CLEVELAND – The 2025-26 Mid-American Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament continues today, March 13, with a pair of semifinal matchups inside Rocket Arena.
Wednesday, March 13th -- MAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Semifinals
Game 5: No. 1 Miami (26-6, 16-2 MAC) vs. No. 5 Ohio (18-12, 11-7 MAC)
Dave Bacon (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats |10 AM ET
No. 1 Miami: Miami squares off with Ohio on Friday, March 13 in the Mid-American Conference semifinals. Opening tip is scheduled for 10 a.m. and will be Miami's first trip to the semis since 2019.
Amber Tretter has 29 double-doubles (third-best in program history) in her career and is a near walking double-double in points (14.2) and rebounds (8.0) this season. She is on pace to become just the second RedHawk in program history to record 1,000 career rebounds and has scored 1,102 career points, which ranks 22nd in program history. She has scored in double figures in 25 of 32 games this season.
Miami has four players averaging double-digits, led by Amber Tretter (14.2 ppg.). She is joined by Amber Scalia (13.4 ppg.), Ilse de Vries (12.6 ppg.) and Tamar Singer (11.1 ppg.). Tretter has led the team in scoring nine times, while Singer has done it seven times. Scalia and de Vries have done it six times apiece.
Miami is currently third in the MAC in scoring (70.8) and first in defense (58.7), which results in a 12.1 point margin of victory, second-best in the conference. The RedHawks are second in the MAC in field goal percentage (44.7%), three-point percentage (34.8%) and free throw percentage (75.7%). Miami is first in turnover margin (4.9) and second in blocked shots (3.8).
Miami captured its first regular season championship since the 2003-04 season, and are 26-6 overall and 16-2 in MAC play, but those are not the only highlights this season.The 26 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). 20 of their 26 wins are by double digits. Three of Miami's six loses are by two possessions or less.
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.
Friday will be the rubber match in the Battle of the Bricks. The RedHawks downed Ohio Jan. 31 (90-70), but Ohio closed the regular season with a 77-62 victory back on March 7. Miami connected on 17 three pointers back on Jan. 31, while the Bobcats were 13-of-28 from long distance on March 7.
No. 5 Ohio: Preview coming soon.
Game 6: No. 2 Ball State (26-6, 16-2 MAC) vs. No. 6 Toledo (16-14, 9-9 MAC),
Dave Bacon (PxP), Jacki Windon (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Time TBD
No. 2 Ball State: The No. 2 seed Ball State women's basketball team is set to face the No. 6 seed Toledo Rockets in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament this Friday, March 13, 2026, at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The Cardinals advanced after a 75–63 quarterfinal victory over Bowling Green, powered by a career-high 25 points from sophomore guard Grace Kingery. They now meet a Toledo squad that pulled off a 67–56 upset over No. 3 seed UMass to reach its fifth consecutive semifinal. While Toledo leads the all-time series 63–35, Ball State has won the last two meetings, including a regular-season sweep this year and a victory in the 2025 MAC Championship game. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 12:15 p.m. ET, or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first semifinal between Miami (OH) and Ohio.
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 12-11 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). Key Factors to a BSU win: The Cardinals will have to continue to rebound the basketball well and limit Toledo from making second chance points and limit the Rockets from making any late game runs. Ball State will need to continue to rely on its interior play as Tessa Towers and Bree Salenbien have been consistent double-double threats against the Rockets.
A victory would propel the Ball State Cardinals back into the MAC Championship game for a potential matchup against either the top-seeded Miami RedHawks or the No. 5 seed Ohio Bobcats. Notably, the Cardinals have never faced either opponent in a conference title game. This would be their first postseason meeting since March 13, 2009, when Ball State dominated Miami 76-51 in the quarterfinal round. BSU and Ohio last met in the 2024 MAC Tournament, where the Cardinals secured a 77-53 victory during the quarterfinals.
No. 6 Toledo: The Rockets (16-14) took down No. 3 seed UMass in Wednesday's quarterfinals in a 67-56 result. Tied at 44 in the fourth quarter, Toledo outscored the Minutewomen, 23-12 over the final 6:33, never losing the lead from that point on. The backcourt trio of Patricia Anumgba, Ella Weaver and Kendall Carruthers combined for 51 points on the evening. Anumgba posted her first career double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Toledo also out-rebounded the Minutewomen, 46-31.
The Rockets will play in the semifinals for the fifth-straight season and have an 8-3 record in the MAC Tournament since 2022. A win would advance Toledo to the MAC Tournament championship game for the third time in four years. The Rockets' defense has held eight MAC opponents under 55 points this season and are 8-0 in such instances. This includes five opponents under 50 points. Toledo has out-rebounded 22-of-30 opponents this season. UT was +15 in the rebound column against UMass in the quarterfinals. UT has out-rebounded opponents by double-digits 14 times this season.
