From left are Megan Carter (honorable mention all-MAC), Lindsey Thall (all-defensive team), Nila Blackford (all-freshman team) and Katie Shumate (all-freshman and honorable mention all-MAC). (Illustration from KSU website.)

Kent State’s Nila Blackford and Katie Shumate made the Mid-American Conference all-freshman, and sophomore Lindsey Thall was named to the all-defensive team.

Shumate and senior Megan Carter received honorable mention all-MAC.

Central Michigan’s Micaela Kelly was MAC player of the year, CMU’s Heather Oesterle coach of the year and Buffalo’s Dyaisha Fair freshman of the year.

The selection of Blackford and Shumate means Kent State put two players on the all-freshman team for the second year in a row. Asiah Dingle and Thall were all-freshman last season.

First-team all-MAC members were Kelly, Ohio’s Cece Hooks and Erica Johnson, Ball State’s Oshlynn Brown and Northern Illinois’ Courtney Woods.

The results were released today by the MAC. Media members vote on coach of the year, player of the year and freshmen of the year; league head coaches on the rest of the awards.

Shumate currently is   a game. She scored more than 20 three times, more than 15 12 times and had a high of 27 against Bowling Green Feb. 29. Other stats:

• First on the team and fifth in the MAC in minutes played (34.4 per game).
• Second on the team and 14th in MAC in rebounds (6.4).
• Second on the team and sixth in MAC in blocked shots (0.9).
• Second on the team and eight in MAC in 3-point percentage (37.4).
• Third on the team in field-goal percentage (42.7).
• Third on the team in assists (1.5) and steals (1.2).
• Her 13 made free throws against Bowling Green ties for most in the MAC this season. So does her 15 attempts that day.
• Had three double-doubles.

Statistics are for all games; rankings are for player averaging more than 10 minutes per game.

Blackford leads the team in rebounds at 7.8 per game, which is sixth in the MAC. She had 15 rebounds against Akron Feb. 26,  and had three double-doubles.

She led Kent State in scoring most of the season, but her output has dropped since she suffered a concussion against Akron Feb. 12. Blackford missed three games and has averaged just over six points a game since. She has averaged nine rebounds since coming back from her injury.

Blackford was third on team in scoring at 12.2 points per game. She had 31 points against Robert Morris and scored 20 or more four times.

Thall led the MAC in blocked shots at 2.2 (2.7 in conference games). She blocked four or more shots seven times this season with a high of seven blocks against Eastern Michigan. Her 63 total blocks rank 29th in the country and seventh in KSU history. Thall also led the MAC in blocks last season at 1.6 per game.

Carter fought injuries and illness through most of the season but still averaged 12.2 points a game and scored more than 20 five times. She reached 1,000 points in her career against St. Bonaventure won Dec. 3 and ranks 18th in scoring in Kent State history at 1,234 points.

The full all-MAC awards:

Player of the Year

• Micaela Kelly, Central Michigan

Coach of the Year

• Heather Oesterle, Central Michigan

Freshman of the Year

• Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo

Defensive Player of the Year

• Cece Hooks, Ohio

Sixth Player of the Year

• Gabrielle Bird, Central Michigan

All-MAC First Team

• Oshlynn Brown, Ball State
• Micaela Kelly, Central Michigan
• Courtney Woods, Northern Illinois
• Cece Hooks, Ohio
• Erica Johnson, Ohio

All-MAC Second Team

• Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo
• Molly Davis, Central Michigan
• Areanna Combs, Eastern Michigan
• Lauren Dickerson, Miami
• Breanna Mobley, Western Michigan

All-MAC Third Team

• Haliegh Reinoehl, Akron
• Theresa Onwuka, Buffalo
• Kyra Bussell, Central Michigan
• Savannah Kluesner, Miami
• Jordan Walker, Western Michigan

All-MAC Honorable Mention

• Jordyn Dawson, Akron
• Angela Perry, Bowling Green
• Megan Carter, Kent State
• Katie Shumate,Kent State
• Amani Burke, Ohio

All-Defensive Team 

• Theresa Onwuka, Buffalo
• Micaela Kelly, Central Michigan
• Areanna Combs, Eastern Michigan
• Lindsey Thall, Kent State
• Cece Hooks, Ohio

All-Freshman Team 

• Sydney Freeman, Ball State
• Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo
• Molly Davis, Central Michigan
• Nila Blackford, Kent State
• Katie Shumate, Kent State
• Peyton Scott, Miami

All-freshman team has six members because of a tie in the voting.

It could be a wide-open MAC Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Central Michigan had by far the best league record (16-2), but the lost two of its last three, including to ninth-place Toledo. The Chippewas won nine games by eight points or fewer.

No. 2 Ball State (13-5) lost its second-to-last game at 10th-place Northern Illinois. No. 3 Kent State 011-7) lost twice — by 13 and 14 points — to No. Buffalo, a team it could meet in the quarterfinals.

Ohio (11-7) had lost four in a row before it beat Miami in its last game. Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan were tied or a game apart in the battle for the fourth seed all season.

The seventh through 12th seeds all defeated at least one team in the first division.

MAC women’s Tournament Central, with schedule and ticket information.

All games are on ESPN+, which costs costs $4.99 a month. All men’s and women’s MAC Tournament games except those on network TV. ESPN+ will stream the MAC gymnastics championship and many spring sports, including most championships.  ESPN+ includes all MAC games except a handful on free channels, including CBS Sports. It includes many other mid-major conferences and some original programming.

Links to Monday’s games are noted in the pairings.

Here are tonight’s first-round matchups. Winners will advance to the quarterfinals at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland Wednesday.

• No. 12 seed Bowling Green (3-15 MAC, 10-20 overall) at No. 5 Western Michigan (10-8, 17-12). The teams split in the regular season. Game starts at 7 p.m. ESPN+ link: https://es.pn/2IwrLNi.

The winner will play No. 4 Ohio (11-7, 18-11) at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Cleveland.

• No. 11 seed Miami (4-14, 11-19) at No. 6 Buffalo (9-9, 18-11). The teams split in the regular season. Buffalo has won five in a row; Miami has lost eight in a row. Game starts at 5 p.m. (The Buffalo men play at 7:30.) ESPN+ link: https://es.pn/3cDe0KN.

The winner will play No. 3 Kent State (11-7, 18-11) at about 8 p.m. Wednesday.

• No. 10 Northern Illinois (7-11, 11-18) at No. 7 Eastern Michigan (9-9, 14-15). The teams split. Game starts at 7 p.m. ESPN+ link: https://es.pn/39DceqQ.

Winner plays No. 2 Ball State (13-5, 21-9) at about 5:15 p.m Wednesday.

• No. 9 Toledo (7-11, 12-17) at No. 8 Akron (8-10, 15-14). Toledo won the only meeting in the regular season. Game starts at 7 p.m. ESPN+ link: https://es.pn/2TMW0F4.

The winner will play No. 1 seed Central Michigan (16-2, 23-6) at noon Wednesday.

As the reporter who covers Kent State women’s basketball team most, I get to help pick the MAC coach of the year, player of the year and freshman of the year. More than 30 media folk will vote on those awards. Coaches pick the other awards.

The official awards will be announced over the next few days.

For what it’s worth, here’s how I voted:

Coach of the year

Heather Oesterle, Central Michigan. It may be obvious; the coach of the championship team always wins. But my criteria is more to pick the coach who does more than expected with the personnel she or he has.

Oesterle took over in July for her longtime boss, Sue Guevara, who won a ton of championships herself . Oesterle inherited a team that had lost two of the best players in Central Michigan history — guard Presley Hudson and forward Reyna Frost. The preseason coaches’ poll did pick CMU to win the West — by only one vote.

Her team has gone 22-6 and 16-2 in the MAC. The Chippewas’ RPI is 18 (of 351 teams); I can’t remember another MAC team having an RPI that high at the end of the regular season.

Oesterle helped Micaela Kelly become the best player in the league (see next award). She helped Molly Davis become one of the best freshmen in the conference. She seems to have a very good recruiting class coming in next season.

You can’t do much more than that your first year.

We got to rank three choices. Oesterle should be a lock. My second choice was  Ball State’s Brady Sallee, whose team was picked fifth in the West and went 21-9. Third was KSU’s Todd Starkey, who started two freshmen and two sophomores, had injuries to three key players and still took third in the conference.

Player of the year

Junior guard Micaela Kelly, Central Michigan. My criteria on this one is the single player that had the most impact on the league. Kelly was the No. 3 player on her own team last season. This season she’s among the MAC’s top 15 in every category except blocked shots and 3-point percentage. She leads the league in scoring in all games (she’s third in MAC games) and first in assists.

Sophomore guard Erica Johnson of Ohio is a close second. She leads the league in scoring in league games only and is in the top 13 in the conference in everything but blocked shots and free-throw percentage.

But Kelly led her team to the championship the Ohio was overwhelming picked to win. That makes an MVP.

My third choice is probably the only vote junior guard Aereana Combs of Eastern Michigan will get other than from her EMU’s media people. She helped Eastern finally climb from a below-average team to an above-average team.

Freshman of the year

Guard Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo. It’s hard not to choose someone who averaged 21 points a game as a freshman, even though her team didn’t have the record it had expected. She ranked in the MAC’s top 10 in scoring, assists and steals.

Guard Molly Davis of Central Michigan was my second choice. She probably played better than Fair in half of her MAC games and ranked in the league’s top 10 in scoring, shooting percentage, 3-point percentage and assists.

Third could have either guard Peyton Scott of Miami, Kent State guard Katie Shumate or Kent State forward Nila Blackford. The MAC ballot only listed Blackford from KSU, and I ranked her third. But I couldn’t tell you whether she or Shumate is a better player. They’re both good and are on my all-freshman team (which I don’t get to vote on officially).

It was a very good set of freshmen in the conference this season.

All-MAC teams

I don’t get a vote on these, but I do have an opinion.

All-MAC

• Junior guard Micaela Kelly, Central Michigan.
• Sophomore guard Erica Johnson, Ohio.
• Junior guard Areanna Combs, Eastern Michigan.
• Junior guard Cierra Hooks, Ohio.
• Senior guard Courtney Woods, Northern Illinois.

The fifth spot could just as easily be forward Savannah Kluesner or Lauren Dickerson of Miami, forward Oshlynn Brown of Ball State or Buffalo guard Dyaisha Fair.

And I have doubts on whether Combs will make the coaches’ first team. But she makes mine.

All-freshman

• Guard Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo.
• Guard Molly Davis, Central Michigan.
• Guard Katie Shumate, Kent State.
• Forward Nila Blackford, Kent State.
• Guard Peyton Scott, Miami.

Guard Sydney Freeman of Ball State is also going to be a good one, but I rank her below the rest.

All-defensive

• Senior guard Theresa Onwuka, Buffalo, who would be my defensive player of the year.
• Sophomore guard Erica Johnson, Ohio.
• Junior guard Cierra Hooks, Ohio.
• Senior forward Savannah Kluesner, Miami.
• Junior forward Oshlynn Brown, Ball State.

Close area Breanna Mobley of Western Michigan, Dyaisha Fair of Buffalo and Lindsey Thall and Katie Shumate of Kent State.

Sixth player of the year

The criteria I found for this award on the web were “the best player came off the bench in more games that she started.” (That was for several other conferences and the NBA; I couldn’t find anything MAC-specific.)

• By that rule, the winner is sure to be senior forward Gabrielle Bird of Central Michigan, who didn’t start a game this season (not even Senior Day) but was the Chippewas third-leading scorer at 8.6 points a game. She’s a great story of perseverance. In her first three, she averaged below two points a game.
• The person who I think should win the award is Kent State’s Asiah Dingle. She started coming off the bench in the middle of the conference season and averaged 13.8 points and made 62% of her shots. KSU played its best basketball with her coming off the bench.

But she doesn’t seem to qualify. She started 15 of the 27 games in which she played. She started five of 16 MAC games, which would qualify her. We’ll see how the MAC rules.

Kent State’s women may well get a chance for quick revenge for their 72-58 loss to Buffalo in Saturday’s regular season game.

The game meant nothing to the Flashes as far as MAC Tournament seedings go. Kent has the No. 3 seed and a bye to the quarterfinals Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.

But for Buffalo, it meant a No. 6 seed and a home game in the first round. If the Bulls had lost, they could have finished a low as ninth.

Instead, Buffalo plays 11th-seed Miami Monday. If the Bulls win, they will play Kent State in the last game of Wednesday’s quarterfinals. The game would probably start about 8 p.m.

“Buffalo had a lot more to fight for and wanted it more than we did,” coach Todd Starkey said in his postgame radio interview with David Wilson on Golden Flashes Radio. “That’s a tough mental thing to fight through with young players. But that’s no excuse for not battling and being as tough as we needed to be today.”

The Bulls destroyed Kent State inside and in rebounding. They outscored KSU 38-14 in the paint, had 23 second-chance points to Kent’s 15 and outrebounded the Flashes 47-34. Buffalo’s matchup zone gave Kent State big problems inside. The Flashes were nine of 32 on two-point baskets — 28%.

“The most disappointing stat of the game is (Buffalo’s) 18 offensive boards,” Starkey said. “I thought we got out-toughed today, and that’s how Buffalo plays. They played very physical and you have to match that physicality or you’re going to get beat up.

“So we’re going to have a short-term memory with this. This upcoming week is more important than this single game.

“Hopefully this will fire us up, fuel us a little bit. Sometimes coming off of a loss is a better thing going into a tournament because (players) listen to you a little bit more.”

Sophomore forward Lindsey Thall played one of the best games of her career, but no one else did much of any scoring for the Flashes.

Thall had 28 points — second highest in her two years. She made six-of-11 3-point shots — some from well over 25 feet. She made eight-of-16 shots overall, made six-of-seven foul shots, had nine rebounds and blocked two shots.

Next highest scorer was reserve guard Clare Kelly, who had seven points.

Four players besides Thall average in double figures for Kent State. They combined for a total of 12 points Saturday.

“Lindsey gave everything she had today,” Starkey said. “We just needed some other people to step up.

“We have not been good this year when we’ve had one or two players in double figures. When we’ve been really good, we’ve had four or five.”

Starkey said he limited the minutes of the team’s two leading scorers, freshman guard Katie Shumate (one point, three rebounds) and sophomore guard Asiah Dingle (five points). Both  were recovering from minor injuries. Dingle did have five assists and four steals in 15 minutes.

No one but Thall played more than 26 minutes. 

“We’re not going to read too much into this game,” Starkey said. “We’re going to move on, get ready for Wednesday and watch the first-round games on Monday.”

Box score

Notes

• Buffalo became the only team to sweep their two-game season series with KSU. The Bulls won in Kent 57-44 in January.
• Kent State is 3-17 against the Bulls since 2012 and haven’t won in Buffalo since 2011. Buffalo beat Kent State in the MAC quarterfinals in each of the last two seasons. Both of those teams had much better records and won games in the NCAA Tournament.
• The win was Buffalo’s fifth in a row. Before that, it lost six in a row. The loss breaks Kent State’s four-game winning streak.
• Kent State made nine-of-12 free throws in the first half but seven-of 15 in the second. Buffalo was 11 of 14.
• The Flashes didn’t make a basket in the first six minutes of the first quarter and the first six minutes of the third quarter. They outscored Buffalo only in the second quarter, 15-10.
• Buffalo senior Therese Onwuka scored her 1,000th point with four minutes to go on Senior Day.  She finished 16 points, 12 in the first half.
• The Bulls’ Dyaisha Fair, the MAC’s top contender for freshman of the year, scored 21 of her 25 points in the second half. She took 17 shots in the half. She also had nine rebounds and four steals.
• All 12 Kent State players in uniform got into the game.
• Attendance was 2,698.

The view from Buffalo

Coach Felisha Legette-Jack, quote on the Buffalo team website:

“What a great team win. What a great story that we are telling. This is a team that decided that they are going to be the ones to determine the end of their story, and they just weren’t ready to have that be today.

“Our success today came on the back of Theresa Onwuka. She demonstrated that she is the leader of our defense. We made some really great stops and e held another team to under 59 points. That’s really cool.”

MAC scores and seedings

FIRST SEED: Central Michigan (16-2 in MAC, 23-6 overall), which came from behind in the fourth quarter at home. to beat Eastern Michigan 76-69.

SECOND SEED: Ball State (13-5, 21-9), which beat Western Michigan on the road in overtime.

THIRD SEED: Kent State (11-7, 18-11). Flashes got the third seed ahead of Ohio because they had a better Eastern Division record.

FOURTH SEED: Ohio (11-7, 18-11), which routed Miami 92-78 in Athens.

FIFTH SEED: Western Michigan (10-8, 17-12). Its loss to Ball State means the Broncos will play first round game at home Monday against Bowling Green. The teams split in the regular season.

SIXTH SEED: Buffalo (9-9, 18-11). Bulls are hottest team in league going into the tournament. They’ve won five in a row. The only other winning streak in the conference is just two games, belonging to Northern Illinois. Buffalo will play Miami Monday. The Bulls swept the regular season series with the Redhawks.

SEVENTH SEED: Eastern Michigan (9-9, 14-15). Loss to Central sent them into a tie with Buffalo, who had the tie-breaker because it beat the Eagles in their only meeting. EMU will host Northern Illinois Monday. The teams split in the regular season.

EIGHTH SEED: Akron (8-10, 15-14). The Zips beat Bowling Green 70-61 in Akron to get the last spot for a home game in the tournament first round. Akron will play Toledo, which won the only meeting between the two teams in the regular season.

NINTH SEED: Toledo (7-11, 12-17). The Rockets lost 86-79 at home to Northern Illinois to lose their chance for a home game Monday. They did win their only game with Akron, their Monday opponent.

TENTH SEED: Northern Illinois (7-11, 11-18).  The Huskies lost the tie-breaker with Toledo because the teams split and Toledo had beaten first-place Central Michigan. NIU will play at Eastern Michigan. The teams split this season.

11TH SEED: Miami (4-14, 11-19). Miami’s loss to Ohio means the Redhawks end the regular season on an eight-game losing streak. Miami will play Monday at Buffalo, a team it lost to twice.

12TH SEED: Bowling Green (3-15, 10-20). Falcons did win one more than they did last season and had a lot of close losses. They play Monday at Western Michigan, one of the three teams it beat this season. Western and BG split their two games.

Final MAC standings

MAC women’s Tournament Central, with schedule and ticket information.

Coach Todd Starkey and (I think) guards Mariah Modkins (foreground) and Asiah Dingle) after 81-77 win over Ohio. (Photo by David Dermer for KSU sports.)

Kent State (11-6 and 3rd in MAC. 18-10 overall.)

at Buffalo (8-9 and seventh in MAC. 17-11 overall.)

Game starts at 2 p.m., Saturday, March 7, at Alumni Arena at the University of Buffalo. 

It’s about a 3 1/2-hour drive. I couldn’t find a street address, but I typed in Alumni Arena at Buffalo and got directions on my GPS. Here are directions from the Buffalo website.

General admission tickets are $10. Parking is $5 to $10. Average attendance for Buffalo’s women’s conference games has been 1,679, fourth in the MAC. Kent State home attendance was third in conference games at 1,830. Though records are sketchy, I think that’s a record. It’s certainly the most in the 32 years I’ve followed the team.

What’s at stake

It’s the last game before next week’s MAC Tournament, but it won’t change Kent State’s situation once. Best as I can puzzle through the MAC’s tie-breaker procedures, Kent has clinched the third seed in the tournament and will play Wednesday in the quarterfinals at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (previously Quicken Loans Arena) in Cleveland.

The Bulls have a chance to finish as high as sixth and as low as ninth, depending on Saturday games. Ninth would be very bad, as it would cost them a home game in the first round. It would take a complicated set of events for that to happen, but all of the MAC tie-breakers are complicated. If Buffalo beats Kent State, the Bulls are guaranteed to be at home.

Both teams have momentum. Kent State has won four in a row and six of their last seven. Buffalo has won four in a row. Before that, the Bulls had lost six in a row for the first time in six years.

Buffalo has been a tough team for Kent State to play for years. The Bulls knocked Kent State out of the MAC Tournament in the quarterfinals both of the last two years. Since 2012, Buffalo holds a 16-3 advantage over the Flashes. Kent hasn’t won in Buffalo since 2011.

Last season KSU upset the Bulls 62-53 in Kent on the last day of the regular season. But four days later, Buffalo pounded the Flashes 85-52 in the MAC quarterfinals. It was Kent State’s worst defeat of the season.

This season Buffalo was picked third in the league and was 9-2 in the non-conference season. The Bulls were 4-3 in the MAC and 13-5 overall after they beat Kent State 57-44 on Jan. 25.

Then things fell apart. The Bulls lost at home to first-place Central Michigan 98-93 in double overtime. Then they lost 64-63 at Northern Illinois. Then they lost to Toledo at home, at Western Michigan and to Ball State at home, all by more than 10 points, then lost to Akron at home by six.

Since then, they’ve beaten Bowling Green by six, Miami by 16, Ohio by one in Athens and Akron by 15.

In the first game between the teams, KSU led 33-30 after three quarters. Both defenses were really good, and both offenses struggled mightily. In the fourth quarter, the Flashes made two-of-15 shots and committed six turnovers. Buffalo made 10 of 19 and committed one turnover. Buffalo outscored KSU 27-11.

Buffalo’s star freshman, guard Dyaisha Fair, was held to four points in the first three quarters but scored 13 and had four assists in the fourth.

LAST TIME OUT: Kent State 81, Ohio 77, to clinch a share of the MAC East title and the third seed in the tournament.

Keys to the game

How much has Kent State improved since the Jan. 25 game? The Flashes are 8-3 since then. The three freshmen who play regularly have a ton more game experience. The KSU defense has gone from seventh in the conference to third. After a midseason slump in offense, the Flashes put up 177 points in their last two games.

Which Buffalo team shows up? The Bulls seem to have righted the ship, but 10 games in the most they have lost in the MAC in four years.

Can Kent State finally win at Buffalo? Most Kent State players were in junior high the last time that happened.

Fair leads Buffalo in scoring at 19.4 points per game in MAC play, which is fourth in the conference. She’s seventh in assists and third in steals. Her shooting percentage has dropped 2 percentage points in MAC play, and her 3-point percentage has dropped four as teams figure how how to defend her.

Senior forward Theresa Onwuka averages 13.1 points and 7.8 rebounds a game, and sophomore forward Adebola Adeyeye averages 8.5 rebounder and 8.2 points.

Both Onwuka and Adeyeye are tough, physical bangers on the boards. They’ve helped Buffalo to second in the MAC in rebounding margin and first in offensive rebounding. Kent State is seventh in rebounding margin.

Kent State has rounded into an eight- or nine-player rotation, much deeper than in the first half of the season:

• Sophomore Asiah Dingle has come off the bench for nine straight games and led the Flashes in shooting percentage and scoring in that time.
• Freshman Katie Shumate has scored 47 points in her last two games.
• Senior Megan Carter has done the best rebounding and produced the most assists of her career in the last four games.
• Sophomore Hannah Young has become the bench player the Flashes need all season in the last eight games, averaging 7.4 points a game in that time. She started five of those games as freshman Nila Blackford missed three games with a concussion and came off the bench her first game back.
• Nila Blackford has struggled some with her offensive timing but had 11 points and seven rebounds against Ohio Saturday.
• Lindsey Thall continues to be the Flashes’ top 3-point threat. But she’s developed an inside game and blocks shots better than anyone in the conference.
• Since sophomore Mariah Modkins began starting at point guard, the Flashes are 9-2. She hit two 3-point shots against Ohio.
• Freshman Clare Kelly played 19 minutes against Ohio and led the team with three assists.
• And junior Monique Smith is the first post player off the bench and can be a physical defender. She’ll probably play more agains Buffalo because of that.

Team comparisons

All statistics are for conference games only, which are more current and reflect similar competition.

• RPI: Kent State 96 of 351 Division I teams. Buffalo 120. (RPI is based on a team’s record and schedule strength.)
• Power rankings: Kent State 93. Buffalo 118. (Adds factors like margin of victory, record in recent games, injuries.)
• Kent State road record (MAC games): 4-4. Buffalo home record: 4-4.
• Scoring average: KSU fourth in MAC at 69.6 points per game. Buffalo ninth at 67.8.
• Defensive average: KSU third at 66.8. Buffalo sixth at 68.1.
• Field-goal percentage: KSU 10th at 40.4% (seventh on 3-pointers at 30.9%). Buffalo 11th at 39.4% (last on 3s at 25.3%).
• Field-goal defense: KSU fourth at 38.7% (11th on 3s at 35.9%). Buffalo fifth at 39.8 (10th on 3s at 34.3%).
• Free throw shooting: Kent State sixth at 69.6%. Buffalo fourth at 70.3%.
• Rebounding margin: KSU seventh at -1.1. Buffalo second at +3.9.
• Turnover margin: KSU fourth at +1.6. Buffalo fifth at +0.5. KSU seventh in steals at 6.9, Buffalo fourth at 8.2.
• Assists: Kent State 10th at 10.8. Buffalo ninth at 10.9.
• Blocked shots: Kent State first at 4.6. Buffalo sixth at 2.5.

Top players

Kent State

• 5-4 sophomore guard Asiah Dingle (14.3 points, third in MAC in field-goal percentage at 53.0, sixth in steals at 2.1, 2.5 assists).
• 5-11 freshman guard Katie Shumate (13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, third in 3-point percentage at 40.4, eighth in at field-goal percentage at 45.3, 10th in free-throw percentage at 76.8).
• 6-2 freshman forward Nila Blackford (12.0 points, seventh in rebounding at 8.1).
• 5-7 senior guard Megan Carter (12.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals).
• 6-2 sophomore forward Lindsey Thall (10.5 points, 1.6 three-point baskets a game, first in MAC in blocked shots at 2.7).

Buffalo

• 5-5 freshman guard Dyaisha Fair (fourth in MAC at 19.4 points per game, seventh at 3.4 assists, third in steals at 2.3.)
• 5-10 senior guard Therese Onwuka (13.1 points, ninth in rebounding at 7.8, second in steals at 2.4).
• 6-2 sophomore forward Adebola Adeyeye (8.2 points, fourth in rebounding at 8.5).
• 5-3 senior guard Hanna Hall (7.9 points, 2.9 assists).

Following the game from home

Video stream on ESPN3 starts at game time at 2 p.m. It’s free if you have a subscription to ESPN on cable, satellite or on the ESPN app

Audio starts at about 1:45 p.m. on WHLO 640 and Golden Flash iHeart Radio. David Wilson is the announcer.

Live statistics will be on the Buffalo website during the game.

Links

Kent State website, with links to roster, statistics, schedule and more.

Ohio website, with links.

MAC statistics.

MAC standings.

One game to go in the MAC season, and much is still unsettled.

I spent too much time Friday puzzling through the MAC standings and the league’s tie-breaking procedures for tournament seedings.

I don’t promise this is 100% correct, but I think it’s the best we can do. Official seedings will be announced shortly after Saturday’s games.

First–round tournament action starts Monday at campus sites. Seeds five through eight will host nine through 12. Five hosts 12, six, hosts 11, etc.

Winner advance to the quarterfinals at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (formerly Quicken Loans Arena) in Cleveland, where they will meet the top four seeds.

Here’s where things stand now:

First seed: Central Michigan (15-2, 22-6 overall)

Even though Central Michigan lost at Toledo Wednesday, it still has a lock on the No. 1 seed in next week’s tournament.

Second seed: Ball State (12-5, 20-8 overall)

Ball State lost at Northern Illinois Wednesday, so it’s possible that Kent State could tie Ball State for second place. The Flashes would have to win at Buffalo and Ball State lose at Western Michigan. I think the Cardinals would get the second seed through tie-breakers. The teams split, and Ball State beat first-place Central Michigan.

(Tie-breaker rules are listed before, but the rule here is that if there is no winner in head-to-head competition, the school that has beaten the highest-ranking team in the league gets the higher seed.)

Third seed: Kent State (11-6, 18-10) (I think.)

Kent State is alone in third place. If the Flashes lose to Buffalo, things get complicated. Ohio and Western are a game behind KSU. If those teams both win, we have a three-way tie for third.

I think Kent would get the tie-breaker because it has the best overall record about the three teams. 

The Flashes beat Western and split with Ohio for a 2-1 record. Ohio lost to Western and split with Kent. 1-2. Western lost to Kent State and beat Ohio. 1-1.

If Kent State and Ohio tie, the tie-breaker goes to their East Division record, as I read the rules. Kent State is 6-2 in the East. Ohio is 4-4.

If Kent and Western tie, Kent gets the higher seed because the Flashes beat the Broncos in January.

Fourth seed: Ohio, Western or Eastern Michigan.

Ohio and Western are 10-7. Eastern is 9-8.

Ohio plays 11th place Miami at home. Western plays Ball State at home. Eastern plays at Central.

If Eastern wins and the others lose, we have a three-way tie. Eastern split with Western and lost to Ohio. 1-2. Ohio beat Eastern and lost to Western. 1-1. Western split with Eastern and beat Ohio. 2-1. So in those circumstances, Western would get  the fourth seed.

I think that scenario is unlikely. Eastern has to beat the first-place team on the road. Ohio and Eastern both are unlikely to lose at home, especially Ohio against Miami.

If Ohio and Western tie, Western gets the higher seed because of its 73-72 win over Ohio in January.

If Eastern and Western tie, we go to a tie-breaker because they split on the season. For those teams to tie, Eastern has to win at first-place Central Michigan Saturday. That would give it the tie-breaker.

Is your head spinning yet? Mine is.

Fifth seed: Ohio, WMU or EMU

Same as the fourth seed. If Ohio and Western win, Eastern can’t catch them.

Sixth seed: EMU or Buffalo

A new team enters the picture. Buffalo is 8-9 and 17-11 overall going into Saturday’s home game with Kent State.

If Eastern wins at Central, it gets the seed. If the Eagles lose and Buffalo wins, they both have 9-9 records. Buffalo gets the higher seed because it beat Eastern 68-63 in January.

Seventh seed: EMU, Toledo or Buffalo

If Buffalo ties Eastern, it owns the sixth seed and EMU claims this spot.

If Eastern beats out Buffalo for sixth, this spot could be a scramble.

If Buffalo loses to Kent State, we could have as much as a three-way tie for seventh.

Enter Akron and Toledo, who are both 7-10. Akron is 14-14 overall. Toledo 12-16. Akron hosts last-place Bowling Green Saturday; Toledo hosts 10th-place Northern Illinois.

If Akron and Toledo win, all three teams are 8-10. In head-to-head-to-head competition, Toledo beat Buffalo twice and Akron once. 3-0. The Rockets win this scenario.

If Akron and Toledo lose, Buffalo owns seventh.

If Akron loses and Toledo wins to tie Buffalo, the Rockets own the tie-breaker because they beat Buffalo twice.

If Toledo loses and Akron wins, Buffalo wins the tie-breaker because of its February win over Kent State. Akron lost to KSU twice.

Eighth seed: Buffalo or Toledo.

This spot is important because it’s the last seed to get a first-round game at home on Monday.

It’s the lowest either Buffalo or Toledo could finish.

Ninth seed: Akron or NIU

If the Zips win, they’re 8-10 and capture this spot.

If they lose, they’re 7-11.

Northern Illinois goes into the weekend at 6-10. If they beat Toledo                                     and Akron loses, NIU and Akron are tied.

And NIU has the tie-breaker because it beat Akron 70-65 on Jan. 18.

11th seed: Miami or Bowling Green

Miami goes into Saturday in 11th with a 4-13 record (11-18 overall). If it wins, it keeps 11th. 

If it loses, it could fall into a tie with Bowling Green, which is 3-14 (10-19 overall).

Miami plays at Ohio. Bowling Green travels to Akron.

Tie-breaker gets even more confusing here. The two teams split. BG beat Ohio and Western Michigan, which are fighting for fourth. Miami beat Western. It plays Ohio Saturday, and the only way BG can tie if for the Redhawks to lose. So best I can figures it, Bowling Green could creep out of last if it won and Miami lost.

12th seed: Miami or Bowling Green

Whoever doesn’t finish 11th.

The tie-breaker rules

I couldn’t find anything current on the MAC website. Here are the rules from a 2015 post I saw online. I don’t think they’ve changed. If have an inquiry in to the MAC public relations folks, but I’m sure they’re awfully busy.

Coach Todd Starkey gets a championship shower from his team after the Flashes’ 81-77 win over Ohio Wednesday. (Photo by David Dermer for Kent State sports.)

All freshman Katie Shumate wanted to do this season, she said, was to fit into the Kent State women’s basketball team.

“Going in, I was just trying to get accustomed to everything and working with the team,” she said. “Championships weren’t really in my mind.

“But it’s great. It’s amazing.”

Wednesday Shumate joined her teammates and coaches in cutting down the net after the Flashes won the MAC East title by edging Ohio 81-77 at the M.A.C. Center.

The win also clinches a bye to the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament next Wednesday and the No. 3 seed. (The Flashes could tie for the MAC East and the 3 seed, but best I can tell, they own the tie-breaker in both cases.)

All Shumate has done this season is place second on the team in scoring, rebounding, steals and blocked shots. She’s third in assists and leads the Flashes in shooting percentage and 3-point percentage.

Against Ohio, Shumate led the team with 20 points and eight rebounds. She blocked two shots, had two assists and two steals and made 13 of 15 free throws.

Shumate drew 11 fouls from Ohio players, including the defensive play of the game.

Ohio guard Erica Johnson had scored 36 points on the Flashes to that point. “We had no answer to her,” coach Todd Starkey said.

But with 5.9 seconds left, Shumate had the answer. Kent State led 78-77. Johnson was trying to back into Shumate to the right of the basket. She turned and drove. Shumate held her ground.

Offensive foul.

Johnson slammed the ball to the floor in frustration. It bounced higher than the basket.

Technical foul.

Asiah Dingle made both technical foul shots, and Shumate added another two seconds later to give the Flashes the win.

“Katie has a lot of poise for a freshman,” Starkey said. “She was getting beat off the dribble pretty good by Johnson. But when it mattered most, when she really need to square her shoulders and play great position defense, she did it.”

Shumate was modest.

“The whole game she’d been coming right at us,” she said. “So at the end, it was really big that I didn’t foul her. I just made the right play.”

And Shumate blocks shots, too.

END 3Q | Kent State 62, Ohio 51

Katie Shumate: “Not Today 🚫”

*Probably* pic.twitter.com/tpEeVoIcj8

— Kent State Women’s Basketball (@KentStWBB) March 5, 2020

The foul shot difference

When Kent State lost 63-57 at Ohio in February, the Flashes shot just eight free throws and made just two. Ohio was 16 of 21.

Wednesday they were 28 of 35 and outscored the Bobcats by nine at the line.

“We’ve been missing free throws for the month of February,” Starkey said. “Hopefully we’ve got that behind us now in March, when it matters most.”

Shumate on the free throws:

“When it came down to it at the end of the game, the game was on the line, and we were on the line, and that’s how we want it.”

Senior Megan Carter on the free throws: “They were putting us on the line. I’m just glad we made our free throws. We’ve been practicing free throws — um — for quite some time now in practice. So it’s coming to pass now.”

Kent State made only one-of-10 shots in the fourth quarter. But it made 16-of-22 free throws.

Bookend championships for the seniors

Senior Megan Carter makes the first cut on the net. (Photo by David Dermer for KSU women’s basketball.)

Carter and fellow senior Ali Poole played for the team that won the MAC East title their freshman year. They were the first two to climb the ladder to cut down the net, Poole doing it a little gingerly with the knee injury that ended her season in January.

“For Megan and Ali,” Starkey said, “to get one on the way in and one on the way out is an exciting thing.”

The emotion was clear on Carter’s face as she talked to reporters after the game.

“I’m so happy,” she said. “I’m so happy. I’m so proud of this team. A lot of people thought we weren’t going to make this run. We didn’t care what anybody else thought. We played Kent State basketball.”

2:13 2Q | Kent State 37, Ohio 34

Clare Kelly goes behind her back to Megan Carter for the transition bucket! pic.twitter.com/4PANoqH1Rh

— Kent State Women’s Basketball (@KentStWBB) March 5, 2020

Sydney Brinlee, the third senior, joined the team as a junior college transfer. She followed Carter and Poole with the scissors at the net.

The go-ahead free throws

Ohio took its first lead of the second half on a 3-point shot by Carilyn Kroll with 13 seconds to go. Kent called time out and advanced the ball to the front court, where Dingle drew a foul on a drive from the right of the basket. She made both foul shots.

Dingle took only two shots all game, lowest in her two years in Kent. She made one. She also made seven-of-eight free throws, five in the last quarter.

The scorers

Three other Flashes joined Shumate in double figures.

Carter had 14 points on six-of-11 shooting.

Hannah Young had 11, including three 3-point baskets in the first quarter. The third was at the buzzer and gave Kent State a 26-23 lead.

END 1Q | Kent State 26, Ohio 23

Hannah Young beats the shot clock with her third triple of the night to give the Flashes the lead! pic.twitter.com/U8K97CtIUu

— Kent State Women’s Basketball (@KentStWBB) March 5, 2020

Nila Blackford also had 11 points and seven rebounds in her most balanced game since returning from a concussion. In her first two games back, she made three-of-21 shots. Wednesday she was four of seven.

“She’s still coming back,” Starkey said. “Her timing is still off a little bit, but she had some big rebounds and good defensive stops.”

On to Buffalo, on to Cleveland

The Flashes finish the regular season Saturday at Buffalo, which has won four games in a row after losing six in a row. A Starkey team has never won a Buffalo; it’s the only East Division school where that’s true.

“We’ve still got basketball to play,” Starkey said. “I told them championships are hard to come by in any form, especially at this level. So that’s why we’re going to celebrate it because they earned it.

“I’m really excited about what we’ve been able to do so far, but I want to make sure that we get refocused quickly because we’re going to a really tough place to play on Saturday.”

Win or lose at Buffalo, the Flashes will play in Cleveland next Wednesday. Carter has played there four years but never won a game.

“This is the year,” she said. “We’re going to win one, and we’re going to win another and then a championship and a bid to the NCAA tournament. So I’m just so happy. I’m so proud of this team, I can’t wait to get to the tournament.”

Box score

Notes

• The win was Kent State’s fourth in a row and sixth in its last seven games. Ohio has lost four in a row for the first time since 2013-14.
• Kent State blocked a season-high 10 shots as Lindsey Thall blocked five for the second time this year. She leads the MAC in blocks for the second-straight season. Earlier this season she blocked seven against Eastern Michigan and blocked four in three other games. Thall also scored seven points and had two assists Wednesday.
• Mariah Modkins started her 11th straight game at point guard, played 20 minutes and hit two-of-three 3-pointers. She also had four rebounds and a steal.
• Clare Kelly played 20 minutes off the bench and led the team in assists with three. She also hit a 3-point basket.
• Ohio outscored Kent State off of turnovers 19-13, but KSU scored 15 on fast breaks to four for Ohio. Rebounding was even at 39.
• Attendance was 1,637. Season average for the Flashes was 1,830. I think that’s a record. It certainly is in the 32 years I’ve been following the team. Records before 1980 are sketchy.

More photos and videos

Video highlight reel is here. The charge Shumate drew last the end of the game is late in the video. It’s worth seeing.

Lots of great pictures are on photographer David Dermer’s Twitter feed.

And more photos and video clips are on the team Twitter feed.

Other MAC scores

League leaders Central Michigan and Ball State both lost but still hold the top two seeds for the tournament.

• Buffalo (8-9, 17-11) 76, Akron (7-10, 14-14) 61 at Akron.
• Western Michigan (10-7, 17-11) 53, Eastern Michigan (9-8, 14-14) 49 at Eastern.
• Toledo (7-10, 12-16) 76, Central Michigan (16-2, 22-6) 67 at Toledo.
• Northern Illinois (6-11, 10-18) 70, Ball State (12-5, 20-9) 62 at Northern.
• Bowling Green (3-14, 10-19) 82, Miami (4-13, 11-18) 69 at Miami.

MAC standings.

Coach Todd Starkey and point guard Asiah Dingle call out plays against Akron. (File photo by Greta Bell from team website.)

Ohio (10-6 and tied for 3rd in MAC. 17-10 overall)

At Kent State (10-6 and tied for 3rd. 17-10 overall)

Game starts at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 4, at the M.A.C. Center.

General admission tickets are $5. Students get in free with a Kent State ID. KSU’s average home attendance is 1,855, third in the MAC and Kent State’s highest in decades.

What’s at stake

Perhaps the biggest game of the season for Kent State.

Ohio had big games earlier, but Bobcats are fighting for their season after losing three games in a row.

The teams are tied for third in the MAC with two regular seasons to go. The top four teams get a bye to the quarterfinals at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (formerly Quicken Loans Arena) in Cleveland next Wednesday. The other eight teams play first-round games on campus Monday. At this time of year, the extra rest is a big deal. And, of course, you can’t lose if you don’t have to play.

Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan are a game behind Kent and Ohio. They play Wednesday, too. So at the end of the night, the Western-Eastern winner will be tied for fourth with the KSU-Ohio loser.

The winner of the KSU-Ohio game also will clinch a share of the East Division title. I don’t emphasize that as much because it doesn’t affect tournament seedings at all.

On Feb. 8, Ohio beat Kent State 63-57 in Athens. Kent State led 37-31 at halftime but committed 12 turnovers in the second half and shot only 29% Biggest problem, however, was that the Flashes made only two foul shots the entire game, their lowest total in five years. They missed six. Ohio was 16 of 21.

Kent State had led the MAC in foul shooting in non-conference play but averaged only seven made free throws for five games in the middle of the conference season. Over the last three games, they’ve averaged 21 points from the foul line, though they missed 18 of their 46 free throws in their win over Miami.

In their preseason poll, MAC coaches unanimously predicted the Bobcats would win the regular season and tournament title. Ohio returned four starters from a team that was 30-5 last season. Earlier in the season, OU lost to first-place Central Michigan twice by two points and lost by one at Western Michigan.

In their last three games, the Bobcats have lost at seventh-place Akron 79-76, at last-place Bowling Green 82-68 and lost at home to seventh-place Buffalo 63-62.

There is really no pattern; Ohio lost all three games in different ways. Leading scorer Erica Johnson’s has struggled shooting (36%) but still averaged 15 points a game. Second-leading scorer Cece Hooks, though, has averaged, has averaged 24, including a school-record 41 against Akron.

REPORT CARD ON KSU’s 96-86 WIN OVER BOWLING GREEN: It took two overtimes and five players scoring in double figures.

The word from the coach

“We’ve been a work in progress, and we still are,” coach Todd Starkey told Allen Moff of the Record-Courier this week. “We’re finding ways to win basketball games. We still haven’t played a complete game yet. I think that elusive best game is still out there.

“But we’ve come a long way in a lot of areas, defensively especially. We’ve become a more versatile team, and we’ve gotten better at figuring out what lineups work together.

“It’s been different people stepping up every game — Katie (Shumate) and Megan (Carter) last game, Megan and Lindsey (Thall) the game before that.

“Asiah (Dingle) has been consistent over the last three weeks, finishing better. It makes us difficult to play against because you can’t just take away one or two players. We’ve got multiple people that can hurt you.”

Full Record-Courier preview.

What to watch

The most obvious is whether Kent State is scoring at the foul line. Two free throws aren’t going to win many games.

Second is turnovers. Ohio leads the MAC in turnover margin by a wide margin. The Bobcats outscored KSU 14-4 off turnovers in the second half in Athens, more than their margin of victory. Kent commits the second-fewest turnovers in the league (Ohio is first).

Third is 3-point shooting. Kent State made 11 of 24 (46%) against Bowling Green. But in their previous six games, the Flashes averaged 26%. Ohio shoots and makes more 3-pointers than any team in the MAC except Central Michigan.

Kent State’s defense has been excellent in the second half of the conference season. BG’s 86 points Saturday is misleading; the Falcons scored 72 in regulation.

The 63 points Ohio scored against KSU in Athens were 13 points below the Bobcats’ averages and their second-lowest total of the season. (Lowest was 62 in Saturday’s loss to Buffalo.)

Ohio’s guards are still the two leading scorers in the MAC in conference games. Sophomore Erica Johnson averages 20.9 points a game and junior Cece Hooks averages 20.7. Hooks tied the school record of 41 points against Akron.

“Their style of play is unique in the league,” Starkey told the Record-Courier. “They spread you out, have great playmakers and passers, then they pressure you into turnovers. You’ve got to really be careful of live ball turnovers that lead to scores, which kind of got us in the first game.”

Team comparisons

All statistics are for conference games only, which are more current and reflect similar competition.

• RPI: Kent State 100 of 351 Division I teams. Ohio 87. (RPI is based on a team’s record and schedule strength.)
• Power rankings: Kent State 106. Ohio 88. (Adds factors like margin of victory, record in recent games, injuries.)
• Kent State home record (MAC games): 6-2 Ohio road record: 4-4.
• Scoring average: KSU fifth in MAC at 68.9 points per game. Ohio second at 76.4.
• Defensive average: KSU third at 66.1. Ohio seventh at 70.0.
• Field-goal percentage: KSU 10th at 40.4 (eighth on 3-pointers at 31.1%). Ohio 11th at 44.2 (third on 3s at 33.2%).
• Field-goal defense: KSU third at 38.4 (last on 3s at 37.0%). Ohio ninth at 42.5 (seventh on 3s at 32.8).
• Free throw shooting: Kent State seventh at 68.5%. Ohio 10th at 65.9%.
• Rebounding margin: KSU seventh at -1.2. Ohio 11th at -3.8.
• Turnover margin: KSU fourth at +1.8. Ohio first at +8.-0. KSU sixth in steals at 6.9, Ohio first at 11.0.
• Assists: Kent State 11th at 10.7. Ohio 10th at 11.0.
• Blocked shots: Kent State first at 4.3. Ohio eighth at 2.0.

Top players

Kent State

• 5-4 sophomore guard Asiah Dingle (14.6 points, third in MAC in field-goal percentage at 53.1%, fifth in MAC in steals at 2.1. 2.6 assists).
• 5-11 freshman guard Katie Shumate (13.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, third in 3-point percentage at 42.3; eighth in field-goal percentage at 45.9).
• 6-2 freshman forward Nila Blackford (12.1 points, eighth in MAC at 8.2 rebounds).
• 5-7 senior guard Megan Carter (12.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 steals). KentWired, the online outlet of the Kent Stater, did a nice feature on Carter this week.
• 6-2 sophomore forward Lindsey Thall (10.7 points, 1.8 three-point baskets a game, first in MAC in blocked shots at 2.6 per game).

Ohio

• 5-11 sophomore guard Erica Johnson (first in MAC at 20.9 points, 42.6% shooting, fifth in 3-point shooting at 40.7%, sixth in assists at 3.8, 7.3 rebounds, seventh in steals at 1.9).
• 5-8 junior guard Cece Hooks (second in MAC at 20.7 points, eighth in field-goal percentage at 45.1%, first in steals at 4.0, ninth in assists at 3.2, 5.7 rebounds).
• 5-9 senior guard Amani Burke (12.3 points, 1.5 steals, 4.7 rebounds.)
• 5-11 junior forward Gabby Burris (9.4 points, 6.1 rebounds).

Following the game from home

Video stream on ESPN+ starts at game time at 7 p.m. Service costs $4.99 a month and includes about half of all MAC men’s and women’s games. It will include all men’s and women’s MAC Tournament games except those broadcast on network TV. This link takes you to to the game, where you can sign up. David Wilson and Ben Pagani are the announcers.

Audio starts at about 6:45 p.m. on WHLO 640 and Golden Flash iHeart Radio. Dan Griffin is the announcer.

Live statistics will be on the Kent State website during the game.

Links

Kent State website, with links to roster, statistics, schedule and more.

Ohio website, with links.

MAC statistics.

MAC standings.

Megan Carter had 21 points for the second game in a row and just missed her second straight double-double. She had nine rebounds versus the 10 she had against Akron. (Photo by Greta Bell from team Twitter feed.)

Let’s start with the state of the MAC with two games to go. The very good report card on Kent State 96-86 win over Bowling Green will come second.

GAME STORY: Flashes overcome 19-point first-quarter deficit to beat Bowling Green in double overtime.

Kent State is tied with Ohio for third place, and the two teams meet at the M.A.C. Center at 7 Wednesday. Ohio won the first meeting 63-57, so the game could be a very good one.

Central drops its first MAC game

Central Michigan lost its first league game Saturday, 67-62 at second-place Ball State. CMU still has a lock on the top seed in next week’s MAC Tournament with a 15-1 record.

Ball State’s win clinches a first-round bye in the tournament and very nearly clinches the second seed. The only way the Cardinals (12-4) don’t get it is for them to lose their last two games and Ohio to win its last two.

Saturday’s game was fitting for the MAC’s top teams. Ball State led most of the game, but Central came back to take a 62-57 lead with 3:01 to go. Then BSU’s Thelma Dis Augustsdottir and Sydney Freeman hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the Cardinals back in the lead. Oshlynn Brown blocked a CMU shot, and Ball State sank free throws to guarantee the win. The Cardinals finish the MAC season 9-0 at home.

Freeman had 18 points, Brown 17 and 14 rebounds for Ball State. Micaela Kelly scored 17 for Central Michigan, which made just 33% of its shots — 12 points off its league-leading percentage.

Ohio loses third in a row

Ohio fell into a third-place tie with Kent State when it missed a foul shot with 0.7 seconds to go that would have tied a 63-62 game . Buffalo’s win at Ohio is its third straight after having lost six in a row. Ohio has lost three in a row.

Buffalo sophomore forward Adebola Adeyeye led the Bulls with 16 points and nine rebounds. Cece Hooks and Gabby Burris each had 16 for Ohio.

EMU and WMU keep pace

Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan both won at home to go to 9-7 and stay a game behind Kent State and, now, Ohio.

The teams play Wednesday at Eastern. Western’s final game is home against Ball State. Eastern’s is Central Michigan.

Eastern pounded Toledo 64-46 behind 15 points from Areanna Combs. The Eagles held Toledo to 29% shooting, 23% in the second half.

Western got 33 points for sophomore guard Jordan Walker and beat Northern Illinois 63-50. NIU made only 18% of its shots in the second half.

Akron tops Miami in race for tournament home game

Akron and Buffalo lead the race for the last two home games in the tournament’s first round. They’re tied for seventh at 7-9. Toledo is ninth at 6-10, NIU 10th at 5-11.

Teams that finish fifth through eighth host home games on Monday, March 9. The fifth-place team plays the 12th-place team, sixth plays 11th, etc.

On Saturday, junior guard Jordyn Dawson had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead Akron past Miami 75-62. Freshman Peyton Scott had 14 points for Miami.

BEST WEDNESDAY GAMES: Ohio at Kent State. Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan. Buffalo at Akron.

Here are the standings. (“Golf” standings are in parenthesis, but at this point they are exactly the same as the regular standings. They give -1 for a road win (“birdie”), +1 for a home loss (“bogie”) and 0 for a home win or road loss (“par”).

• Central Michigan  15-1, 22-5 overall (-7 in “golf standings)
• Ball State  12-4, 20-8   (-3)
• Ohio  10-6, 17-10 (-2)
• Kent State  10-6, 17-10 (-2)
  

  ---

• Western Michigan  9-7, 16-11 (-1)
• Eastern Michigan  9-7. 14-13 (-1)
• Buffalo  7-9, 16-11 (+1)
• Akron  7-9, 14-13 (+1)
  

  ---

• Toledo  6-10, 11-16 (+2)
• Northern Illinois  5-11, 9-18 (+3)
• Miami  4-12, 11-17  (+4)
• Bowling Green  2-14, 9-19 (+7)

Central has won the West Division and overall regular-season title. KSU and Ohio are tied for lead in East. Divisional championships mean a pennant for a school to hang but have no effect in seeding.

Detailed MAC standings

MAC statistics

Report card: Kent State 96, Bowling Green 86

Score 70 points on offense: 96, the most Flashes have scored all year, though they had two overtimes to do it. Even in 40 minutes, they scored 72. ACHIEVED.

Hold opponent under 70: 86. In 40 minutes, 72. NOT ACHIEVED.

Make 40% of shots: 41.6. Flashes shot 52% after awful first quarter. ACHIEVED.

Hold opponent under 40%: 42.5. It was not a defensive game. NOT ACHIEVED.

Outscore opponent by five on free throws: Kent State was 21 of 28, BG 16 of 23. Five exactly and KSU’s best overall foul shooting in six weeks. ACHIEVED.

Outscore opponent by five points off turnovers: Kent State 25, BG 11. Much more than the margin of victory. Turnovers were KSU 12, Bowling Green 18. ACHIEVED.

Have 14 assists: 13 on 32 baskets. Megan Carter had a career-high seven. NOT QUITE ACHIEVED.

Get 10 points from the bench: 27. Fifteen from Asiah Dingle, 12 from Hannah Young. ACHIEVED.

BOTTOM LINE: Stats looked good. Double-overtime win looked better. A.

Kent State statistics