Friday, March 15
Cleveland, Ohio
10:00am
vs
Toledo (Semifinals)
Bulls Face Top Seed Toledo in MAC Tournament Semifinals
3/14/2024 2:32:00β―PM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY β The University at Buffalo women's basketball team (18-12, 10-8 MAC) will face top seeded Toledo in the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday. This is the sixth time the two programs will face off in the MAC Tournament, with the last meeting coming a year ago in the quarterfinal round.
The Bulls are No. 4 seed and are 5-4 all-time in the tournament as the fourth seed. The last time the Bulls were seeded fourth was in 2021 when they beat Kent State before falling to Bowling Green in the semifinals. Buffalo won the 2019 MAC championship as the #4 seed, with wins over Akron and Central Michigan before defeating Ohio in the finals.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Dave Bacon (play-by-play) and Cayleigh Griffin (color) announcing and can be heard on the radio on 1520 AM or on the Varsity Network with Jack Kreuzer on the call.
This is the 38th overall meeting between Buffalo and Toledo with the Rockets owning a narrow 28-9 series advantage. The Rockets defeated the Bulls in the lone meeting of the regular season at Savage Arena.
Buffalo is 18-12 overall after defeating Bowling Green 70-64 in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday. The conference announced its postseason awards on Tuesday afternoon, with Chellia Watson receiving All-MAC First Team recognition and Kirsten Lewis-Williams named Freshman of the Year honors while also earning All-MAC Honorable Mention and All-Freshman Team honors.
Watson, a five-time MAC Player of the Week, leads the league and ranks sixth in the nation in scoring at 22.7 points per game to go with 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest. She also ranks in the top 10 nationally in field goals made (266), field goals made per game (8.9) and total points (682). Lewis-Williams currently ranks 12th in the MAC in scoring (12.1 ppg) and 17th in rebounding (5.1 rpg), which is first and third, respectively, among all rookies in the league in those categories. Senior Rana Elhusseini leads the team in assists (110) and steals (47) while ranking third in scoring (9.2 ppg) and Alexis Davis leads the Bulls in rebounding (6.6 rpg).
As a team, Buffalo leads the MAC in field goal defense (.384) and three-point field goal defense (.271) while also ranking in the top four in the league in scoring defense (62.6), scoring margin (+3.4), free throw percentage (.729) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0). The Bulls are averaging 33 points per game in the paint while also turning defense into offense, averaging 14 points per contest off opponent's turnovers.
The Toledo Rockets are 26-4 overall after defeating Western Michigan 72-61 on in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The Rockets are led offensively by All-MAC First Team selection Quinesha Lockett who is averaging 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. 2024 MAC Player of the Year Sophia Wiard (14.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.8 apg) is also averaging in double figures. Wiard has scored 40 points twice in her career, the only Rocket to do so, and is having the best three-point shooting season ever by a Rocket. Her 3FG percentage (44.8%) is the highest ever in a season in school history. Lockett became the third player in program history to reach 2,000 career points. She now has 2,370 career points, which ranks sixth among active Division I players and is more than any other active player in the MAC.
Toledo has held opponents to 50 or fewer points six times this season and have held opponents to fewer than 60 points 14 times. UT leads the MAC in scoring defense (58.8) and is the only team in the league to be holding opponents to fewer than 60 points per game. The Rockets are also the top free throw shooting team in the MAC at 74.1% while ranking second in scoring offense (73.0).
The winner of Friday's game will face the winner of #2 Ball State and #3 Kent State in the championship game on Saturday at 11am.
Advanced reservations for all games can be made by completing the MAC Basketball Ticket Order Form, calling 1-877-UB-THERE or in-person at the Alumni Arena Ticket Office. For more information, visit the championship central page.
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The Bulls are No. 4 seed and are 5-4 all-time in the tournament as the fourth seed. The last time the Bulls were seeded fourth was in 2021 when they beat Kent State before falling to Bowling Green in the semifinals. Buffalo won the 2019 MAC championship as the #4 seed, with wins over Akron and Central Michigan before defeating Ohio in the finals.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Dave Bacon (play-by-play) and Cayleigh Griffin (color) announcing and can be heard on the radio on 1520 AM or on the Varsity Network with Jack Kreuzer on the call.
This is the 38th overall meeting between Buffalo and Toledo with the Rockets owning a narrow 28-9 series advantage. The Rockets defeated the Bulls in the lone meeting of the regular season at Savage Arena.
Buffalo is 18-12 overall after defeating Bowling Green 70-64 in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday. The conference announced its postseason awards on Tuesday afternoon, with Chellia Watson receiving All-MAC First Team recognition and Kirsten Lewis-Williams named Freshman of the Year honors while also earning All-MAC Honorable Mention and All-Freshman Team honors.
Watson, a five-time MAC Player of the Week, leads the league and ranks sixth in the nation in scoring at 22.7 points per game to go with 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest. She also ranks in the top 10 nationally in field goals made (266), field goals made per game (8.9) and total points (682). Lewis-Williams currently ranks 12th in the MAC in scoring (12.1 ppg) and 17th in rebounding (5.1 rpg), which is first and third, respectively, among all rookies in the league in those categories. Senior Rana Elhusseini leads the team in assists (110) and steals (47) while ranking third in scoring (9.2 ppg) and Alexis Davis leads the Bulls in rebounding (6.6 rpg).
As a team, Buffalo leads the MAC in field goal defense (.384) and three-point field goal defense (.271) while also ranking in the top four in the league in scoring defense (62.6), scoring margin (+3.4), free throw percentage (.729) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0). The Bulls are averaging 33 points per game in the paint while also turning defense into offense, averaging 14 points per contest off opponent's turnovers.
The Toledo Rockets are 26-4 overall after defeating Western Michigan 72-61 on in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The Rockets are led offensively by All-MAC First Team selection Quinesha Lockett who is averaging 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. 2024 MAC Player of the Year Sophia Wiard (14.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.8 apg) is also averaging in double figures. Wiard has scored 40 points twice in her career, the only Rocket to do so, and is having the best three-point shooting season ever by a Rocket. Her 3FG percentage (44.8%) is the highest ever in a season in school history. Lockett became the third player in program history to reach 2,000 career points. She now has 2,370 career points, which ranks sixth among active Division I players and is more than any other active player in the MAC.
Toledo has held opponents to 50 or fewer points six times this season and have held opponents to fewer than 60 points 14 times. UT leads the MAC in scoring defense (58.8) and is the only team in the league to be holding opponents to fewer than 60 points per game. The Rockets are also the top free throw shooting team in the MAC at 74.1% while ranking second in scoring offense (73.0).
The winner of Friday's game will face the winner of #2 Ball State and #3 Kent State in the championship game on Saturday at 11am.
Advanced reservations for all games can be made by completing the MAC Basketball Ticket Order Form, calling 1-877-UB-THERE or in-person at the Alumni Arena Ticket Office. For more information, visit the championship central page.
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Players Mentioned
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