CLEVELAND – The 2025-26 Mid-American Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament opens today, March 11, with four quarterfinal matchups inside Rocket Arena.
Wednesday, March 11th -- MAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals
Game 1: No. 1 Miami (25-6, 16-2 MAC) vs. No. 8 Kent State (15-15, 9-9 MAC),
Dave Bacon (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats |11 AM ET
No. 1 Miami: The Miami women's basketball team heads to Cleveland for the 2026 Mid-American Conference Tournament as the league's No. 1 seed. The RedHawks are scheduled to face No. 8 Kent State on Wednesday, March 11 at 11 a.m.
Amber Tretter has 29 double-doubles (third-best in program history) in her career and is a near walking double-double in points (14.5) and rebounds (8.1) this season. She is on pace to become just the second RedHawk in program history to record 1,000 career rebounds and has scored 1,098 career points, which ranks 23rd in program history. She has scored in double figures in 25 of 31 games this season.
Miami has four players averaging double-digits, led by Amber Tretter (14.5 ppg.). She is joined by Amber Scalia (13.4 ppg.), Ilse de Vries (12.8 ppg.) and Tamar Singer (10.6 ppg.). Tretter has led the team in scoring nine times, while the other three have done it six time each this season.
Miami is currently third in the MAC in scoring (71.0) and first in defense (58.7), which results in a 12.3 point margin of victory, second-best in the conference. The RedHawks are second in the MAC in field goal percentage (45.1%), first in three-point percentage (35.1%) and second in free throw percentage (75.7%). Miami is first in turnover margin (4.9) and second in blocked shots (3.7).
Miami captured its first regular season championship since the 2003-04 season, finishing the regular season 25-6 overall and 16-2 in MAC play, but those are not the only highlights this season. The 25 wins are the most in program history, while the 16 conference wins are second-best. Miami opened conference play 11-0, the best start in program history. Miami had a 13-game win streak from Dec. 20-Feb. 10, the second-best win streak in school history (best is 14).
Miami took home six post-season awards on Tuesday morning. Glenn Box was named MAC Coach of the Year (first Miami CoY since 2004). Amber Tretter (first team), Tamar Singer (third team) and Ilse de Vries (third team) earned All-MAC accolades and Singer and de Vries added spots on the All-MAC Defensive Team.
No. 8 Kent State: Kent State is making its 38th appearance in the MAC Tournament and has a 40-32 record in tournament play. The Golden Flashes have advanced to the quarterfinals in Cleveland in nine of 10 seasons under head coach Todd Starkey. Kent State has advanced to the semifinals 21 times, recording an 13-7 record in those games (2020 game was not played after tournament was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic).
The Flashes have won four MAC Tournament titles: 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2024. Kent State appeared in the championship game seven straight years from 1996-2002 and has played for the title 13 times overall. During that seven-year stretch, the Flashes owned an 18-4 MAC Tournament record.
Game 2: No. 4 Central Michigan (18-11, 12-6 MAC) vs. No. 5 Ohio (17-12, 11-7 MAC),
Dave Bacon (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Time TBD
No. 4 Central Michigan: Preview coming soon.
No. 5 Ohio: The No. 5 Ohio women's basketball team (17-12, 11-7 MAC) opens play at the 2026 Mid-American Conference Tournament, presented by Credit Union 1, on Wednesday, March 11, when the Bobcats take on No. 4 Central Michigan (18-11, 12-6). Tip-off is set for approximately 1:30 p.m. ET, or 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one, inside Rocket Arena and can be seen on ESPN+. With a win, Ohio will face off with the winner of No. 1 Miami (25-6, 16-2 MAC) and No. 8 Kent State (15-15, 9-9 MAC) on Friday, March 13 at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+. The 2026 MAC Championship game will be held on Saturday, March 14 at 11 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Ohio enters the tournament as the fifth seed and is coming off a 2-0 week that saw Ohio take down Eastern Michigan on the road, before defeating MAC-leading Miami, 77-62, Saturday night in the Convo. Graduate student guard Elli Garnett led Ohio women's basketball during the final week of the 2025-26 regular season. Overall, Garnett averaged 13.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. She shot 50 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from three and was 5-of-6 from the line. She also recorded three steals and three blocks. On Saturday against Miami on her senior night, Garnett led the Bobcats with a season-high 21 points in addition to a game-high 11 rebounds, marking the fifth double-double of her career. The graduate student finished 7-for-11 from the field, 4-for-7 from the arc and 3-for-4 from the line. Garnett added two assists and two steals, helping the Bobcats to the 77-62 victory.
Game 3: No. 2 Ball State (25-6, 16-2 MAC) vs. No. 7 Bowling Green (17-13, 9-9 MAC),
Dave Bacon (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Time TBD
No. 2 Ball State: The last time Ball State and Bowling met in the Mid-American Conference Tournament was in the semifinal round in 2023. The Falcons defeated the Cardinals that year by a score of 70-61.
Ball State and Bowling Green have met a total of 76 times in program history with the Falcons leading the all-time series record, 48-29. In their last meeting in Worthen Arena, the Cardinals defeated the Falcons on Feb. 14, 2026 by a 82-67 decision.
With the win against Toledo on March 7, the Cardinals claimed a share of the 2026 Mid-American Conference regular season title for the second-straight season. It marks the first time in program history Ball State has won back-to-back regular season crowns. Ball State will enter this week's MAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed in Cleveland. The last time the Cardinals entered tourney play as the No. 2 seed was in 2024.
The Cardinals continue to be a staple of March Madness in the MAC, securing their 36th program appearance in the conference tournament. Ball State's dominance is especially clear over the last quarter-century, having advanced to Cleveland for 24 of the past 26 seasons. With an all-time tournament record of 27–33, the team has fought their way to seven championship games, ultimately crowning their efforts with titles in 2009 and 2025. Under head coach Brady Sallee, the Ball State women's basketball team has made it to Cleveland for the MAC Tournament 11 times, including reaching the championship game in 2014, 2022, and 2025. The 2025 championship was a historic milestone, marking Sallee's first conference tournament title in 21 years of head coaching and the program's first since 2009.
Ball State head coach Brady Sallee owns a 11-11 overall Mid-American Conference Tournament mark. The last time the Cardinals reached the final game was in 2025 when Ball State defeated Toledo, 65-58.
Ball State owns a 7-2 record in the 2025 MAC Tournament bracket. The two losses for the Cardinals game against top-seeded Miami (OH).
A Cardinal win will send Ball State to the semifinal round for the fifth-straight season. The second-seeded Cardinals will play the winner of quarterfinal game No. 4 against the No. 3 seed UMass or the No. 6 seeded Toledo Rockets. Ball State defeated UMass at home this season and swept the home-away series against Toledo.
No. 7 Bowling Green: BGSU enters Wednesday's Ball State game with an all-time record of 48-30 in MAC Tournament contests. The Falcons have won 11 league tournament titles, the most of any conference institution, and BG has the second-highest winning percentage (.615) of any team in tourney games. BGSU's conference tournament win total also places the Falcons second among MAC teams.
Entering Wednesday's action, the Falcons have an all-time record of 17-9 in the MAC Tournament's quarterfinal round. BGSU is 15-8 in the semifinals and 11-4 in championship-game appearances over the years.
The Falcons also have marks of 4-8 in the first round, 1-0 in second-round games and 0-1 in the third round, as the tourney format has changed over the years.
BGSU is a perfect 10-0 in MAC Tournament home games, including a 1-0 mark at the Stroh Center. The Falcons are 2-11 in true road games and 36-19 in neutral-site contests in the league tourney over the years.
Game 4: No. 3 UMass (23-6, 15-3 MAC) vs. No. 6 Toledo (15-14, 9-9 MAC),
Dave Bacon (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Time TBD
No. 3 UMass: Preview coming soon.
No. 6 Toledo: The Toledo women's basketball team enters the Mid-American Conference Tournament this week as the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 seed UMass on Wednesday, March 11 in the quarterfinal round at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Tipoff for Wednesday's game will be approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Ball State-Bowling Green quarterfinal and will be the fourth game of the day. Streaming will be on ESPN+ and the Rocket Radio Network.
The Rockets (15-14, 9-9 MAC) come off a split week to close the regular season, defeating Western Michigan, 56-49 on the road, but falling at home, 78-71 to Ball State. Junior Kendall Carruthers (25 @ WMU), graduate student Patricia Anumgba (24 vs. Ball State) and junior Ella Weaver (21 vs. Ball State) all turned in 20-point efforts over the week. Toledo played 10 games against the tournament field in the regular season, with a 4-6 combined record.
The Minutewomen (23-6, 15-3 MAC) won five in a row to close the regular season, defeating Buffalo at home, 73-55 on Saturday.
The two sides will play for the second time in three weeks on Wednesday. On Feb. 18, Toledo secured a key road victory in a 60-52 triumph. Patricia Anumgba keyed the win on both ends of the floor, with 22 points, a 7-for-11 shooting effort, 4-for-7 from distance and a career-high seven steals. The win was Toledo's first all-time victory against UMass.
Toledo will play in the tournament for the 40th time, excluding the 2020 tournament, which was canceled after the quarterfinals. The Rockets hold a 62-30 (.674), the most wins and the highest winning percentage among MAC schools. UT has the second-most tournament titles with nine. Toledo has totaled 16 championship game appearances. Since the league switched to the eight-team format in 2021, Toledo is 7-3, has reached the semifinals in all four tournaments, the championship game twice and won once (2023).
Toledo has advanced to the semifinals of the tournament in each of the past four years.
Last year, the Rockets entered as the No. 2 seed and defeated Central Michigan, 76-58 in the quarterfinals and Buffalo, 56-49 in the semifinals. The Rockets fell in the championship game, 65-58 to No. 1 seed Ball State. Toledo previously won the tournament as a No. 6 seed. The Rockets defeated Akron, Kent State, Buffalo and Northern Illinois to secure the 2017 tournament crown. Toledo was last a No. 6 seed in 2019, falling in the quarterfinals to No. 3 Miami.
