC Tournament title, with fifth-seeded Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan advancing to the title game in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Eleven current Zips have garnered playing time in the Mid-American Conference Tournament led by senior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio), who will be playing in her ninth tournament contest, versus Toledo. Anita Brown averages a team-best 11.3 points per game in tournament play, while junior Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio), sophomore Greta Burry (Lakewood, Ohio) and senior DiAndra Gibson (Ravenna, Ohio) are registering 5.2, 5.0 and 3.5 tallies, respectively. DiAndra Gibson is pulling down a team-high 6.2 rebounds in six career tournament tilts.
Toledo: The Rockets enter the postseason tourney having won eight of their last 11 games to secure a bye to the quarterfinals.For the year, the Rockets are fueled offensively by the trio of All-MAC players Harris, Bravo-Harriott and junior Janice Monakana, who are averaging 14.5, 11.1 and 11.0 ppg, respectively.
UT is 47-15 (.758) against MAC East Division opponents over the last seven-plus seasons under head coach Tricia Cullop, including a 5-6 mark (.455) vs. Akron. Thus far in 2015-16, Toledo has tallied a 6-2 ledger (.750) against cross-division foes. The Zips advanced to the quarterfinal round of the post-season tourney with a 66-54 victory against No. 12 seed Miami at home on Monday. 2015-16 first-team All-MAC honoree Anita Brown paced UA with 29 points, five helpers and five thefts. Akron, which is 7-8 away from home this season, features three players averaging at least 10.0 points and is led by Brown and Hannah Plybon at 21.6 and 16.4 ppg, respectively. UT and UA will meet for the second time this year and 52nd time overall. The Rockets dropped an 81-71 decision against the Zips in James A. Rhodes Arena on Jan. 20.
No. 7 Western Michigan at No. 2 Central Michgian, 30 Min. Following
(Live Stream) |
Live Stats
Western Michigan: Western Michigan is 15-24 all-time in the MAC Tournament and 5-3 under head coach Shane Clipfell. WMU made it to the second round in each of Clipfell’s four seasons and made an appearance in the quarterfinals last season, the farthest the team has gone since 2008. The Broncos have won two MAC Tournament championships in their history (1985, 2003). WMU leads the all-time series 3-2 against Central Michigan in the MAC Tournament and knocked the Chippewas out last season with an 81-68 win in the second round.
The Broncos dominated Northern Illinois from start to finish in the MAC Tournament First Round, setting a new WMU record for the largest margin of victory in a MAC Tournament game in school history (42 points). The Broncos scored 53 points in the first half, making it their highest scoring half of the season and held NIU to just 14 points in the second half. WMU went 10-for-22 from beyond the arc, its best performance from beyond the arc in nine games. Senior Jessica Jessing finished with 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc while junior Meredith Shipman had 18, senior Alex Morton finished with 15 points and seven assists and senior Deborah Meeks added 13 points.
Central Michigan: CMU (20-9) is the surprise team of the MAC, winning the West Division with a 14-4 record and earning the No. 2 seed in the tournament in a season that has far exceeded expectations even among the most optimistic in and around the program. All four of the Chippewas' MAC losses were by six points or less, and two of them came in overtime. On the flip side, their 14 wins came by an average of 11-plus points, but only a few were blowouts. They won three one-point games, another by two points, and seven of their wins came by nine points or less. The Chippewas swept the season series from Western Michigan, taking a 53-51 nail-biter at home on Jan. 27 then winning Kalamazoo, 73-61, nearly two weeks ago. CMU went 4-0 this season against their potential semifinal opponents, Ball State and Eastern Michigan, though all four contests were very competitive and the Chippewas won two of them by one point.
No. 6 Eastern Michigan at No. 3 Ball State, 30 Min. Following
(Live Stream) |
Live Stats
Eastern Michigan: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team continues its postseason run Wednesday, March 9, against Ball State University in the quarterfinal round of the 2016 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. The Eagles, seeded sixth in the tournament, were swept by the No. 3-seeded Cardinals in their two regular season meetings. BSU raced to a 76-54 victory in Muncie, Ind., Jan. 20, and held on for a 67-63 decision on senior day in Ypsilanti, Feb. 27. Coming off a 73-60 victory over 11th-seeded Kent State, March 9, the Eagles enter the game with a mark of 20-10 and will be playing its second game on a neutral court this season. Meanwhile, Ball State earned the right to advance to Cleveland with a 68-58 victory in the regular season finale at Toledo, March 5, to up its record to 21-8.
Ball State: The No. 3 seeded Ball State women’s basketball team earned an automatic bye as the third seed advancing straight to the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Ball State enters the contest on a three-game win streak after closing the MAC regular season with wins over Eastern Michigan (67-63), Northern Illinois (76-68) and Toledo (68-58). Ball State owns a 2-0 ledger over the Eagles this season. The Cardinals lost to Eastern Michigan in the semifinal round last season at the MAC Tournament. by a score of 75-65.
This marks the 26th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in program history. Ball State has advanced to Cleveland in 15 out of the past 17 seasons. The Cardinals are 20-24 all-time in MAC Tournament play and have advanced to the MAC Tournament finals on five occasions. Ball State defeated Bowling Green in 2009 in the MAC Tournament Championship game. This is the third time in current head coach Brady Sallee’s tenure the Cardinals have punched their ticket straight to the MAC Tournament in Cleveland. Prior to that, Ball State had not received a bye in the MAC Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena since 2009, when the Cardinals won the event as the No. 2 seed.
