Ball State rolls in Game 1; Toledo fights back in Game 2 to reach MAC Championship

Photo credit David Dermer

The MAC Women’s Basketball Tournament semifinal games were played on Friday down at Rocket Arena in Cleveland and here are the highlights from each game.

Game 1

Ball State 70

Kent State 53

The Ball State Cardinals got the lead early and never looked back as they cruised to a victory over the defending MAC champs of Kent State. They now will move onto the championship game in hopes of their first MAC title since 2009. 

The Cardinals were able to race out to a big lead early going up as much as 15 points to lead 25-10 early into the 2nd quarter. Kent State was able to bounce back a bit but the Cardinals led 34-26 at the break. For the rest of the game Ball State maintained the lead and eventually went up by 23 points late in the fourth quarter. 

Ball State converted 18 Kent State turnovers into 22 points and won the game in the paint with a 30-24 advantage.

Ball State is primed going into the championship game with a hugely veteran team that has excellent shooters, rim protectors and rebounders and a defensive that presents issues for other teams because of their length and athleticism. 

The Cardinals were led in scoring by Lachelle Austin with 21 points. Their floor general added 15 points, 9 boards and 7 assists. Both Alex Richard and Madelyn Bischoff contributed 11 points a piece. 

For Kent State they were led in scoring by Jenna Batsch with 14 points. Janae Tyler added 11 points and Mya Babbitt contributed 10 points. Bridgette Dunn had 13 rebounds in the game. 

 

Game 2

Toledo 56

Buffalo 49

 

It was a defensive battle throughout the game between the Toledo Rockets and the Buffalo Bulls.The Bulls battled to a 20-13 halftime lead. In the second half the teams started scoring more but the game continued to be tight. Toledo captured a 44-38 lead early in the 4th quarter. That close advantage continued for Toledo but then Buffalo got to within three points at 48-45 in just under the three minute mark. 

The uptempo Buffalo team continued to try and rattle the Rockets with their full court press but it wasn’t enough. Toledo’s Khera Goss hit a big three pointer from the right baseline with just over two minutes to push the Rockets lead back to six at 51-45. From there Buffalo continued to foul Toledo to force them to the foul line. But the Rockets were money at the line and maintained the lead for the victory. 

For the game both Toledo seniors Sammi Mikonowicz and Nan Garcia registered double doubles. Mikonowicz had 13 points and 11 boards. Garcia had 13 points and 15 rebounds. Goss added 9 points. Both Jessica Cook and Kendall Carruthers had 8 points. Toledo won the rebounding battle 45 to 28 and Rockets scored 13 points from those 12 offensive rebounds. 

Buffalo was led in scoring by Chellia Watson with 12 points. Both Lani Cornfield and Jordyn Beaty each had 10 points. 

This now sets up a battle between the No. 1 seeded Ball State Cardinals and the No. 2 seeded Toledo Rockets. The championship game will be played tomorrow (Saturday) at 11 AM at Rocket Arena. 

Stay tuned as NEOSI as we will have all the latest updates on the MAC tournament!