Wednesday’s Women’s Basketball Results
Central Michigan 66, Kent State 57
Northern Illinois 64, Buffalo 58
Ball State 72, Toledo 68
Western Michigan 55, Akron 48
Miami 72, UMass 60
Ohio 96, Eastern Michigan 87
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Central Michigan 66, Kent State 57
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Central Michigan Women's Basketball defeated Kent State, 66-57, in the 15th edition of Hoops For Hunger Wednesday afternoon in front of a raucous, youthful crowd of over 2,000 local community elementary and middle school students.
The Chippewas tallied a 15-point advantage, 19-4, in the first 11 minutes though the Golden Flashes rallied back to a two-point deficit. Still, the lead never changed hands.
"I'm super happy with our fight, and with our first quarter," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said. "We had been starting games out flat, but we got better today."
CMU held Kent State scoreless for the first 5:31 of the contest, a 9-0 run, then another 9-0 run for over four minutes after a pair of Kent State field goals to reach the 15-point advantage.
Strong finishes in back-to-back games have sealed the program's first victories over Bowling Green (Jan. 3) and Kent State since the 2020-21 season since it fell to Ohio (Dec. 31) in overtime, 85-83.
"To finish a 4th quarter two games in a row and learn our lesson from Ohio, the growth of this team has been great."
The sophomore duo of Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) accounted for 18 points apiece on a combined 14-of-24 (.583) mark from the floor.
"Their efficiency was great, and they're just going to continue to get better. They're only sophomores, we continue to forget that. They have a lot of minutes under their belts already and they come to play."
Darrington collected her third double-double of the season, 10th of her career with 10 rebounds.
Morson scored her six fourth quarter points in the final two minutes of the contest to keep the Golden Flashes from drawing within one possession during that time.
Taylor Anderson (South Lyon, Mich. / East) stood up to take on the top defensive assignment, Kent State's Mya Babbit—who dropped a 30-point game at Ohio State earlier this season—and tallied her fourth double-digit game in rebounds, which led all players with 12.
"Not only did she have to guard their best player but to grab 12 rebounds, that's just work. She's a tough kid. She's the only player that's been here all four years. She hadn't beaten Kent State so I'm happy we got that done for her."
Anderson's presence on the roster is a physical representation of the program's rise under Haynie. Anderson, a four-year Chippewa, had not beaten Bowling Green, Kent State or won a Hoops For Hunger contest until this past week.
CMU and Kent State entered the contest second and third in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding margin, plus-7.77 and plus-7.0 per game, respectively. The Chippewas dominated the glass, 47-27, in Wednesday's contest to nearly double the Flashes' worst deficit in a game this season (11/28/25 v. Tulsa).
Northern Illinois 64, Buffalo 58
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Freshman guard Emilie Sorensen (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) had a near-perfect night from the field on Wednesday night, scoring a season-high 20 points in leading the Northern Illinois University women's basketball team to a 64-58 win over the Buffalo Bulls at Alumni Arena.
Sorensen was 5-for-6 from the field, including making 4-of-5 three-point attempts, and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. She also added six rebounds. Nevaeh Wingate (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John's) had 15 points and seven rebounds as Nadechka Laccen (San Juan, Puerto Rico/St. Bonaventure) had 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a game-high three steals.
"We've been trying to get all three of them going offensively," said head coach Jacey Brooks. "It's been one or two most nights. For Emilie, Nevaeh and Nadechka to put it all together night proved to be the difference."
NIU (3-11, 1-2 MAC) scored first and didn't look back. Marta Hermoso (Seville, Spain/McNeese) made a three 0:22 into the game, sparking a 9-2 Huskies run over the first 4:21 of the night. The Huskies went up 11-4 with 4:21 to go in the first on a Teresa Mbemba (Benguela, Angola/Presbyterian). However, that was NIU's last field goal of the quarter. Buffalo closed the gap to three, scoring the last four points to make the score 11-8.
Sorensen scored eight of NIU's first 10 points in the second quarter, making two threes to put the Huskies up 21-11 with 6:11 to play until halftime. The Bulls closed within four at the 4:51 mark as layups from Diann Jackson and Deana Thompson made the score 21-15. Sorensen responded with her third three-pointer of the quarter, followed by a Laccen basket to put NIU ahead by 11, 26-11. The Huskies shot 42.9 percent from the field in the second quarter to take a 29-20 halftime lead.
The Huskies took their largest lead of the game early in the third quarter. A Laccen layup at the 7:33 mark capped a 9-2 run that put NIU ahead by 16, 38-22. Buffalo used a 7-2 run late in the quarter to get within seven, 44-37, with 0:58 left on a pair of free throws from Aniya Rowe. The Huskies responded with a 9-2 run of their own. Mbemba scored five points in that stretch, capping the scoring spurt with a layup at the 5:40 mark of the fourth quarter to give NIU a 53-39 lead. The Huskies hung on from there as Buffalo only got as close as six points the rest of the way.
"We did a good job limiting Buffalo in transition and limiting their offensive rebounds," said head coach Jacey Brooks. "I'm really proud of the team for getting it done tonight. We kept it a little interesting at the end, but it helps to be in that situation and it'll help us grow."
The Huskies shot 41.8 percent from the field and were 6-for-14 from the three-point arc. Buffalo (2-12, 0-3 MAC) shot 37.7 percent for the night. The Huskies held the Bulls to three second chance points on 10 offensive rebounds and forced 17 Buffalo turnovers. NIU had 16 assists on its 23 made field goals with Maria Serracanta (Sabadell, Spain/Mercer) leading all players with six, tying her career-high.
Ball State 72, Toledo 68
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State women's basketball team (12-4, 4-0 MAC) took down Toledo (6-7, 1-2 MAC) by a score of 70-62 Wednesday night in Worthen Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals remain undefeated in Mid-American Conference action with a 4-0 ledger.
It comes to no surprise that the Cardinals and the Rockets would start the opening quarter with a heated back-and-forth battle which saw Toledo pull away from Ball State 15-9 at the 1:43 mark.
Fortunately, the Cardinals were able to regroup after a 3-pointer from Grace Kingery and a last second bucket from Tessa Towers that made it a 15-14 ball game at the end of the first quarter.
The up-and-down affair continued with both teams struggling to maintain possession as the Cardinals and the Rockets were plagued by some unforeseen errors throughout the second period. The Cardinals gained momentum after Aniss Tagayi stole the ball for a fast break layup to give BSU the 27-23 edge versus Toledo with 4:20 remaining in the first half.
After that, Towers scored four-straight points to propel the Cardinals to a 35-26 advantage over the Rockets at intermission.
The Cardinals opened the third frame with a defensive stop that resulted in a bucket from Karsyn Norman. Ball State led by as many as 13 (39-26) with just over a minute shaved off the clock. The Rockets weren't going to go away lightly, answering with an 8-0 run in a span of two minutes that cut BSU's lead back to five (39-34).
As the defensive battle continued, the Cardinals were still in control 44-38 by the third frame media timeout. The Rockets made it a three-point (49-46) ball game with under a minute left to play in the third, but Towers and Bree Salenbien were aggressive under the basket which gave Ball State the 53-46 third quarter edge against Toledo.
Tagayi's layup at the start of the fourth quarter pushed BSU's lead back up to 12 (58-46). Toledo kept it close, but Zhen Verburgt really stepped up in the final period answering for the Cardinals with a 3-pointer and a defensive rebound.
The Rockets inched closer as time was winding down but Towers stepped in with some plays under the basket that all-in-all allowed the Cardinals to seal their fourth MAC victory of the season.
For the game, Towers led Ball State with 17 points while Salenbien collected her fifth double-double of the season after a 14-point, 10 rebound-performance. Norman and Kingery finished the night with 11.
Western Michigan 55, Akron 48
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – It came down to the wire, but the Western Michigan University women's basketball team was able to hold on for a 55-48 win over the Akron Zips.
The Broncos battled back and forth with Akron in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's game, with all but 20 seconds being a one-possession lead on either side. An open layup for junior guard Nile Muguira Orbe, followed by six made free throws, sealed the win for WMU in the closing 30 seconds of the game. Sophomore guard D'Myjah Bolds led the Brown and Gold on both offense and defense with her first double-double of the season. Bolds matched her career-high in points with 15 while also bringing down 12 boards in 30 minutes on the floor for Western Michigan.
It was a back-and-forth game to begin on Wednesday as the teams matched each other shot for shot. At the media timeout after five and a half minutes, Akron led by two on a shooting foul. The Broncos ended up in foul trouble early with four fouls right out of the timeout. But two quick layups for WMU tied the game back up. The Brown and Gold dominated scoring in the final four minutes of the frame as Western Michigan closed out the quarter on a 17-5 run to lead by eight.
Both teams scored in the first minute and a half of the second quarter. But the offenses on both sides struggled after, with a field goal not being made by either side for the next three and a half minutes. The Zips made two buckets before the Broncos added a layup. WMU's defense continued to stifle Akron's offense, not letting the Zips score for the final three minutes of the first half. The Brown and Gold had the last points of the quarter and went into the locker room with a 29-24 lead.
It took Western Michigan a minute and a half to get going on offense, but quickly put together a solid run. The Broncos scored the next 7 points to take their largest lead of the game at 10. A three from Akron put the WMU lead back into single digits for just under two minutes until Bolds put together a three-point play. But the Zips ended the third quarter on a four-point run, bringing the Brown and Gold lead down to six.
A quick three from Akron to start the fourth made it only a three-point game. Western Michigan was able to answer at the line to get its lead above a basket. An over three-minute cold spell for the Broncos gave the Zips time to take their first lead of the game in almost 28 minutes.
WMU briefly retook the lead on an Alli Carlson three, but a Brown and Gold foul shortly after tied the game up at 43. Western Michigan's defense was able to hold off Akron as the Zips only scored five more points in the final five minutes of the game. The Broncos took advantage of two Akron players fouling out towards the end of the quarter to make six free throws in the final 20 seconds for the 55-48 victory.
Sophomore guard Kailey Starks had her ninth double-figure outing of the year for WMU with 13 points, right behind Bolds. Carlson came an assist shy of her career-high against the Zips with seven helpers, while both Carlson and Starks had two steals each. The Brown and Gold will try to keep their win streak going on the road at Toledo over the weekend. Tip-off against the Rockets from Savage Arena on Saturday, Jan. 1,0 is set for 2:00 p.m.
Miami 72, UMass 60
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University women's basketball team used a 30-point second quarter and never looked back en route to a 72-60 win over the University of Massachusetts (10-3, 2-1 MAC). Amber Tretter and Núria Jurjo scored 17 points apiece for the RedHawks (11-4, 3-0 MAC) and Tamar Singer had a game-high 11 assists.
How it Happened:
- UMass opened the contest with four-straight points but the RedHawks responded with a 7-0 run, capped by a triple from Ilse de Vries. The Minutewomen answered with five-straight to claim a 9-7 advantage midway through the opening quarter. UMass led 14-12 after 10 minutes of play.
- Much like the first quarter, UMass scored the first four points of the second, taking an 18-12 lead. A 15-foot jumper from Amber Scalia ended the Miami drought and over the next 90 seconds Jurjo and Scalia combined to score nine points with a trio of three pointers, forcing a UMass timeout. Coming out of the timeout Miami's hot shooting did not slow down. Scalia spotted Miami with an eight-point advantage with her second triple of the quarter and moments later Singer drove the lane for a layup. Ashton Elley then took a pass from Singer on the fast break for another three-pointer for a 13-point Miami advantage, 31-18. The Minutewomen got on the board to make it 31-20, but triples from Jurjo and Elley made it 37-22 late in the half. UMass answered with five straight to cut the deficit to 10, but Elley's third triple of the quarter pushed Miami advantage to 13. Miami led 42-27 at the half.
- Three-straight points from Tretter gave Miami a 49-31 advantage but UMass answered with a triple to make it 49-34 midway through the third quarter. The Minutewomen used a 7-2 run over the next two minutes to close within 51-41, but five-straight points for Jurjo pushed Miami's advantage back to 15 points. The RedHawks led 56-43 heading to the fourth quarter.
- Tretter's layup three minutes into the final quarter helped Miami maintain its 13-point advantage, but moments later the Minutewomen closed the gap to 10, 63-53 with 6:39 to go. Neither team scored over the next three minutes and the Minutewomen would get no closer than 65-56 as the RedHawks picked up the victory.
Game Notes:
- Miami scored 30 points in the second quarter, which included eight three-pointers.
- Ashton Elley came into Wednesday's game with 15 total points on the season. She scored 11 versus UMass.
- Amber Tretter posted the 25th double-double of her career with 17 points and 10 rebounds. She now ranks fourth in program history in career double-doubles.
- Núria Jurjo posted career-bests in points (17) and three-pointers made (5). She has 30 points over her past two games.
- For the fourth time this season, Tamar Singer posted double-digit assists. She finished with 11 against the Minutewomen and surpassed 100 assists on the season.
Ohio 96, Eastern Michigan 87
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team (9-4, 3-0 MAC) took down Eastern Michigan (7-6, 2-1 MAC) 96-87 on Wednesday, Jan. 7 in the Convocation Center. The Bobcats have now won four games in a row for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
The Bobcats shot 54.1 percent from the field, 44.8 percent from the arc and 63.0 percent from the line. Ohio finished with 34 rebounds, 19 assists, 13 steals and eight blocks.
Among five double-figure scorers was Ohio's top scorer junior Bailey Tabeling (Seymour, Ind.), who recorded 21 points in addition to three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Tabeling finished 6-for-12 from the field, 3-for-6 from the arc and 6-for-8 from the line.
Graduate student Elli Garnett (Lakewood, Colo.) and redshirt sophomore Monica Williams (Indianapolis, Ind.) both scored 19 points, a season high for Garnett and career high for Williams. Garnett shot 8-for-12 from the field, 2-for-5 from the arc and 1-for-2 from the line. Williams shot 5-for-8 from the field, a perfect 4-for-4 from the arc and 5-for-8 from the line. Williams also led the team in assists with five in addition to five rebounds and two steals.
Rounding out Ohio's top scorers were sophomore Danni Scully (Park Ridge, Ill.) and freshman ReRe Jennings (Killeen, Texas) with 10 points each.
Junior Asiah Baxter (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the team in rebounding with six boards. Baxter, Jennings and junior Antonicia Moultrie (Nassau, Bahamas) all recorded a team-high two blocks.
It was a competitive first quarter with both teams trading points back-and-forth until the final two minutes. The two teams were tied at 19-19 with 1:44 left on the clock. With just over a minute to play, Eastern Michigan went on a 10-1 scoring run and widened the gap between the two teams. At the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats trailed the Eagles 29-20.
After the break, Eastern Michigan's offense continued its momentum. After a 9-0 scoring run, the Eagles held a 38-20 lead over the Bobcats. Tabeling responded with the eight unanswered points, kicking off what would be a 12-0 scoring run for Ohio. With 2:50 left on the clock, Ohio snatched Eastern Michigan's lead, 43-41, off another three pointer by Tabeling. The Bobcats outscored the Eagles 30-17 in the second quarter, giving the team a 50-46 lead heading into the locker room.
Ohio's momentum continued in the third quarter. The Bobcats outscored the Eagles 32-15; shooting 84.6 percent from the field, 80.0 percent from the arc and 66.7 percent from the line. Ohio also found some success under the basket, outrebound Eastern Michigan 10-4. The Bobcats continued to widen their lead due to success on both sides of the court. IN the final three minutes of the quarter, Ohio prevented Eastern Michigan from scoring while maintaining an 11-0 scoring run. Heading into the final quarter of the game, Ohio led Eastern Michigan 82-61.
Despite being down 21 points, the Eagles did not give up and continued to challenge the Bobcats. Despite the pressure from Eastern Michigan, Ohio was able to come out on top with 96-87 victory.
