Women's Basketball

Ball State, Miami Secure Tournament Spots with Tuesday Wins

Tuesday’s Women’s Basketball Results
Ball State 83, Eastern Michigan 68
UMass 75, Northern Illinois 54
Bowling Green 72, Buffalo 61 
Ohio 71, Toledo 67
Miami 60, Western Michigan 55
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications

Ball State 83, Eastern Michigan 68
Box Score

YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Ball State women's basketball team (20-5, 11-1 MAC) secured an 83–68 victory over Eastern Michigan (11-12, 4-8 MAC) on Tuesday night in the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The win marks the Cardinals' 10th consecutive regular-season victory over the Eagles and maintains their position near the top of the Mid-American Conference standings.

With tonight's victory, Ball State head women's basketball coach Brady Sallee has officially reached the 20-win mark for the ninth time in 14 seasons — Sallee's 20+ win seasons at Ball State are — 22-10 (2015-16), 21-11 (2016-17) 25-7 (2017-18), 21-10 (2019-20), 20-13 (2021-22), 26-9 (2022-23), 20-2 (2023-24), 26-8 (2024-25) and 20-5 (2025-26).

The Cardinals opened the contest with an early scoring surge building a 13-4 lead over Eastern Michigan by the 4:28 mark of the first quarter, fueled by veteran Tessa Towers. Her dominance in the paint continued a streak of strong interior play, while Bree Salenbien and Karsyn Norman, kept the Eagles off-balance with a high-tempo transition game. Ball State continued to dictate the pace to end the first quarter ahead of the Eagles, 19-11.

The momentum carried into the second stanza as the Cardinals found themselves up by 14-points (41-27) with 2:22 remaining in the half. Salenbien, playing in her home state, put on a show with 10 points in the second period, helping BSU head into halftime with a 32-22 advantage.

Ball State continued to control the tempo in the second half by neutralizing Eastern Michigan's top offensive threats, Sisi Eleko and Peyton Hill. By the midpoint of the third quarter, Ball State held a 54–42 lead, effectively keeping the Eagles at a double-digit distance for the remainder of the contest.

All-in-all the Cardinals' high-tempo offense and disruptive defense forced Eastern Michigan out of their rhythm for the full 40 minutes, with Ball State's early dominance effectively sealing the road victory.

Towers anchored the offense with a highly efficient 22 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while Salenbien matched her with 22 points of her own. Norman delivered one of her standout conference performances, finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

Ball State shot 48% from the floor and dominated the interior with 52 points in the paint. The Cardinals also controlled the glass, securing 46 total rebounds, including 30 on the defensive end. 

UMass 75, Northern Illinois 54
Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. – Massachusetts women's basketball (17-5, 9-2 MAC) defeated Northern Illinois (5-19, 2-10) 75-54 on Tuesday afternoon at the Convocation Center.  

Senior Forward Megan Olbrys kept busy in the matchup, recording 16 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. Olbrys has registered at least three steals in six consecutive games and has recorded a career-high four in back-to-back contests. This matchup against the Huskies also saw a new milestone for the forward, reaching 500 career rebounds as a Minutewoman.

Sophomore Guard Yahmani McKayle was also a commanding presence on the floor during the night game, with 21 points and seven assists, going 71.4% from beyond the arc. Graduate Guard Allie Palmieri chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds, and Lilly Ferguson added seven points and five rebounds off the bench.  

Breaking Down the Action  
  •  The Minutewomen started the action, with McKayle tossing one in from beyond the arc.
  • The Minutewomen went on a small 9-2 run led by Olbrys with four points
  • Odenigbo added another two points with a layup at 6:50
  • A turnover from NIU's Laccen gave McKayle possession, sending it to Olbrys for the finish
  • McKayle nabbed the ball in the defensive court bringing it up the floor for two
  • Ferguson added the layup and got sent to the line to get three points with 2:20 left in the first quarter.
  • Franks capped off the first quarter with a free throw, giving the Minutewomen a 10-point lead, 19-9.  
  • The Minutewomen continued the defensive effort into the next quarter, with a layup from Ross 32 seconds in
  • NIU got back into it, putting themselves within eight, but McKayle quickly put UMass back into a ten-point lead with another layup.  
  • McKayle sent the ball to Olbrys for a layup at 5:07
  • The Minutewomen came out of timeout with a bang, with McKayle knocking down a shot beyond the arc in three seconds
  • Ferguson quickly followed with a layup at 3:36
  • Franks received the past from McKayle, shooting a three pointer to finish the Minutewomens half, 33-25.  
  • The Minutewomen continued the offensive effort into the second half, with Palmieri putting a jumper in 27 seconds in the third quarter
  • After a missed layup from Palmieri, Olbrys grabbed the rebound and tossed it in.  
  • The Huskies went on a quick offensive burst, going on a 9-0 run to put them within three of the Minutewomen
  • In response, the Minutewomen went on a run of their own, going 14-2 with two three-pointers from McKayle  
  • The Minutewomen finished the first leg of the second half 51-36
  • McKayle made her fifth three-pointer of the night, going 71.4% at the top of the arc to start the final quarter
  • Palmieri added another two points at 8:56
  • A defensive rebound from Olbrys got Perkins to capitalize on a layup, putting the Minutewomens lead to 20.  
  • The Minutewomen and Huskies trade off in the final quarter, but in the end the Huskies are unable to close 21-point lead, ending the matchup 75-54 
Bowling Green 72, Buffalo 61 
Box Score

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team (14-9, 8-4 MAC) defeated Toledo (12-10, 6-5 MAC) 71-67 in a close battle on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
 
Ohio shot 40.4 percent from the field, 45.8 percent from the arc and 62.1 percent from the line. The Bobcats finished with 27 rebounds, 14 assists, 12 steals and three blocks.
 
Junior Bailey Tabeling (Seymour, Ind.) led the team with 17 points; shooting 5-for-9 from the field, 2-for-6 from the arc and 5-for-8 from the line. Tabeling also led the team in rebounding with seven boards.
 
Three other Bobcats finished with double figure points. Graduate student Aliah McWhorter (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored 12 points while graduate student Elli Garnett (Lakewood, Colo.) and redshirt sophomore Bella Ranallo (Lake Forest, Ill.) tallied 11 points each.
 
McWhorter distributed a team-high four assists. Tabeling and Ranallo led the team in steals with three each.
 
Ohio got off to a strong start, taking a 9-5 lead over Toledo with 7:35 to play in the first. The Bobcats extended their lead to 16-9 with 5:40 left on the clock. Toledo tied the game at 16-16 with just over four minute to go. The Rockets took Ohio's lead, 19-16, at 3:25 left on the clock. Freshman ReRe Jennings (Killeen, Texas) tied the game again at 19-19 with a three pointer with 2:33 left in the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the two teams were tied at 21-21.
 
Toledo scored first to start the second quarter, but Ohio quickly answered back. The Bobcats took a 24-23 lead off a three pointer by Ranallo with 7:52 on the clock. With 6:01 to go in the half, Ohio extended its lead to 31-23. Toledo began to find success on offense, cutting Ohio's lead to 34-27 with just over three minutes to play. Heading into the locker room, the Bobcats led the Rockets 37-29.
 
Ohio continued its momentum into the beginning of the third quarter, taking a 43-32 lead with 7:42 to go. Almost halfway through the quarter, Toledo cut Ohio's lead to 45-38. The Rockets continued to close in on Ohio's lead throughout the rest of the quarter. With just over a minute to go in the third, Ohio only led Toledo 53-49. Heading into the fourth, Ohio held a small 53-51 lead over Toledo.
 
It was a tight fourth quarter between the Bobcats and the Rockets. With 5:31 left in the game, Ohio led Toledo 60-55. The Bobcats were challenged by the Rockets, only leading 66-60 with 50.9 seconds. The game came down to the final seconds.

Ohio 71, Toledo 67
Box Score

Postgame recap coming soon. 

Miami 60, Western Michigan 55
Box Score

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Miami University women's basketball team closed the contest on a 6-0 run to secure a 60-55 victory at Western Michigan (7-15, 3-8 MAC) on Tuesday night. Ilse de Vries posted a career-high 25 points as the RedHawks (20-4, 11-0 MAC) captured their 13th-straight win and continue to remain undefeated in conference play. The win also clinches a spot for the RedHawks in the MAC Tournament.

How it Happened:
  • Amber Tretter opened the contest with a triple and on Miami's next possession, de Vries did the same to spot Miami a quick 6-0 lead. WMU trimmed the deficit to 9-6 at the media timeout, but a triple from Macie Taylor pushed the lead back to six. With the RedHawks up 15-9, de Vries knocked down her second triple and a putback from Tretter gave Miami their largest lead of the quarter, 20-9. The RedHawks led 20-11 after 10 minutes of action.
  • The RedHawks led 25-15 three minutes into the second quarter before Tamar Singer, Amber Scalia and Taylor connected on three-straight layups, forcing a WMU timeout. The RedHawks battled foul trouble the final six minutes of the quarter and the Broncos trimmed Miami's lead to nine with less than a minute to play. Scalia drove past her defender for a layup for the final basket of the half, spotting Miami a 35-24 advantage.
  • WMU scored the first five points of the second half to make it a six-point game. Back-to-back buckets from de Vries pushed the lead to double-digits. A triple from WMU cut the deficit to eight, 47-39, but on the ensuing possession Singer converted a three-point play to push Miami's advantage to 50-39. The RedHawks led 50-41 heading to the final quarter.
  • The Broncos scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to claim their first lead of the contest, 51-50, with six minutes to play. Four-straight free throws from de Vries and Scalia reclaimed the lead for the RedHawks, 54-51. The Broncos responded with four-straight of their own to take a 55-54 lead, but de Vries answered with a layup with 90 seconds left on the clock. After a defensive stop, the RedHawks went right back to de Vries for a bucket and Singer knocked down two late free throws to preserve the win.