Saturday's Women's Basketball Results
Akron 61, Central Michigan 54
Ball State 77, Miami 68
Buffalo 72, Western Michigan 67
Eastern Michigan 74, Ohio 64
Kent State 73, Northern Illinois 58
Toledo 62, Bowling Green 56
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Akron 61, Central Michigan 54
Boxscore
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The University of Akron women's basketball team parlayed a 21-8 run over the final 10 minutes to punch the Zips' ticket to the Mid-American Conference Tournament next Wednesday, March 8, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with a come-from-behind 61-54 triumph at Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon.
Akron advances to Cleveland for the second consecutive year where the Zips will be the No. 6 seed and face No. 3 Ball State thirty minutes after the conclusion of game three on Wednesday, March 8.
Sophomore F Reagan Bass (Strongsville, Ohio) netted 12 of her team-high 16 points in the second half to go along with a seven-rebound tilt to pace four Zips finishing with double-digit scoring efforts. With her 16-point outing, Bass surpassed the 800-point plateau at Akron, becoming the fastest Zip to reach that scoring benchmark in her 55th career contest.
She was joined by 13-, 12- and 11-point outings from redshirt junior G Layne Ferrell (Franklin, Ohio), senior F Molly Neitzel (Rocky River, Ohio) and senior G Dominique Camp (Dayton, Ohio).
Trailing 46-40 to start the fourth quarter, the Zips opened the stanza on a 9-2 run fueled by baskets from four different players to assume a 49-48 advantage after a bucket and made free throw by Bass at the 6:55 mark.
Akron went ahead to stay, 53-52, on a layup from Ferrell with 4:13 left in the game. Bass added back-to-back layups to extend the Zips' margin to 57-54 before Akron closed the game making its free throws to secure the victory.
The Zips shot nearly 62 percent (.615) in the fourth quarter en route to finishing the afternoon connecting at a. 463 clip from the field, while limiting the Chippewas to a 39.1 percent shooting mark.
The Zips will open MAC Tournament play battling Ball State in the last of four games of the day on Wednesday, March 8 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Ball State 77, Miami 68
Boxscore
OXFORD, Ohio - The Ball State women's basketball team ended the 2023 regular season on a high note earning a 77-68 victory on the road at rival Miami Saturday afternoon in Millett Hall. The Cardinals finished the season tied for second in the MAC standings.
The Cardinals (24-7, 14-4 MAC) had already sealed their fate in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament in early February while the RedHawks (12-19, 7-11 MAC) were still fighting for a spot prior to today's loss. The last time Ball State entered the MAC Tourney in Cleveland as the No. 3 seed was in 2018.
Redshirt senior Anna Clephane tallied another double-digit performance leading the Cardinals' charge with 19 points while going 6-of-6 from the charity stripe and 6-of-13 from the field. Sophomore Madelyn Bischoff chipped in 17 points off 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and teammate graduate senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir rounded out the double digit scoring for Ball State with 11.
The Cardinals opened today's game on mission, outscoring the RedHawks 23-15 in the first quarter of play.
A layup by Agustsdottir at the 6:34 mark in the second frame put the Cardinals up by 10 (29-19). The RedHawks fought back with an 11-5 run to close out the first half cutting Ball State's led to 34-30 at intermission.
After the break, Ball State scored 22 points in the third frame to take its largest of the ball game (53-38) which came off a layup from senior Estel Puiggros with 2:43 remaining. The Cardinals were able to hold onto a double-digit advantage (56-46) despite the RedHawks efforts heading into the final quarter of play.
In the fourth stanza, the RedHawks turned up their defense and were connecting offensively to make it a 3-point ball game (66-63) just under the two-minute mark.
As time was winding down, Clephane was sent to the line making both free throws to keep Ball State in the driver's seat. Miami continued to foul Ball State in its last efforts to win the ball game but Clephane who was perfect from the line, helped the Cardinals seal today's victory.
The Ball State women's basketball team will play in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tourney Wednesday night at approximately 30 minutes following game No. 3 in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse against the No. 6 seed.
Buffalo 72, Western Michigan 67
Boxscore
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's basketball team clinched a spot in the 2023 Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 72-67 win over Western Michigan on Senior Day at Alumni Arena on Wednesday.
The Bulls earned the eighth seed in next week's tournament and will face top-seeded Toledo at 11am on Wednesday, March 8 in the first quarterfinal game of the day at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
Buffalo's seniors shined in the win as they combined for 63 of UB's 72 points on the afternoon. Re'Shawna Stone led all scorers with 23 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists while Zakiyah Winfield recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds while adding six assists. Jazmine Young scored 11 points to go with six rebounds and three steals and senior Latrice Perkins and freshman Hattie Ogden added nine points each.
The Bulls opened the game on a 7-0 run, capped by a triple from Stone, to take an early lead. Western Michigan answered with back-to-back baskets to pull within three, but Ogden answered with a deep three to put UB up 10-4 at the first media timeout. The Broncos used a 7-1 run to tie the game at 11 before Perkins got a bucket plus the foul to put UB back on top. Later, Winfield sliced to the basket for a layup off glass and Stone beat the buzzer with a beautiful reverse layup to give the Bulls an 18-16 lead at the end of the first.
The Broncos hit back-to-back threes to retake the lead early in the second quarter, but the Bulls stayed poised and got aggressive as Winfield drove to the basket for two, Perkins scored on two straight possessions and then Ogden knocked down another triple to put UB up 31-24 at the media timeout. The Bulls extended their run to 11-0 on midrange jumpers from Winfield and a pair of free throws by Young to take a 39-24 lead and force a WMU timeout at the 2:33 mark but the Broncos answered with a pair of threes to cut the UB lead to 39-30 at the half.
Western Michigan opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the UB lead to two and force a timeout at the 6:59 mark. The Broncos then retook the lead on a three before Winfield knocked down a mid-range jumper and Ogden and Winfield drilled back-to-back triples to put UB up 49-45 at the media timeout. Buffalo continued to attack as Perkins and Stone scored on a pair of layups before Young got a long two to drop from the win and Stone finished an acrobatic layup off glass through contact to give Buffalo a 61-52 lead at the end of the third.
Western Michigan made a pair of threes on their opening two possessions to cut the UB lead to three early in the fourth quarter. Both defenses locked down for a stretch before Stone finished a pair of tough layups to put Buffalo up 65-59 at the final media timeout. The Broncos used a 6-1 run to pull within two with 1:26 remaining but that would be as close as they would get as the Bulls converted at the charity stripe and came up with a pair of big stops in the final seconds to secure the victory.
For the third straight game Buffalo won the battle on the glass, outrebounding WMU 41-33 while also holding a 38-22 advantage in the paint. UB added 12 points off WMU turnovers and scored 15 fastbreak points.
Eastern Michigan 74, Ohio 64
Boxscore
ATHENS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- Lachelle Austin (Redford, Mich.-Wayne Memorial) scored 25 points, while Ce'Nara Skanes (Okalhoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West-FIU) added 21 en route to a 74-64 victory over the Ohio University Bobcats on the road Saturday, March 4, in Athens, Ohio.
The win secured a spot for Eastern Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference tournament held March 8-11 inside the RocketMortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Eagles (15-14, 7-11) had three players score in double figures, led by Austin, who had 25 points, six rebounds and four assists. Skanes added her 31st career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds and Tayra Eke (Madrid, Spain-IES Oretega y Gasset-LIU) chipped in as well with 12 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Led by Eke's four offensive rebounds, Eastern Michigan did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 14 boards that resulted in 11 second chance points.
The Eagles defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Saturday's game, forcing 15 Ohio turnovers while committing 14. Those takeaways turned into 16 points on the other end of the floor. Eke's three steals led the way individually for the Eagles.
After falling behind 16-15, Eastern Michigan went on an 8-0 run with 1:30 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from Skanes, to take a 23-16 lead, a score that would hold for the rest of the period. The Eagles capitalized on six Ohio turnovers in the period, turning them into six points on the other end of the floor.
Ohio fought back to tie the game at 32-32 before EMU went on another 8-0 run starting at the 1:27 mark in the second period, this time highlighted by a bucket from Austin, to take a 40-32 lead. Eastern scored five of its 17 total points in the period on second chance opportunities created by pulling down five offensive rebounds.
The team continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on a 7-0 run, punctuated by another basket from Austin, to expand its lead further to 55-42 with 3:44 to go in the third. Before the conclusion of the third period, the Bobcats had cut into that lead somewhat, but the Eagles still entered the fourth quarter with a 60-48 edge. Eastern Michigan played well near the basket, scoring 14 of its 20 points in the paint.
The Eagles then held on for the victory in the fourth quarter. Eastern Michigan took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring eight of its 14 points in the paint.
With its 23 points in the opening stanza against the Bobcats, March 4, the Green and White finished the 2022-23 regular season having scored at least 15 points in the opening quarter of a contest 16 times (55 percent) with five of those games being in the 20+ point range. The team recorded three separate first quarter scores of 22 with today's 23 points marking the team's season high. Additionally, it marked the 15th game where the Eagles have led its opponent after the first 10 minutes of play.
The Eagles did a great job holding its lead over Ohio, March 4, as the team headed into the locker room with a 40-32 halftime lead. It was the 14th time that EMU has led its opponents at the half this season improving from last season's eight. After today's win/loss, the team finished the 2022-23 regular season 11-3 in games when the Eagles are leading at the half.
EMU saw three players score in double-digit figures against the Bobcats, March 4, highlighted by Skanes' 21, Austin's 25, and Eke's 12. The group's 58 collective points accounted for 78 percent of the team's scoring output with Austin's 25 points representing 34 percent. Additionally, it was the 20th game this year in which the team has registered three or more players in double figures, topping last season's 17.
Austin recorded a team-leading 25 points. It marked the 24th contest in which the sophomore has dropped double-digit points and the 10th leading the Green and White in scoring. Additionally, her nine made field goals marked as a career high, recording eight in three previous occasions.
Olivia Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind.-South Side) connected on one shot from beyond the three-point line in the game against Ohio, March 4. It marked her 50th season make from the three-point line, and maintained her team-leader status in made triples.
Skanes has added the three-point shot to her repertoire this season and continued to do so as she connected on a single triple in the game against the Bobcats, March 4. It marked her 14th contest with a single made three. Moreover, the Oklahoma City native has knocked down 24 three-pointers in the 2022-23 season after hitting just one in her previous campaigns.
This season, five Eagles have put up 20-plus scoring performances for the Green and White. After dropping 21 against Ohio, March 4, Skanes leads the team with five contests recording 20 or more points setting a season high 26 against WMU, Feb. 11. Following Skanes is Austin, who collected 25 points against the Bobcats improving her record to four games recording the feat, with the 25 today being her highest.
With both Austin and Skanes entering the 20-point plateau against Ohio, March 4, it marked the first time this season in which the Eagles have recorded two or more players with 20 or more points in a single game. The last time the feat was accomplished was Jan. 23, 2019, when former Eagles Corrione Cardwell and Courtnie Lewis dropped 20 points each at Western Michigan.
With her 21 points in the win over OU, March 4, Skanes has now been in the double-digit plateau in 20 games this season and 57 in her career, the most by any current Eagle. Last year, she dropped double figures in 18 total games, the second best on the team behind Areanna Comb's 22 on the season.
Austin led the team in triples, contributing two from the arc against the Bobcats, March 4. It marked the 19th contest in which the sophomore has registered a made three-pointer and her eighth of the season leading the team. Last year, Austin recorded a made three in just 14 outings, leading the Green and White in just three.
In just her ninth game collecting at least one block, Austin added a single stop to the team's total three blocks with Eke accounting for the other two.
The Eagles held the Bobcats to only 38.6 percent (22-of-57) shooting from the field in the game, March 4. It was the 15th time this season the team has kept its opponent from shooting above 40 percent from the field. Eastern has out-shot its competitors in all instances but three. The Green and White are 11-4 in games where its competitors shoot less than 40 percent from the field. Additionally, the Eagles are 14-1 when shooting better than its foe.
Today's matchup marked the 67th meeting between EMU and Ohio. Despite the win in favor of EMU, the Bobcats lead the all-time series, 39-28. Additionally, the team picked up Head Coach Fred Castro's third victory over the Bobcats.
After posting 21 points and 11 rebounds against Ohio, March 4, Skanes has recorded double-doubles in 31 of her 75 career games at EMU (41%), the best percentage of anyone on the 2022-23 roster. Prior to the most recent season, former Eagles Sarah VanMetre and Olivia Fouty tied for the most double-doubles in EMU history with 17.
EMU has registered a total of 123 blocks in the 29 games played (4.2 blocks per game). A season ago, the Green and White earned 88 blocks in 27 games (3.3 blocks per game). Not only did the Eagles surpass the previous season's total in almost half the amount of games, but they are on pace to have the most successful blocking average in program history with only MAC tournament play left in the 2022-23 season.
As the regular season comes to an end, the Eagles will travel to Cleveland, Ohio, for the 2023 MAC tournament held inside the Rocke tMortgage Fieldhouse, March 8-11.
Kent State 73, Northern Illinois 58
Boxscore
KENT, Ohio — The Kent State women's basketball team defeated Northern Illinois, 73-58, on Saturday afternoon and will enter the Mid-American Conference Tournament with 20 wins for the first time since 2011.
The Golden Flashes (20-9, 12-6 MAC) knocked down 13 three-point field goals on Senior Day to give Clare Kelly, Annie Pavlansky, Lindsey Thall and Hannah Young a victory in their final game at the M.A.C. Center
Casey Santoro scored a season-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting and added seven rebounds and four assists. Katie Shumate also grabbed seven boards and finished with 17 points.
Kent State scored the first six points of the game on three-pointers by Thall and Pavlansky, but the Huskies answered with eight in a row to take the lead. The Flashes countered with a 10-0 run and led 20-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Corynne Hauser opened the second period with a basket to increase the lead to nine, but a scoring drought of more than five minutes followed as NIU drew even at 22-22. The Flashes made three of their final five shots of the quarter to take a 30-26 lead at halftime.
Kent State closed the third period with a 12-3 run over the final 3:19 to build the lead to 14. It started with three-pointers by Thall and Santoro. Following a Huskies triple, Santoro answered with her own three-pointer and Kelly drained a shot from long range as time expired in the quarter.
NIU cut the deficit to seven with 7:17 remaining, but Kelly and Shumate pushed the lead back to 13 with back-to-back three-point shots. The Huskies got within nine points with 4:33 to play, but Kent State thwarted a comeback effort with a 12-6 run to close it out.
The Flashes finished with seven turnovers and have committed single-digit giveaways in five of the past six contests.
Kent State and Northern Illinois will meet again on Wednesday, March 8 in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal contest at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
Toledo 62, Bowling Green 56
Boxscore
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's basketball team clinched its second straight outright Mid-American Conference Championship on Saturday with a thrilling 62-56 comeback victory vs. Bowling Green.
In front of a regular-season record 6,086 fans at Savage Arena on Saturday, Toledo overcame a 17-point point deficit against arch-rival Bowling Green (25-5, 14-4 MAC) in the Battle of I-75 presented by Cooper Tires. It was the second-straight double-digit comeback for UT and the fourth such comeback victory during the team's 13-game winning streak.
The Rockets (25-4, 16-2 MAC) will be the No. 1 seed in next week's MAC Tournament and will face No. 8 Buffalo at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 8 in the first quarterfinal game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
Toledo led for much of the first quarter on Saturday before BGSU scored nine unanswered points to take a 14-9 lead at the break. The Falcons' lead grew to nine points at halftime and ballooned to 17 points, 37-20, with 5:49 to go in the third quarter. The Rockets proceeded to score nine straight points to pull within nine, and ended the quarter on a 9-2 run to pull within five, 45-40, heading into the fourth.
Toledo opened the fourth quarter with 10 straight points to turn a five-point deficit into a five-point lead and never looked back. Junior Nan Garcia led the charge with eight points on 4-of-4 shooting in the final quarter and put an exclamation point on Saturday's victory with an emphatic block in the closing seconds.
Garcia scored 10 points off the bench on Saturday and was one of three Rockets to score in double figures. Junior Sammi Mikonowicz tallied her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while making 8-of-10 free throws. Mikonowicz nearly had a double-double in the second half alone, scoring 14 points and pulling down eight boards after halftime. Senior Quinesha Lockett scored 13 points, her 28th double-digit scoring effort of the season.
Toledo shot 47.5% from the floor, including a robust 65.0% (13-of-20) in the second half. The Rockets also outrebounded Bowling Green 23-10 in the second half as well.
Bowling Green was led by Elissa Brett and her game-high 23 points, 21 of which came on three-point field goals. The Falcons shot 29.4% from the field and made just 3-of-16 shots in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets scored the first five points of the game, and a three-pointer by Sammi Mikonowicz put them ahead 5-0 at the 8:11 mark of the quarter.
Both teams exchanged baskets over the next four minutes, and a layup by Nan Garcia with 3:54 to go kept UT's lead at four points, 9-5. Bowling Green ended the quarter with nine straight points to take a 14-9 lead into the break.
An Elissa Brett three pointer extended the Falcons' lead to 18-10 at the 8:16 mark. After a 4-0 run by the Rockets, Brett made a jumper to put the Falcons ahead 23-16 with 2:54 left until halftime.
Jocelyn Tate scored four points at the end of the quarter to push give the Falcons a 27-18 advantage going into halftime. Neither team saw much shooting success in the second quarter, as Toledo shot 30.0% (6-of-20) and BGSU made just 4-of-19 shots (21.1%).
Jessica Cook led the Rockets in the first half with six points and added four rebounds.
BGSU's Lexi Fleming opened the second half with a three-pointer that sparked a 10-2 run. The Falcons led by a game-high 17 points, 37-20, with 5:49 left in the quarter.
The Rockets immediately responded with nine straight points to make it a 37-29 ballgame, but Bowling Green quickly rebuilt its lead back up to 12. Toledo ended the third quarter by scoring 9 of the last 11 points to pull within five, 45-40, with one quarter to play.
The Rockets came out firing to begin the fourth quarter, scoring the first 10 points to take their first lead since the first quarter. Garcia opened the scoring with back-to-back baskets to put UT within a point, and Mikonowicz drained a pair of free throws at the 7:50 mark to put Toledo ahead 46-45.
Brett's sixth three-pointer of the game put the Falcons back within a point, 50-49, with 4:14 to play, but they would get no closer. Toledo turned it over with 30 seconds remaining, but Garcia chased Brett down and sent her shot attempt flying, sending the Savage Arena crowd into a frenzy with her emphatic block.
The MAC's top free throw shooting team, Toledo overcame some early struggles from the line to go 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the closing seconds to ice the game.
