Women's Basketball

Miami Becomes Only Undefeated Team in Conference Play

Saturday's Women's Basketball Results
Massachusetts 65, Bowling Green 64
Miami 72, Ball State 52
Kent State 84, Buffalo 74
Eastern Michigan 72, Northern Illinois 62
Toledo 75, Ohio 66
Central Michigan 64, Western Michigan 44
 
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Massachusetts 65, Bowling Green 64
Box Score
AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts women's basketball (14-4,6-2 MAC) defeated Bowling Green (10-9, 3-5 MAC), 64-62, during a Saturday morning matchup at Mullins Center.    

In a back-and-forth battle that included 20 lead changes and the largest combined lead being just five, stingy defense and key shooting down the stretch proved to be the difference for the Minutewomen. Allie Palmieri led UMass with 20 points, including what proved to be the game winning basket, connecting on a top-of-the-key triple with 1:12 left in the game – a lead Massachusetts never lost. Palmieri added four rebounds and two steals in the effort.  

Yahmani McKayle chipped in 16 points, including a half-court heave that found the bottom of the net to conclude the first half. McKayle's heroic shot put UMass up 34-32 at the break. The Queen's, N.Y. native added eight assists, four boards and a pair of triples. Megan Olbrys also netted 16 points of her own, along with seven rebounds and three assists. 

The Minutewomen defense made life miserable for the Falcons, forcing Bowling Green into two shot clock violations, both of which came in the third quarter, a five second violation in the fourth, and drew three charges in the contest.  

Collectively, UMass tallied 32 rebounds with seven coming on the offensive end, dished out 15 assists and swiped 10 steals. The Minutewomen shot over 50 percent for the third time this season, connecting on 26-of-51 attempts for a .511 percentage. All three 50 percent shooting nights or better have come at home, shooting .516 against UMass Lowell on Nov. 18 and .507 against Seina on Nov. 8.  

UMass remains unbeaten at home, being 8-0 for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign when the Minutewomen went a perfect 12-0. 

Breaking Down The Action    

  • Allie Palmieri started the scoring for the Minutewomen, faking a defender and pulling up to her right from the free throw line, giving UMass a 2-0 20 seconds into the game.  
  • Following an Ayanna Franks second chance layup, Palmieri consecutive midrange jumpers, to bring her point total to six early and giving Massachusetts an 8-4 lead at 7:04. 
  • After Palmieri's first triple of the day found the bottom of the day at 3:49, Chinenye Odenigbo finished at the rim at 2:59 in her return after a three-game absence.  
  • An Olbrys block on the defensive end turned to instant offense for the Minutewomen, as Yahmani McKayle finished through contact in transition at 1:01 to give UMass a 19-18 lead. 
  • McKayle scored on the ensuing possession with a pull up jumper one step inside the arc with 0:11 left in the quarter, giving UMass a 21-20 lead. 
  • Strong defense once again turned into easy offense, as a Palmieri steal lead to a wide-open McKayle fastbreak layup at 8:14 to put Massachusetts up 25-22. 
  • Jess Ross ended a 6:03 scoreless streak for the Minutewomen with a layup at 2:11, and Megan Olbrys layup on the ensuing possession knotted the game up at 29 with 1:35 left to play in the half. 
  • McKayle's half-court prayer at the second half buzzer was answered, hitting nothing but net to give the Minutewomen a 34-32 lead at the break. 
  • McKayle hit her second triple of the day to open the second half, connecting from a more-reasonable top of the key area to put UMass up 37-32 with 8:13 to play in the third quarter. 
  • Olbrys connected on a pair of free throws to keep the lead, 42-39, with 2:54 to play in the third quarter and finished at the rim a minute of game time later to go up 44-41 with 2:00 left in the penultimate quarter. 
  • Aiyanna Perkins responded to a Falcons triple by putting her head down and finishing at the rim, to keep UMass ahead, 48-47, with 8:57 left in the game.  
  • Palmieri hit nothing but net on a step back triple from the right wing, responding to back-to-back Bowling Green threes to put the Minutewomen back up by one, 51-50, at 9:10. 
  • Palmieri finished around a defender in the air on a mid-range jumper, to bring UMass back ahead, 55-54, with 4:46 left.  
  • McKayle hit Olbrys underneath for an easy finish, and on the next possession Olbrys collected and finished a Palmieri miss to put UMass up 59-57 at 3:56.  
  • Palmieri muscled a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast to give the Minutewomen a two possesion lead to go up 61-57 with 3:29 left in the game. 
  • After a 5-0 Falcons run gave Bowling Green a 62-61 lead, Palmieri sized up her defender and buried a top-of-the-key trey to give the Minutewomen a 64-62 lead with 1:12 to play. 
  • Trailing by three, Bowling Green hit a last-second layup to bring the final to 65-64 in favor of the Minutewomen.   

The Minutewomen return on the road for a conference matchup against Ohio on Wednesday, January 28, at 7:00 p.m., on ESPN+, in Athens, Ohio. 
 


Miami 72, Ball State 52
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Miami University women's basketball team used a 27-9 third quarter to roll pass the Ball State Cardinals, 72-52 on Saturday afternoon. Ilse de Vries scored a career-high 23 points and was joined by Amber Tretter (18), Amber Scalia (16) and Tamar Singer (11) in double figures as the RedHawks won at Ball State for the first time since Dec. 3, 1998. Miami improves to 16-4 overall and 8-0 in Mid-American Conference play, while the Cardinals fall to 15-5 (7-1 MAC).

The Cardinals entered the contest as the top scoring team in the MAC (78.4 ppg.), but were held to a season-low 52 points. Miami forced the Cardinals into 13 turnovers and knocked down nine three-pointers to claim the top spot in the MAC regular season standings.

How it Happened:
  • Ball State scored the game's first five points, but five-straight from Scalia tied the game at five apiece. The RedHawks claimed their first lead of the contest following a triple from Tretter and after Ball State secured a layup, Tretter drove past her defender for a 10-7 lead. de Vries' triple made it 15-9, but four-straight points from the Cardinals closed the gap, 15-13 with 60 seconds left in the opening quarter. As time expired, Scalia knocked down a three-pointer to put the Red and White up 18-13 after 10 minutes of action.
  • With the shot clock expiring, Singer drilled a long three-point to push Miami's advantage to 25-16 three minutes into the second quarter. Moments later de Vries split a pair of defenders to claim the RedHawks' largest lead of the half, 27-16. The Cardinals used 14-4 run to close to within 31-30, but a de Vries triple as time expired sent the RedHawks to the locker room up 34-30.
  • The third quarter started just like the second ended with a de Vries triple. Ball State scored four-straight to get within 39-35, before Tretter's step-back three-pointer pushed Miami's lead to seven points, forcing a BSU timeout.  Following the timeout, Miami went on a 7-2 run to claim a 49-37 advantage, forcing a second Ball State timeout of the half. The timeout did little to slow down the RedHawks. Miami scored on four-straight layups to claim a 20-point lead, 57-37. The RedHawks led 61-39 entering the fourth quarter.
  • Miami led by as many as 25 points in the final stanza and the Cardinals never got closer than 20 points during the final 10 minutes of action.
Game Notes:
  • Ilse de Vries scored a career 23 points, which included a career-best five tree pointers. She added seven rebounds and two blocks.
  • Tamar Singer, who entered the contest third in the nation in assists per game (7.6), had eight dimes in the win.
  • The RedHawks had 42 points in the paint, compared to 28 for the Cardinals.
Miami returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 28 for a noon showdown at Northern Illinois.


Kent State 84, Buffalo 74
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Junior Riley Rismiller scored a career-high 25 points on Saturday as Kent State defeated host Buffalo, 84-74, for its fourth consecutive victory.

Rismiller shot 11-of-12 from the floor, matching the program record for highest single-game field goal percentage (.917) set just seven days ago by sophomore Emory Klatt against rival Akron. Led by Rismiller, the Golden Flashes (9-10, 4-4 MAC) totaled 42 points in the paint and have scored at least 40 in three games during the winning streak.

Junior Mya Babbitt was right behind with 23 points and freshman Anna Campanelli added a career-high 19 points off the bench.

Sophomore Journey Hildebrand opened the scoring with a three-pointer and Babbitt added two more for a quick 9-2 lead. Babbitt knocked down four of six shots and totaled 10 points in the period, which ended with Kent State ahead 20-13.

An efficient second quarter in which the Flashes shot 57.1-percent from the field and had just one turnover extended the advantage to 45-31 at halftime.

Buffalo made its first five shots to start the third period, trimming its deficit to six. Campanelli then sank a shot from just outside the lane off a strong drive to the basket to start a 13-3 run. The Bulls were held without another field goal until more than a minute into the fourth as Kent State increased its lead to 16.

Back-to-back layups by Rismiller put the Flashes ahead by 18, their largest lead of the game, with 7:35 remaining.

Kent State will be back on the road against Toledo on Wednesday, Jan. 28 before returning to the M.A.C. Center on Sunday, Feb. 1 to host Ball State in a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network.


Eastern Michigan 72, Northern Illinois 62
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team beat Northern Illinois University, 72-62, capturing its second consecutive Mid-American Conference victory Saturday afternoon, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center, Jan. 24. 
 
The win marked the first occurrence of consecutive MAC wins for the Eagles since 2023, and the first time with consecutive MAC wins in the same season since the 2022-23 campaign. 
 
Four Eagles scored in double figures, led by Sisi Eleko's 10th double-double of the season, scoring a season-best 25 points while grabbing 15 rebounds. Fernanda Ovalle aided, scoring 14 points off 6-for-13 shooting, with three rebounds. Peyton Hill scored 12 points and tied her career high with eight rebounds, and Brooklyn Thrash bucketed 10 points off 50% shooting (3-for-6), while securing 10 rebounds. 
 
Ainhoa Cea controlled the offense, dishing six assists while scoring eight points off a perfect 100% clip (4-for-4). She also grabbed two rebounds.

How it Happened
Both the Eagles and Huskies got off to a slow start, tied 7-7 with seven combined turnovers at the 4:00 mark in the first quarter. The game remained tightly contested, with both teams tied up at 15 points each by the end of the first quarter. Eleko led both squads with six first-quarter points. The Eagles went five-for-five from the charity stripe in the frame. 

Eastern Michigan was able to get out to a six-point lead, 32-26, by the 4:38 mark, its run was highlighted by Eleko's continued dominant presence, accounting for 14 of the Eagles' 32 points at the time. Ovalle also added 11 points by this time, shooting 71.0% from the field. The Eagles stayed in the lead for the remainder of the period, ending the half up five, 35-30 despite a 2:58 scoring drought to close out the half. Cea led all players with three first-half assists, as she was the only player with more than one. Eastern held the lead for 14:50 minutes of the first half (72% of the time) and only trailed for 1:05 minutes. 

The Eagles and Huskies went back-and-forth in the third with Eastern holding a 41-38 lead at the 6:31 mark in the quarter. NIU outscored the Eagles, 15-10, by the 3:38 mark of the quarter, tying the game, 45-45. The Eagles went on a 12-7 scoring run to close out the final 3:38 minutes of the stanza, highlighted by two forced turnovers, one block, and three consecutive scoring possessions. Eastern ended the third up seven points, 59-52. 

A string of missed shots and turnovers allowed the Huskies to come back within one score, 61-59, with 5:08 remaining. Eastern's tough defense led to a 68-60 score by the 1:09 mark. A pair of clutch free throws, one block from Eleko, and a crafty euro-step layup from Artemis Kouki (Athens, Greece/ACS Athens/Western Michigan) iced the game, with Eastern Michigan topping the Huskies 72-62.

Eastern hits the road to face Buffalo Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. Fans can stream the game live on ESPN+ and listen live on 89.1 FM (WEMU), and The Varsity Network app. 


Toledo 75, Ohio 66
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – The Toledo women's basketball team grabbed the lead early and held it throughout the game in a 75-66 Mid-American Conference victory against Ohio at the OU Convocation Center on Saturday.

The Rockets (9-8, 4-3 MAC) grabbed the lead in the opening minutes and pushed the edge to 37-30 at halftime. Toledo stretched the lead to double digits at several points in the second half and did not allow the Bobcats (12-6, 6-2 MAC) to get closer than six in the fourth quarter. The Rockets earned their first road victory of conference play.

The Rockets dominated on the floor and on the glass, out-shooting the Bobcats, 48.3%-36.7% from the floor and 43-28 in rebounds. Five Rockets scored in double figures. UT assisted on 17 of its 28 field goals, winning the assist category, 17-8.

Rocket Leaders How It Happened
  • The Rockets got the first five points of the game and held the lead for the entire first quarter. An Ella Weaver offensive rebound and three-point play put Toledo up 16-7 at the end of the period. The Rockets did not allow a field goal for the entire quarter.
  • Ohio went on a 9-2 run to cut its deficit to 21-19 at the 6:28 mark of the second quarter. Toledo responded with a pair of threes from Weaver to go back up, 29-21 with 4:38 left. The Rockets never relinquished the lead, holding a 37-30 margin at the half.
  • The Rockets took 10-point leads at the 7:43 mark of the third on a Faith Fedd-Robinson layup, at 4:53 when Kendall Carruthers found Miriam Diala under the basket and again at 1:59 on a Fedd-Robinson three-point play. UT led 58-49 at the end of the third.
  • The Rockets kept the lead steady for most of the fourth, but a quick five points put the Bobcats within 69-63 with 2:15 to play. A jumper by Evalyse Cole and a layup with Miriam Diala stretched Toledo's lead back to 73-63 with a minute left and put the game away.
Game Notes
  • Faith Fedd-Robinson scored in double figures for the 13th time this season and the fifth-straight game. She has scored at least 15 points five times.
  • Toledo has scored 70+ points in three-straight games for the first time this season.
  • The Rockets' five scorers in double figures is a season high, and the first time Toledo has had five players in double figures since Feb. 1, 2025 at Eastern Michigan.
  • The Rockets did not trail in the game for the second time this season.
  • Evalyse Cole tied her season high in rebounds with her eight boards.
  • Toledo has won six-straight games against Ohio dating back to the 2021-22 season.
  • The Rockets controlled the paint, out-scoring Ohio 44-28 in that category. Toledo's rebounding margin led to a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points.
The Rockets return home on Wednesday, Jan. 28, against Kent State. Tip-off from Savage Arena is at 7:00 on ESPN+.


Central Michigan 64, Western Michigan 44
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. –Taylor Anderson posted a double-double and Central Michigan exploited a huge inside advantage on Saturday in downing Western Michigan, 64-44, in a Mid-American Conference women's basketball game at the Broncos' University Arena.

It was CMU's third straight win and its fifth in its last six games as it improved to 12-6, 6-2 MAC. The Chippewas have won four of their last five against their biggest rivals and they play Ball State, which is 7-1 and in second place in the MAC, on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at McGuirk Arena.

Anderson, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, scored 10 points and hauled down a career-high 18 rebounds to lead the Chippewas. Madi Morson and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington added 16 points apiece.

It marked the fourth time in five games, and the seventh time this season, that Anderson has reached double digits in rebounds. The double-double was her first of the season and the fifth of her career.

The Chippewas outrebounded the Broncos, 46-27, and scored 36 points in the paint to Western's six.

CMU held Western's leading scorer, Kailey Starks, to two points on 0-of-6 shooting. Starks did not score until the fourth quarter. The Chippewas held Western to 29 percent shooting (15 for 52).

The Chippewas led for most of the game and were up, 42-37, when Anderson scored on a drive to end the third quarter and up the lead to 44-37.

CMU scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter – five of them came from Morson – to extend the lead to 18, 55-37, with under 5 minutes to play.