Saturday’s Women’s Basketball Results
Ball State 78, Eastern Michigan 74
Central Michigan 89, Northern Illinois 51
Bowling Green 73, Kent State 69
Miami 66, Green Bay 50
Saint Louis 80, Ohio 74
Youngstown State 72, UMass 69
Delaware 75, Akron 56
Abilene Christian 72, Buffalo 48
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications
Ball State 78, Eastern Michigan 74
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State women's basketball team earned a gritty 78-74 victory Saturday afternoon in Worthen Arena over Eastern Michigan in the Cardinals' Mid-American Conference opener.
It came to no surprise that the Cardinals (9-4, 1-0 MAC) league opener against a much-improved Eastern Michigan (6-5, 0-1 MAC) team would come down to the wire. The game consisted of 14 lead changes and seven ties throughout the 40-minute duration.
Ball State opened the first quarter of play with a 12-2 run which was highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Grace Kingery. The Eagles stayed close throughout the first 10 minutes of action, but Kingery came through again with her third 3-pointer at the buzzer to give BSU the 22-14 edge over EMU to end the first frame.
The Eagles opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run that would give EMU the 24-22 lead with 7:47 on the clock. Bree Salenbien finally broke BSU's scoring drought after completing an old fashioned 3-pointer to put BSU back on top, 25-24.
After that, it was an up-an-down affair as both teams continued to trade baskets. Ball State unfortunately fell into some foul trouble which caused the Cardinals to readjust its lineup. After multiple lead changes Ball State wrapped up the first half of play with another trey from Kingery to give Ball State the 41-39 edge over the Eagles at the break.
After the intermission, EMU began the third frame with a 15-6 run to go up 54-47 with 4:20 left on the clock. Tessa Towers answered with a jumper which sparked a 17-0 scoring spree that was capped off by a Zuri Ransom basket to give BSU a 10-point cushion (64-54) with 39 seconds left in the third. Ball State would end up taking a seven-point edge (64-57) over the Eagles into the final 10 minutes of play.
The final stanza came down to BSU's defense, smart plays, along with key baskets and rebounding. The Cardinals never gave up eventually earning the victory over EMU today.
For the game, Kingery led Ball State with 21 points after shooting 5-of-6 (.833) from behind the arc while Towers chipped in 20 points. Karsyn Norman dished out eight assists and Aniss Tagayi recorded seven rebounds.
As a team, rebounding was a huge factor in today's outcome with the Cardinals leading that category over the Eagles, 39-20.
Central Michigan 89, Northern Illinois 51
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Central Michigan Women's Basketball outscored Northern Illinois, 55-21, in the second half to collect an 89-51 Mid-American Conference victory on Saturday.
"They played really well together," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said. "The players have been in the gym shooting, so that is what happens: you make shots when you put in extra time.
The Chippewas used a 10-0 run to claim the final lead change midway through the second quarter, but still led by just four, 34-30, going into the break.
Reigning MAC Freshman of the Year Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) posted 26 points, 17 in the first half, on eight-of-12 from the field and seven-of-eight from the free throw line. The performance marked her third game of the season with 20-plus points, 13th of her career.
"We made some adjustments on the offensive end [at halftime] but, really, it was our defense. The last three quarters were led by our defense and our rebounding."
Central Michigan outrebounded the Huskies, 49-23, led by senior captain Taylor Anderson (South Lyon, Mich. / East) who posted a career-high 17 rebounds, 12 in the second half, to go with five steals, four assists and six points.
"Defense and rebounding is about toughness. It's the want-to, the heart, the effort. I'm proud of her, she brings a lot to us. She deserved that."
Freshman point guard Lilah Turnbull (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Western Reserve) collected a season-high 11 points via three three-pointers, after her previous high was set at nine at Valparaiso Wednesday night.
The Chippewas shot 50 percent from three-point range (14-of-28) including a five-of-seven mark in a 31-point third quarter that featured a pair of strikes from Riley Smith (Miamisburg, Ohio / Archbishop Alter), who finished with nine points.
Nekhu Mitchell (Baltimore, Md. / McDonogh) and Rylan Buschell (Belleville, Mich. / Belleville) combined for 16 points, all in the second half. Mitchell produced a career-high seven assists and an emphatic three-quarter-court buzzer-beater to end the third quarter.
CMU posted two crucial runs en route to the knockout.
The 10-0 run in the first half began with a Morson interception and fastbreak bucket one minute into the second quarter; the first of three makes from beyond the arc from Jayda Mosley (Cincinnati, Ohio / Purcell Marian) marked the final lead change, 26-23 with 5:50 left in the quarter.
A 10-1 run in the final 90 seconds of the third quarter triggered the first 20-point lead, capped by Mitchell's buzzer-beating heave. The onslaught turned into a 27-4 run by the five-minute mark of the fourth. Mitchell and Buschell combined for 12 of the 27 points in those six-and-a-half minutes.
The victory marked the first win of 30-plus in MAC play since March 9, 2019 (Toledo, 78-45), which was also the last time CMU won back-to-back games by 30-plus. The Chippewas defeated Valparaiso, 91-41, Wednesday night before Saturday.
Bowling Green 73, Kent State 69
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team opened the Mid-American Conference schedule on a successful note Saturday afternoon (Dec. 20), picking up a victory over the preseason league favorite. The Falcons topped Kent State University, 73-69, at the Stroh Center.
Johnea Donahue had a double-double for the Falcons (8-4, 1-0 MAC), who increased the current winning streak to seven games. The sophomore, who missed the last two games due to injury, had game-high totals of 19 points and 11 rebounds, and went 3-for-4 from three-point range.
Kaia Woods had 18 points and eight boards for the Falcons, with Paige Kohler scoring 14 points to round out BGSU's double-digit trio.
The Golden Flashes (5-7, 0-1 MAC) got 17 points from Corynne Hauser and 10 from Mya Babbitt.
KSU came out hot, scoring the game's first seven points, but BGSU battled back to take a two-point lead after the opening quarter. Then, the Orange and Brown forged ahead by as many as 15 points late in the second period, before taking a 14-point advantage into the half.
BGSU answered each third-quarter foray by the Flashes, and the Falcons led by 10 heading to the fourth. The visitors got within three points on three occasions in the game's last three minutes, but the hosts had an answer each time, as Lauren Gerken hit a layup and Donahue went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line in the game's final 14 seconds.
Miami 66, Green Bay 50
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – Behind arguably their best defensive effort of the season, the Miami University women's basketball team dominated Green Bay 66-50 on Saturday afternoon. The RedHawks (8-4, 0-0 MAC) held the Phoenix to 32.6% shooting and forced 23 turnovers in the win. Ilse de Vries posted career-bests in points (20) and blocks (4), while Jenna Guyer had 12 points for Green Bay (8-5, 3-0 Horizon).
Joining de Vries is double figures were Amber Tretter (14 – all in the second half), Tamar Singer (14) and Amber Scalia (12).
How it Happened:
- Green Bay opened the contest on a 14-7 run, which included back-to-back triples midway through the opening quarter. The Phoenix continued their hot shooting, making their fourth three-pointer of the first quarter to push their advantage to 17-9. Singer split a pair of defenders for a layup as time expired to trail 18-11 after 10 minutes of play.
- de Vries knocked in Miami's first triple of the game (started 0-7) to begin the second quarter to close to within 18-15. Green Bay pushed their lead back to five, 20-15, but five-straight points from Scalia knotted the game at 20 apiece. After the Phoenix converted a free throw, Singer added a pair from the charity stripe for Miami's second lead of the contest, 22-21. Both teams went to the locker room with the scored tied, 24-24.
- de Vries scored Miami's first six points of the second half and Tretter's fast-break layup forced a Green Bay timeout three minutes into the quarter. Green Bay trimmed the deficit to four, 44-40, before back-to-back layups from Singer and Tretter to close out the quarter spotted the Red and White a 48-40 advantage with 10 minutes to play.
- Miami used a 9-2 run to open the fourth to claim a 13-point advantage midway through the final stanza. After a bucket from the Phoenix, Singer and Scalia converted three-straight free throws to push Miami's lead, 62-47. Green Bay would get no closer.
