Women's Basketball

Ohio, Miami, Ball State and UMass Remain Undefeated in Conference Action

Saturday’s Women’s Basketball Schedule
Ohio 73, Akron 56
Miami 63, Toledo 55
Western Michigan 83, Buffalo 65
Central Michigan 68, Bowling Green 56
Ball State 74, NIU 56
UMass 75, Kent State 70
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications

Ohio 73, Akron 56
Box Score

ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team (8-4, 2-0 MAC) defeated Akron (3-11, 0-2 MAC) 73-56 on Saturday, Jan. 3 in the Convocation Center.
 
Ohio shot 50.0 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from the arc and 68.4 percent from the line. The Bobcats finished with 36 rebounds, 11 assists, 14 steals and seven blocks.
 
Four Bobcats finished with double figure points led by junior Bailey Tabeling (Seymour, Ind.). Tabeling recorded a team-high 16 points; shooting 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-5 from the arc. Ohio's other three double figure point scorers included graduate student Aliah McWhorter (Cincinnati, Ohio) with 13 points, junior Antonicia Moultrie (Nassau, Bahamas) with 12 points and redshirt sophomore Monica Williams (Indianapolis, Ind.) with 11 points.
 
Graduate student Elli Garnett (Lakewood, Colo.)  led the team in rebounding with a total of eighth boards. Redshirt sophomore Bella Ranallo (Lake Forest, Ill.) led the team in steals with a career high of five while McWhorter tallied a team-high two blocks.
 
Sophomore Danni Scully (Park Ridge, Ill.), Moultrie and Garnett all led the team in assists with two each.
 
The Bobcats kicked off the game with a solid first quarter. After being tied 8-8 with 7:03 on the clock, Ohio offense went on a 9-1 scoring run. The Bobcats led the Zips 20-12 with just under three minutes to go. Ohio's final basket of the quarter was a three pointer by Garnett at 1:12 left on the clock. The Bobcats held a 25-18 lead over the Zips after one quarter of competition.
 
The second quarter was a low scoring period for both teams with Ohio outscoring Akron only 13-9. Neither team was able to find success scoring from beyond the arc, but Ohio was able to outrebound Akron 8-4. The Zips got the scoring started in the second quarter while the Bobcats struggled to get on the board. Ohio was scoreless until back-to-back layups by freshman ReRe Jennings (Killeen, Texas) with just over five minutes left in the half. Heading into the locker room, Ohio led Akron 38-27.
 
Akron challenged Ohio in the third quarter, outscoring the Bobcats 22-19. After scoring several baskets, the Zips were able to tie the score at 40-40 with 6:50 to go in the quarter. Ohio's offense responded with eight unanswered points and the Bobcats regained a 48-41 lead over the Zips. Ohio concluded the third quarter with a 57-49 lead over Akron.
 
Ohio dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Akron 16-7. The Bobcats also outrebounded the Zips 13-10 and drew seven fouls. McWhorter got Ohio off to good start with a layup in the first 30 seconds followed by Tabeling's three pointer with 8:54 to go. With 5:21 left on the clock, Moultrie extended Ohio's lead to 14 points with a successful layup. The Bobcats controlled the remainder of the game and went on to earn a 73-56 win over Akron.

Miami 63, Toledo 55
Box Score

OXFORD, Ohio – For the first time since the 2011-12 season, the Miami University women's basketball team opened conference play 2-0 with a 63-55 win over the University of Toledo (6-6, 1-1 MAC) on Saturday afternoon. Amber Tretter had 17 points to lead the RedHawks (10-4, 2-0 MAC) and was joined by Amber Scalia (13 points) and Núria Jurjo (13 points) in double figures. Tamar Singer and Ilse de Vries each chipped in with nine points.

How it Happened:
  • Scalia and de Vries spotted the RedHawks a quick 6-0 lead with back-to-back triples. Singer's steal, followed by a layup made in 8-0 Miami two minutes into the contest. Toledo trimmed the lead to six, 12-6 with three minutes to play before a triple from Tretter made it 15-6. Miami led 18-8 after 10 minutes of play.
  • The Rockets opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run to knot the game at 18 apiece before Macie Taylor drove through the lane for a layup to regain the lead for the Red and White. Jurjo's triple made it 27-23, but the Rockets answered with six-straight to claim a 29-27 lead with 90 seconds remaining in the half. Jurjo's second three-pointer of the quarter sent Miami to the locker room up 30-29.
  • Tretter took a pass from Singer for an open layup to begin the third. After UT converted a pair of free throws, Jurjo scored five-straight points to force a UT timeout. Toledo responded quickly with a three-pointer, but de Vries answered with a triple of her own to reclaim the six-point Miami advantage. Toledo closed the quarter on a 6-2 run to trim Miami's advantage, 42-40, heading to the final stanza.
  • Miami fed the ball inside to Tretter for back-to-back buckets to begin the fourth. After Toledo connected on a free throw, Scalia's two free throws stretched Miami's advantage, 48-41. The Rockets closed to within 51-45 with 3:31 to play, but a free throw from de Vries, followed by a triple from Singer put the game out of reach.

Game Notes:
  • Miami came into Saturday shooting 12-for49 from long range over their past two games. The RedHawks converted on 8-of-17 three-pointers versus the Rockets.
  • Over her last three games Núria Jurjo had just three points. She posted 13 points and five steals on Saturday.
  • Tamar Singer had seven assists versus the Rockets and has at least five assists in 12 of 14 games this year.
  • The RedHawks forced 27 turnovers, one shy of their season-best of 28 against Cedarville. The RedHawks are 7-2 this season when forcing at least 20 turnovers.

Western Michigan 83, Buffalo 65
Box Score

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan University women's basketball team put together a monster second half to earn its first Mid-American Conference win of the season in an 83-65 victory over the Buffalo Bulls.

A 30% turnaround in shooting from the first to the second half helped lead the Broncos to their first MAC win of 2025-26. Senior guard Alli Carlson had a monster game for WMU, setting a new career high in scoring with 22 points, all scored in the second half. The Brown and Gold ended the afternoon with a season-high five players in double figures with Carlson leading the way. Also scoring double digits was sophomore guard Alli Harness (14), sophomore guard Kailey Starks (14), sophomore forward D'Myjah Bolds (13), and junior guard Nile Muguira Orbe (10).

"I think my teammates continuing to give me confidence and the coaches encouraging me to shoot helped me turn my game around," said Carlson following her career game. "I started out a little slow. But they just told me keep shooting, keep shooting. So that really helped having great teammates and coaches.

The Broncos got the game started with a bang as sophomore guard Alli Harness hit a three in the first 10 seconds. WMU's offense was quiet after the early three as Buffalo took its first lead at 6-3. It was another three from the Brown and Gold, this time from Muguira, tied the game back up. The teams quickly traded shots after until the Bulls closed out the quarter on a nine-point run to make it a 17-8 game.

Western Michigan took over on offense in the second quarter. The Broncos had a seven-point run in the first three minutes to get the game within a basket. It was then another two minutes of traded buckets before WMU had its final run of the half with four straight points. The Brown and Gold struggled in the final stretch of the first half, not making a field goal in the final four minutes. Starks did give Western Michigan two points at the line in the last minute for a 35-25 halftime score.

The Broncos began to cut into Buffalo's lead early in the second half as baskets were traded for the first three minutes. WMU got its deficit down to just a basket at the 5:45 mark thanks to threes from Harness and Carlson. It was less than a minute until the Brown and Gold took their first lead since the third minute of the first quarter. The Bulls made a three of their own to retake the lead, but it didn't last long as Western Michigan closed out the third on a 14-2 run. The Broncos headed into the final frame of the afternoon with their largest lead of the game at 57-47.

WMU grew its lead to 13 in the first minute and a half of the fourth quarter. But Buffalo was able to match the Brown and Gold's shots for two minutes. Western Michigan's defense turned on the pressure, allowing the offense to put together a seven-point run for a 17-point lead. The Bulls put together one more brief run before the end of the game to get within 13. The Broncos rose above the pressure, closing out the final four minutes on a 12-8 run for the 83-65 victory.

In the second half alone, WMU went 20-30 from the field for a season-high shooting percentage of 66.7%. The Brown and Gold also had a big second half at the line, going 11-15 from the charity stripe for 73.3%. Overall Western Michigan set a new season high in shooting percentage through 40 minutes at 51.7% (30-58). The Broncos also set season highs behind the arc at 41.7% (10-24) and in assists with 22 helpers.

Central Michigan 68, Bowling Green 56
Box Score

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Central Michigan Women's Basketball took down Bowling Green, 68-56, in Mid-American Conference play at the Stroh Center Saturday afternoon.

"Bowling Green is a tough place to play but we stuck together and stayed the course," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said.

Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) led the way with 22 points, 16 of which were logged after the 26-26 halftime draw. It marked the third straight game of 20-plus in scoring, the 15th of her career.

"She's figuring out how to change her speed and get the ball when teams try to deny her. She's having more poise on the offensive end this year, seeing what the defense is doing and adjusting her game."

Senior Nekhu Mitchell (Baltimore, Md. / McDonogh) joined the reigning MAC Freshman of the Year in double figures with 17 points, 12 after intermission to go with six rebounds, four assists and two steals in 30 minutes off the bench.

The Chippewas rattled off a 10-0 run in the first quarter in response to a 5-2 start in favor of Bowling Green through the first five-plus minutes ahead of the first media timeout.

"We have to figure out how to start quicker; continue to work on not coming out flat or staying down. There was some good communication and leadership within our huddles early on that helped us out of it."

Central Michigan never allowed more than six consecutive points to the Falcons in the contest, no more than four in a row after the first quarter, held its host under 30 percent shooting from the floor, a measly one-for-16 from beyond the arc and four Bowling Green shot clock violations.

"We felt like our defense got away from us at home against Ohio [Dec. 31]. We did a really good job to come in, play that great of defense against a good team with really good scorers and shut them down. Excited about the growth we had today against a good team."

An 11-2 CMU run opened the second half with its five points from Morson to push her into double figures. Morson and Mitchell combined for 13 of the team's 20 points in the third quarter, while the Chippewas logged five assists on eight field goals.

"We picked up our movement in the second half, played a little bit faster. We got some fastbreak points too which helped open up the lead as well."

The largest spread of the contest came early in the fourth quarter as Morson improved her tally to 16 with two of CMU's 23 points via turnovers after the defense ran out the shot clock on the Falcons.

The Chippewas defeated Bowling Green for the first time since the 2021 MAC Championship run, the first time in the Stroh Center since 2019.

This meant Saturday was the first time any of the active roster had defeated the Falcons, including fourth-year Chippewa Taylor Anderson (South Lyon, Mich. / East).

"We actually played today for Taylor Anderson; she's been here all four years and hadn't beaten Bowling Green yet. We're super proud of the way the team rallied around that to come out and play how we did in the third quarter."

The Chippewas claimed victory despite losing the rebounding battle to the Falcons, 45-37, the first occurrence under Coach Haynie. CMU has outrebounded its opponent 54 times through 72 games since Haynie took over for the 2023-24 campaign. 

Ball State 74, NIU 56
Box Score

DEKALB, Ill. - The Cardinals used a complete team effort with 10 different Cardinals scoring two points or more in a win at Northern Illinois Saturday afternoon. It marked the last time Ball State would travel to NIU as the Huskies will join the Horizon League next season.

Ball State (11-4, 3-0 MAC) took the lead over Northern Illinois at the 2:28 mark of the opening quarter and never looked back, eventually taking home a 74-56 Mid-American Conference road-win against the Huskies (2-11, 0-2 MAC) in the Convocation Center.

After the opening tip, the two teams collided a bit with the score tied 14-14 with less than three minutes remaining in the first frame. Bree Salenbien knocked down a 3-pointer that sparked a 5-0 run which led to BSU having the 19-14 edge over NIU to end the first quarter.

The Cardinals then used a 22-13 scoring spree in the second stanza to take a 45-27 advantage over the Huskies at intermission. It wasn't just BSU's offense that was causing the Huskies problems, it was also the Cardinals' defense holding Northern Illinois to only three field goals in the second stanza.

Although, the Huskies began to make a brief comeback at the start of the third period, Tessa Towers came to the Cardinals rescue in the paint scoring three straight layups which allowed Ball State to build back a 16-point (56-40) cushion over Northern Illinois at the 3:44 mark.

After a Grace Kingery layup with 3:08 left on the clock the Cardinals went cold on offense but remained hot on defense. Ball State would take a 58-46 edge over NIU into the final frame.

Towers and Kingery kept the Cardinals offense going in the fourth quarter and the Huskies struggled to respond eventually allowing BSU to come out on top over Northern Illinois.

For the game, Towers and Kingery led the Cardinals with 17-points apiece while Salenbien was not too far behind registering a 16-point performance. Defensively, Towers led with nine rebounds. 

UMass 75, Kent State 70
Box Score

KENT, Ohio -- University of Massachusetts women's basketball (10-2, 2-0 MAC) outlasted Kent State (5-9, 0-3 MAC), 75-70, during a Saturday matinee matchup at Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.    

Following an ice-cold first half in which the Minutewomen shot just 8-33 (.242) including 1-10 from behind the arc, UMass caught fire in the second half, shooting a blazing 17-29 (.586) from the field and 5-8 (.625) from three en route to a 15-point comeback.

Yahmani McKayle was the biggest factor for the Minutewomen's second-half surge, setting a career-high 28 points to go along with three assists and three steals. McKayle could not miss in the second half, scoring 26 points on 10-12 shooting and hitting five-consecutive threes.

Megan Olbrys chipped in 13 points and six rebounds with Allie Palmieri also adding 13 points along with four boards, three steals and two made threes. Chinenye Odenigbo also netted 10 points, scoring double-digits in the second straight game.

Breaking Down The Action    
  • Following a first-play rejection from Ayanna Franks on the defensive end, Olbrys netted the first Minutewomen points of the night from the stripe, UMass taking a 1-0 lead one minute into action.
  • Odenigbo followed an Olbrys miss, finishing at the rim to put Massachusetts up 6-3 with 7:30 remaining in the first.
  • Olbrys found a cutting McKayle to cut into a 11-2 Golden Flashes run, bringing UMass back within four, 10-14, with 1:41 left to go in the first.
  • Franks turned persistent defense into instant offense, generating a steal and getting fouled on the ensuing possession, to bring the Minutewomen to a 13-14 deficit with a minute to go in the first.
  • Odenigbo collected her own miss and connected at the rim to bring UMass within one, 20-21, with 6:34 left to play in the half.
  • Lilly Ferguson stopped a 14-0 Kent State run over nearly five minutes of game time, connecting on a long jumper and a second-chance layup to cut the score to 24-35 at the half.
  • McKayle found the bottom of the net from the left arc, opening the second half scoring for UMass and bringing the score to 27-37 a minute into the third.  
  • Following Franks sixth steal of the contest, McKayle found a wide-open Palmieri who hit nothing but net from the top of the arc, cutting the Golden Flashes lead to eight, 34-42.  
  • McKayle connected on her second triple of the afternoon, to push the Minutewomen run to 10-0, trailing 39-42 with 5:51 left in the third.  
  • Odenigbo hit a cutting Olbrys to bring the deficit to just one, 41-42, with three minutes remaining in the third.
  • McKayle got her defender off her feet with a pump fake and burried a side-step jumper to keep the game tight, 45-46, with 45 seconds left in the third.
  • Olbrys and McKayle worked a give-and-go to give the Minutewomen their first lead, 47-46, since 5:21 in the first quarter.
  • Franks finished at the rim with her left, to put the Minutewomen up 49-47 within the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter.
  • McKayle connected on her third consecutive trey of the second half and Ferguson cleaned up an inside miss for a quick 5-0 UMass run to go ahead 54-49 with eight minutes to play.
  • McKayle continued to dominate, netting her 19th point of the game after a solid screen from Ferguson allowed for a wide-open layup.  
  • McKayle scored her career-high 26th point of the contest with 3:03 left in the game, keeping UMass ahead 67-61.  
  • Despite a last-minute surge, late-game free throws kept the game out of reach for the Golden Flashes with the Minutewomen securing a 75-70 victory.

By The Numbers  
4: Four Minutewomen netted double-digit points in the contest – McKayle (28), Olbrys (13), Palmieri (13) and Odenigbo (10)  
15: The amount of points the Minutewomen came back from.  
19: UMass collected 19 Stocks (steals and blocks) over the contest.  
38: The total rebounds UMass secured
57: Massachusetts second-half field goal percentage