Eastern Michigan def. Ohio, 63-53
Miami def. Central Michigan, 79-57
Toledo def. Akron, 71-60
Ball State def. Kent State, 75-56
Bowling Green def. Northern Illinois, 57-47
Stories Courtesy of MAC Media Relations Offices
Eastern Michigan def. Ohio, 63-53
ATHENS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team improved its Mid-American Conference mark to 7-2 (15-7 Overall) Wednesday evening, Feb. 1, after defeating Ohio (10-13, 3-6 MAC), 63-53 in a cross-divisional matchup here in the Convocation Center. The win preserves EMU's partial possession of first place in the MAC West Division, as Toledo also picked up a win this evening to maintain the two teams' tie atop the division.
Tavelyn James (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) led the Eagles with 29 points after connecting on 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from the floor, including a 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) effort from beyond the arc. James' performance tonight moved her up the ranks in a slew of MAC career categories. Her 29 points give her 2,235 for her career and move her into fourth place all-time in conference history, surpassing Carrie Moore's (2003-07) 2,224-points with Western Michigan University. James also surpassed Amy Sherry's (Kent State, 1991-96) 776 career made field goals to take sole possession of sixth-place in that respective category with 779.
Olivia Fouty (Toledo, Ohio-Sylvania Northview) recorded her fifth double-double of the season, tallying 12 points while snagging 10 boards and registering three blocks, while Natachia Watkins (South Euclid, Ohio-Brush) earned her second double-double after posting 10 points and 10 boards this evening with one block and a steal.
Ohio's Tenishia Benson led the Bobcats with 15 points, while Shavon Robinson added another 14 for the home team.
EMU shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) for the contest and hit 13-of-14 from the charity stripe. The Eagles defense forced 20 turnovers in the contest and did not allow an Ohio field goal until nearly eight minutes into the opening half. EMU would also win the battle of the boards, snagging 41 rebounds compared to Ohio's 27.
Both teams remained scoreless through the first two minutes of play, but Watkins finally put the Green and White on the board at the 18:19 mark on a baseline drive to the rim. Post points from Fouty and Paige Redditt (Kansas City, Mo.-Belton) helped string together an EMU 8-2 run for a two-possession lead, but the Bobcats converted on four early free throws and cut EMU's lead to four.
James surpassed the 500-point plateau for the season after connecting on a long-range triple with 9:41 remaining to put her team up by six, but the Bobcats would slowly claw their way to within one, 19-18, on a Mariah Bynard triple at the other end with just over seven remaining on the clock.
Both teams exchanged buckets in the waning minutes, but the Eagles would head into the locker room with a 33-26, after shooting a healthy 46.4 percent (13-of-28) in the first half of play. The Bobcats connected on 8-of-20 (40 percent) with 3-of-9 coming from beyond the arc, but were outworked on the boards, 33-26.
In the opening minute of the second half, EMU quickly expanded its lead to 11 thanks to lay ups by James and Watkins.
Ohio later cut its deficit to four on a pair of free throws by Robinson with 7:17 on the clock, but the Green and White would never look back, outscoring the Bobcats 16-13 through the remainder of the contest to seal the 61-53 road victory.
Ohio would close the gap to within six in the final minute of play, but EMU would never give up its lead and closed out the contest.
EMU will return to action this weekend when they host Miami University, Feb. 4. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
Miami def. Central Michigan, 79-57
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – An explosive offense in the first half, followed by a strong defensive second half led Miami to a 79-57 victory over Central Michigan Wednesday evening. Junior guard Courtney Osborn finished one assist short of a triple-double with 12 points, a career-high 10 rebounds and nine assists. She was one of five RedHawks in double-figures; they improve to 17-5 overall and 7-2 in the Mid-American Conference. The Chippewas fall to 12-11 overall and 4-5 in the MAC.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Kirsten Olowinski, two 3-point baskets from Maggie Boyer and a layup by Hannah Robertson gave Miami a quick 11-0 lead two and a half minutes into the game. Hannah Robertson scored on a couple more layups, while Osborn hit her first 3-pointer to put the RedHawks up, 20-5 at the 13:09 mark. Rachael Hencke and Erica Almady kept up the offensive assault with a couple of buckets apiece, as the Red and White got their largest lead of 20 at 30-10 with 10:11 remaining in the half.
A 12-6 run by the Chippewas pulled CMU to within 14 at 36-22. A layup from Hannah Robertson and another trey from Boyer made it 41-22. Central responded with an 8-0 run to pull within 11 at 41-30 with 3:08 to go. Three-pointers from Osborn and Boyer would make it a 17-point advantage, but a Brandie Baker 30-foot three-pointer at the buzzer sent Miami into the break up, 47-33.
Osborn and Boyer led the team with 12 points apiece, as each hit four 3-pointers during the period. Miami was 18-for-37 (48.6 percent) from the field, including 8-for-16 (50 percent) from behind the arc. Osborn also recorded seven assists and six rebounds during the frame.
A three-pointer from Hannah Robertson, along with a couple of jumpers from Olowinski helped keep the momentum to Miami’s advantage to begin the second half. The defense held the Chippewas to only four points over the first 10 minutes of the period as Miami took a 60-37 lead.
Central would get as close as 16 points at 68-52, but Olowinski would hit back-to-back jumpers to help seal the victory. The RedHawks ran a couple of plays at the end to try and get Osborn the second triple-double in school history, but were unsuccessful. Nonetheless, Miami came away with a convincing 22-point win.
Boyer led a balanced RedHawk attack with 14 points. Hannah Robertson and Olowinski each had 13, while Almady had 10. Miami held CMU to 29.2 percent shooting (19-for-65) for the game, while shooting 46.9 percent (30-for-64) itself. The Red and White outrebounded the Chippewas, 45-35, for the game.
Miami remains on the road on Saturday when it travels to Eastern Michigan for a 2 p.m. contest.
Toledo def. Akron, 71-60
TOLEDO, OH - Toledo ran its win streak against Mid-American Conference East Division opponents to 11 consecutive games with a 71-60 victory against Akron on Wednesday before 3,514 fans inside Savage Arena. With the triumph, the Rockets' extend their overall win streak to six straight contests and improve to 14-7 overall, 7-2 in the league.
Senior Courtney Ingersoll tied her career high with 23 points to keep UT in a two-way tie with Eastern Michigan for the top spot in the MAC West Division. Ingersoll also equalled her collegiate best with five triples and totaled a team-high six boards, three assists and two steals in a game-high 37 minutes to score in double figures for the 13th time this season.
Joining Ingersoll in double digits were junior Yolanda Richardson with 10 points, six caroms and one blocked shot and sophomore Brianna Jones tied her career high with 10 points off the bench. The Rockets also received solid contributions from junior Lecretia Smith (9 pts., 6 rebs.), senior Haylie Linn (7 pts., 6 rebs., game-high 5 asts.), sophomore Andola Dortch (7 pts., 3 asts.) and junior Kyle Baumgartner (5 pts., 5 rebs.) to lift the 2010-11 MAC regular-season champs to their fourth consecutive victory over the Zips (9-14, 3-6 MAC).
Toledo shot an impressive 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from the field, the second-highest total of the season, and finished with a 39-33 advantage on the boards and a 18-10 edge in assists. Akron entered tonight's cross-division contest leading the MAC, dishing out 15.2 helpers per game.
Ball State def. Kent State, 75-56
KENT, Ohio - The Ball State University women's basketball team (8-14, 3-6 MAC) captured a 75-56 victory over Kent State (5-14, 4-5 MAC) Wednesday night at the M.A.C Center.
Three Cardinals managed double figures in the Cardinals win with junior guard Shanee' Jackson leading the way with 16-points. Senior forward Suzanne Grossnickle chipped in 13-points off of 6-for-6 shooting from the field and also earned a double-double after leading Ball State defensively with 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Brandy Woody also scored 13-points on the night.
Ball State's bench outscored Kent State's bench 44-to-3 while shooting 56.0 percent from the field. The Cardinals held Kent State to a 35.7 shooting percentage for the contest. The Cardinals also out-rebounded the Golden Flashes 38-to-26.
Kent State started the second half with a 10-0 run over the Cardinals and continued to shoot well eventually cutting Ball State's halftime lead to 48-43 with 12:16 remaining, but Ball State fought back as Grossnickle rallied off five straight points to put Ball State back up by 10-points (53-43) at the 10:39 mark.
The Cardinals led by 15 (64-49) with 5:04 left on the clock. Despite the Golden Flashes efforts, they trailed Ball State the entire game.
The Cardinals opened the game with back-to-back three-pointers from freshman guard Brittany Carter and Woody to give Ball State an early 6-0 edge over the Golden Flashes.
Ball State led 10-5 at the 15:49 mark before putting together a 10-0 run after free throws from junior guard Mercedes Miller along with baskets from Grossnickle, Jackson and Woody.
With the Cardinals up 20-5 at the 13:10 mark over Kent State, Ball State controlled the remainder of the half, as they led the Golden Flashes 41-20 at intermission after shooting 60.7 percent from the field while holding Kent State to only a 28.6 shooting percentage.
The Ball State women's basketball team continues league action Saturday when it hosts Buffalo at 1 p.m. in Worthen Arena. Ball State head women's basketball coach Kelly Packard and her staff will coach shoeless for charity that contest. To purchase tickets to the game, go to www.ballstatesports.com or call the ticket office at 1.888.BSU.TICKET. A reminder that Saturday's game is a double-header with the Ball State men's basketball team who will host Miami at 4 p.m.
Bowling Green def. Northern Illinois, 57-47
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team overcame a sluggish shooting night with opportunistic defense, downing Northern Illinois University, 57-47, Wednesday night (Feb. 1). The Mid-American Conference game was held at the Stroh Center.
FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY - courtesy Brandon Heiss, BGSU Marketing & Communications
POSTGAME AUDIO: Logan Pastor & Jennifer Roos
Scroll down for video of the postgame interviews
With the win, the Falcons improve to 19-3 on the season, and BGSU is a perfect 9-0 in MAC play. The Falcons have won 12-straight games and 19 of the last 20 contests after an 0-2 start to the season.
The Huskies drop to 9-12 and 3-6, respectively.
Point guards Jessica Slagle and Logan Pastor combined for 26 points in the win. Slagle's team-leading 14 points included a 6-for-6 effort at the free-throw line in the final two-plus minutes to help seal the victory. That 6-for-6 effort by the senior tri-captain came after her team had gone just 7-of-18 from the stripe in the first 37:53 of the game.
Pastor, a freshman, had a career-high 12 points in 14 minutes vs. the Huskies. She was 4-of-6 from the field, hitting her only three-point attempt.
The Falcons, in addition to struggling from the free-throw line (13-of-24 on the night), also were cold from beyond the arc. BGSU made just two three-point field goals in 17 attempts for the game, including an 0-of-9 effort in the first half.
Northern held a 40-34 rebounding advantage for the game, but the Falcons forced the Huskies into 20 turnovers while turning the ball over just nine times themselves. BGSU had a 23-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Falcons also got 22 points from players off the bench, a season-high total for a MAC game. In addition to Pastor's 12 points, sophomore Jill Stein scored six points in 20 minutes of relief for the home team.
Claire Jakubicek led all players in scoring, with 17 points for the Huskies, while Amanda Corral had 12. Jakubicek led the Huskies and tied for game honors with eight rebounds.
The Falcons never trailed, but BGSU also could never pull away from the Huskies. After neither team scored for nearly two minutes to begin the game, the Falcons got six points in relatively quick fashion. Three layups in just 77 seconds, including two by Slagle off the drive, got the home team going.
Following Slagle's second driving layup in just under a minute's time, junior Chrissy Steffen stole the ball from Corral at midcourt and sailed in all alone for a layup and a 6-0 lead, prompting an NIU timeout.
Satavia Taylor got the visitors on the scoreboard at the 16:48 mark, but Steffen responded with a three-point play out of the game's first media timeout. Her free throw gave the Brown and Orange a 9-2 advantage.
Sophomore Jillian Halfhill's 'and-one' shot off the glass took the teams into the next media break, and the hosts had a 13-4 lead. A three-pointer by Corral, however, was followed by a conventional three-point play from Jakubicek. BGSU's advantage was just 13-10, just over midway through the opening half.
With the Falcons still nursing a three-point lead, a jumper by freshman Jasmine Matthews was followed by a Northern miss. Stein rebounded that miss and fired an outlet pass to Pastor, who took the ball all the way upcourt and hit a pull-up jumper in transition. That shot gave the hosts a 19-12 lead.
Redshirt junior Danielle Havel split a pair of charity tosses, and Pastor's wraparound pass found Stein inside. The sophomore's layup gave the Falcons a 22-12 advantage.
Pastor sent the home team into the lockerroom with a 12-point lead, hitting a jumper with six seconds left. That shot restored some sanity to a final minute that saw a great deal of back-and-forth play, a veritable plethora of missed shots and a turnover or two.
BGSU held the Huskies to just a 23.8% field-goal rate in that opening half. The Falcons kept the visitors off the scoreboard for the final 6:17 of the period.
After making just five field goals during the opening 20 minutes, the Huskies hit three shots -- and added a pair of free throws to boot -- in under two minutes at the start of the second period. Courtney Shelton, who was scoreless with five turnovers in the first half, hit a three-pointer just 16 seconds after play began in the second half.
Then, Northern's Kim Davis came up with a steal and a layup. Just 39 seconds into the period, Jennifer Roos and the Falcons used a timeout.
That stoppage did not slow the Huskies, however, as NIU forced a BG miss, and Jakubicek drew a foul and hit a pair of tosses to cut BG's lead to just five points. Slagle broke the Falcons' scoring drought with a jumper, but Jakubicek came right back with a layup. Less than two minutes into the period, the Huskies had scored nine points, and the home team's lead was just five points, 26-21.
Matthews responded with a three-pointer -- BG's first successful trey of the game -- off of a Slagle feed. After Alicia Johnson answered with a layup, redshirt sophomore Alexis Rogers took a Havel pass and scored inside. Then, Slagle banked home a turnaround shot, giving the Falcons a 33-23 advantage. Pastor's free throws at the 14:25 mark gave the hosts a 6-0 run and a 12-point lead.
Several Falcons were in foul trouble, however, as Rogers and Slagle each had picked up their third foul of the night not long before Pastor's two tosses. Those throws, however, resulted from Corral's fourth foul of the game for the visitors.
Junior Allison Papenfuss threw the ball inside for a Stein layup and a 12-point advantage with 13:05 remaining, and after two Huskie jumpers, Pastor's 'and-one' layup gave the host a 39-29 lead heading into a media timeout.
Out of that break, Pastor's free-throw try would not drop, but Papenfuss came up with the rebound and was immediately fouled. Both of her shots were on target, and the junior again fed Stein for a layup, giving BG a 43-29 lead with 10:40 left.
That advantage grew to a game-high 15 points after a Pastor free throw 20 seconds later. And, after the Huskies scored four quick points, Pastor answered with a three-pointer that gave her team a 47-33 edge with under nine minutes remaining. After Corral scored inside, Havel's entry pass to Rogers resulted in a layup at the shot-clock buzzer.
Neither team scored for nearly three minutes, before the Huskies scored five-straight points. NIU went 1-of-2 at the free-throw line three times during that stretch, and Jakubicek also hit a layup. After Corral's charity toss at the 3:26 mark, the Falcons' lead was down to nine points, 49-40.
But, Matthews faked a three-point try, took two dribbles to her left and knocked down a two-point try. That shot marked the Falcons' first points in more than five minutes, and BG's lead did not drop below double figures the rest of the way.
Slagle, as mentioned, was a perfect 6-for-6 in the final 2:07 of the game, offsetting a three-pointer and two foul shots by Corral along with a Shelton layup.
Matthews and Steffen each scored seven points for the Falcons, while Rogers had six. Havel had just one point, but led the Falcons in rebounds (eight), steals (three) and blocked shots (a career-high three). She also had two assists to tie for the team lead.
The Falcons return to the Stroh Center Saturday afternoon (Feb. 4), hosting Western Michigan University in a 2:00 p.m. start.