Saturday’s Women’s Basketball Results
Eastern Michigan 77, Akron 62
Kent State 67, Western Michigan 60
UMass 73, Buffalo 55
Bowling Green 77, Northern Illinois 66
Ball State 78, Toledo 71
Ohio 77, Miami 62

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Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Eastern Michigan 77, Akron 62
Box Score

AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Eastern Michigan University women's basketball senior Sisi Eleko tied the program record with her 31st double-double as an Eagle in a 77-62 win over the University of Akron to close the 2025-26 season Saturday, March 7, at James A. Rhodes Arena.
 
Eleko (Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy/Canisius) tied former Eagle Ce'Nara Skanes (2019-23) record. Both Eleko and Brooklyn Thrash (Wayne, Ohio/Elmwood/Canisius) secured a double-double, marking the second time this season EMU has had two players do so in the same game. Eleko had 13 points and 13 rebounds while Thrash scored 19 points with 10 boards.
 
A dominant second half led the Eagles to victory as they outscored Akron, 53-33, to earn the win. Eastern controlled the boards as three Eagles reached double figures in rebounds, led by Eleko's 13. Ainhoa Cea (Irun, Spain/IES Pio Baroja Bhi/Lipscomb) added 11 and Thrash grabbed 10.

How it Happened

• Akron started strong, getting out to a 8-0 lead with 6:45 to go in the first quarter, and a 10-2 edge at the media timeout. Akron continued its strong play the rest of the stanza as Eastern was scoreless until the 4:59 mark of the frame. The Zips were up, 15-6, at the end of the first 10 minutes.
• Eastern fought back in the second quarter, outscoring the Zips, 18-13, highlighted by a 9-1 EMU run in the middle stages of the frame. After trailing by nine points after the first, EMU was down just four at halftime, 28-24. Cea paced EMU in the first half of play with six points, seven rebounds, and one assist. Thrash was also productive, leading the team with nine points to go with six rebounds.
• EMU came out firing in the third quarter, scoring the first seven points of the frame and taking its first lead of the day courtesy of triples from Fernanda Ovalle (Santiago, Chile/Montverde Academy/Xavier) and Thrash. Akron regained a slim 40-39 advantage at the third quarter media timeout. EMU ended the quarter on top by one, 50-49.
• EMU poured it on in the fourth, totaling 27 points in the final quarter to Akron's 12 as EMU ended the season on a high note with a 77-62 win against the Zips.

Kent State 67, Western Michigan 60
Box Score

KENT, Ohio — Kent State celebrated Senior Day with a 67-60 victory over Western Michigan as the regular season came to a close on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Flashes (15-15, 9-9 MAC) finish the season with a 10-3 record inside of the M.A.C. Center, including five consecutive victories.

Kent State used 8-0 and 10-0 runs during the second quarter to lead by 10 at halftime and pushed the advantage to 19 by scoring the first nine points of the third quarter.

Junior Mya Babbitt led all scorers with 27 points and recorded four steals. Freshman Anna Campanelli scored 11 points to join Babbitt in double-figures. Senior Dionna Gray posted team-highs of eight assists and six rebounds.

The Flashes will head to Cleveland for the 2026 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament and battle Miami in a quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday, March 11.

UMass 73, Buffalo 55
Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. – Massachusetts women's basketball (23-6, 15-3 MAC) defeated Buffalo (3-27, 1-17), 73-55, on a Saturday afternoon tilt at Mullins Center. An 8-0 run to open the game and 22-8 advantage in the second quarter propelled the Minutewomen to a Senior Day victory. 

 Seniors Allie Palmieri and Megan Olbrys powered the offensive unit for the Minutewomen, combining for 36 points. Palmieri led UMass with 19 points, four three-pointers and five rebounds, with Olbrys recording 17 points, five boards and tying her career-high with five steals.  

Yahmani McKayle chipped in 15 points, with 13 coming in the second half, and swiping a career-high seven steals.  

Defensively, the Minutewomen pestered the Bulls the whole game, forcing a season-high 23 turnovers and securing 17 steals. UMass held Buffalo to just 36.5 percent shooting in the contest, marking the 15th time this season UMass has held an opponent under 40 percent in a game.  

Breaking Down the Action:      

• Prior to the game, seniors Lilly Ferguson, Megan Olbrys and Allie Palmieri were honored, with each being named starters for the game. 
• Seniors Olbrys and Ferguson netted the first points of the game with consecutive layups at 9:48 and 8:50 to make the score 4-0. 
• The run reached 8-0 with baskets from Palmieri and Ferguson at 8:08.  
• Palmieri buried a right-wing triple at 5:30 to extend the UMass lead to 13-8.  
• Buffalo orchestrated a 10-4 run to take the lead, 18-17 with 1:09 remaining in the opening quarter.  
• Palmieri hit a three to open the second quarter to take lead back, 20-18. 
• Palmieri hit her third three of the first half, extending the Massachusetts lead to 25-18 at 8:13 in the second.  
• Aiyanna Perkins finished through contact at 5:34 to keep the Minutewomen ahead 29-23.  
• Yahmani McKayle went the length of the court and hit a high arcing layup at 3:34 to give the Minutewomen a 10 point lead, 33-23.  
• UMass ended the first half with consecutive baskets to enter the break with a 39-26 lead.  
• A pair of Ferguson free throws and a putback layup by Olbrys opened the second half for UMass, extending the advantage to 43-26 with 8:52 left in the third.  
• Ferguson collected an offensive rebound, with the ball finding its way back to Olbrys for an easy second-chance layup putting UMass ahead 46-28 at 7:20. 
• Buffalo responded with an 11-6 run to cut into the UMass lead, bringing the score to 52-40 in favor of the Minutewomen at 2:42.  
• McKayle connected on a triple at 1:38 from the left wing to put the Minutewomen up 15, 57-42, at 1:38.  
• McKayle snuck a floated at the end of the third quarter, bringing her total to 15 points and increasing the UMass lead to 61-44 heading into the final quarter.  
• Palmieri hit her fourth three of the game with 8:40 remaining in the game to put Massachusetts ahead by 20, 64-44

Bowling Green 77, Northern Illinois 66
Box Score

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team closed the first half on an 11-0 run to take control Saturday afternoon (March 7), and the Falcons posted a 77-66 win over Northern Illinois University in Mid-American Conference action at the Stroh Center.

Junior Paige Kohler had 20 points to pace four double-digit scorers for the Falcons (17-13, 9-9 MAC), who ended the regular season with four wins in the final five games.

Sophomore Lauren Gerken came off the bench to score 17 points, while junior Jaedyn Cook and sophomore Johnea Donahue had 12 apiece.

Cook's point total was her highest in MAC play this season, while Gerken was just one point shy of her season best.

Donahue had another well-rounded contest, with a team-high eight rebounds and game-best totals of seven assists and six steals in the win.

Senior Emily Siesel scored six points on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting from the arc. Siesel, Cook, Donahue and Gerken all had a plus/minus rating of +12 in the contest.

Nevaeh Wingate had game-best totals of 21 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies (7-23, 4-14 MAC), who see the season come to an end. Saturday was NIU's final MAC game, as the Huskies will join the Horizon League on July 1.

The first half saw each team post multiple scoring runs, with the last – and the biggest – belonging to the Falcons. With the game tied at 26, a Gerken three-pointer began a span in which BG scored 11 points in under two minutes. A Kohler three-point play was followed by back-to-back buckets from Cook, with the last being of the 'and-one' variety. Cook's free throw gave the Falcons a 37-26 lead at the half, and Donahue began the second-half scoring with a pair of charity tosses.

NIU cut BG's 13-point lead to eight with a quick run, and the Huskies got as close as seven on a Maria Serracanta jumper midway through the quarter, but the visitors would draw no closer. With the margin still at seven early in the fourth period, the Falcons went on a 7-0 run to take a 60-46 lead with 7:15 to go.

The Falcons had a whopping 47-10 advantage in bench scoring in Saturday's win.
Ball State 78, Toledo 71
Box Score

TOLEDO, Ohio - The Ball State women's basketball team closed out the 2025-26 regular season with an exclamation point on Saturday afternoon, defeating arch-rival Toledo 78-71 at John F. Savage Arena. The victory marks the Cardinals' 25th win of the season and solidifies their position as the No. 2 seed heading into next week's Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament.

In a high-stakes rematch of the 2025 MAC Championship game, Ball State (25-6, 16-2 MAC) relied on a dominant interior presence to overcome the Rockets (15-14, 9-9 MAC). The Cardinals outscored Toledo 40-16 in the paint and controlled the glass with a 50-38 rebounding advantage.

Tessa Towers anchored the interior for Ball State, sparking a 47% team shooting performance with a dominant 22-point, 12-rebound showing—her 10th double-double this season. Supporting the offense, Zhen Verburgt and Karsyn Norman added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Bree Salenbien capped the balanced attack, posting 10 points and 10 boards for her seventh double-double of the year.

The regular-season finale in Toledo served as an ideal preparation for the Ball State Cardinals, who secured a victory to lock in the No. 2 seed for next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament. Although Towers put Ball State on the board first with an early layup, the game quickly evolved into a back-and-forth struggle with their rivals. The lead exchanged hands multiple times, with the Cardinals stretching their advantage to seven points (14-7) midway through the first quarter following another interior basket by Towers. However, the Toledo Rockets rallied before the media timeout, closing the gap to take an 18-16 lead by the end of the period.

A flurry of quick shots under the basket sparked a Ball State run, as Tagayi hooked up with Salenbien to put the Cardinals up 23-18 in the second quarter. The momentum held through the break; bolstered by a clutch triple from bench standout Verburgt, Ball State headed to the locker room leading Toledo, 35-26.

Following the intermission, the Cardinals maintained their momentum, clearly intent on finishing the regular season with a statement win. Ball State dominated the third quarter, firing on all cylinders as Towers and Salenbien proved impossible for the Rockets to contain inside. Capping off the frame with another Verburgt bucket, the Cardinals carried a commanding 56-39 lead into the final stretch.

Ball State effectively sealed its 25th win of the year after building a dominant 62-43 lead with just over seven minutes remaining, capped by a layup from Towers. Toledo was unable to recover from the nearly 20-point deficit, allowing the Cardinals to potentially claim a share of the 2026 MAC regular-season crown. The team's fate now rests on the outcome of the Miami vs. Ohio contest, scheduled for a 6 p.m. ET tip-off tonight in Athens, Ohio.

The Ball State women's basketball team is set to defend its 2025 MAC Tournament title this week in Cleveland. As the No. 2 seed, the Cardinals will compete in a quarterfinal matchup against the No. 7 seed at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday, March 11, in the third game of the day.

Ohio 77, Miami 62
Box Score

ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team (17-12, 11-7 MAC) concluded the regular season with a 77-62 win over Battle of the Bricks rival Miami (25-6, 16-2 MAC) on Saturday, March 7 in the Convocation Center. After the game, the Bobcats honored the three members of the 2026 senior class: graduate students Aliah McWhorter (Cincinnati, Ohio), Elli Garnett (Lakewood, Colo.) and Aja Austin (Westerville, Ohio).
 
Ohio shot 41.8 percent from the field, 46.4 percent from the arc and 69.2 percent from the line. The Bobcats finished with 37 rebounds, 12 assists, 13 steals and one block.
 
Garnett led the Bobcats with a season-high 21 points in addition to 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. Elli added two assists and two steals.
 
Junior Bailey Tabeling (Seymour, Ind.) finished with 18 points; shooting 6-for-9 from the field, 5-for-8 from the arc and 1-for-2 from the line. Tabeling also recorded a team-high five assists in addition to two steals.
 
Redshirt sophomore Bella Ranallo (Lake Forest, Ill.) and junior Antonicia Moultrie (Nassau, Bahamas) added eight points each for Ohio.
 
Ohio got off to a strong start with back-to-back baskets by Garnett, taking a 5-0 lead with 8:52 left on the clock. The Bobcats extended their lead to 10-3 off a three pointer by Tabeling with 5:48 to go in the first quarter. At 3:41, Miami had cut Ohio's lead to 10-9. Two made free throws by Ranallo gave Ohio a 17-14 lead at the end of the first.
 
The RedHawks took their first lead of the game, 25-23, with 3:45 to play in the second quarter. The two teams traded points back-and-forth with Ohio taking a 32-31 lead at the half.
 
Ohio outscored Miami 29-17 in the third quarter. The Bobcats went on a 17-1 scoring run for almost five minutes and took a 49-32 lead over the RedHawks with 4:57 left to play. Miami cut Ohio's lead to 10 points, 56-46, with just under a minute and a half to go. A layup by redshirt sophomore Monica Williams (Indianapolis, Ind.) in the final four seconds gave Ohio a 61-48 lead at the end of the third.
 
With just over five minutes left in the game, the Bobcats went up 68-54 against the RedHawks. Ohio achieved its largest lead of the game with 26 seconds left in the game, going up 77-59 against Miami. The Bobcats went on to defeat to the RedHawks, 77-62.
 
The Bobcats will be back in action at the 2026 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 11 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. No. 5 seed Ohio will face No. 4 seed Central Michigan in the quarterfinals, tip-off time TBD.