We are five games into the Mid-American Conference (MAC) women’s basketball conference season and Ball State is still atop the standings after improving their record to 5-0.
Western Michigan isn’t far behind, however, as they improved to 4-1. Just below the Broncos, seven teams are bunched together with three or two MAC wins.
Only three teams have one or zero conference victories thus far.
Here’s a recap of how each team did over the last week:
- Ball State (13-4, 5-0 MAC)
The Cardinals have been absolutely dominant this season and that didn’t change this past week. They crushed Eastern Michigan 101-69 on Jan. 8, pummeled Buffalo 78-56 on Jan. 11, and most recently beat Kent State 66-57 on Jan. 15.
Ball State is living up to the preseason poll favorite hype as they are the only remaining undefeated team in the MAC. They also have the second-best overall record, just below Buffalo’s 14-2.
They were led this week by grad transfer small forward Elise Stuck, who scored 20 points while nabbing 15 rebounds against Buffalo. The performance named her the MAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week. This is the second week in a row that a Cardinal has been given the award after senior guard Ally Becki won the award last week.
- Western Michigan (7-8, 4-1 MAC)
The Broncos have been the biggest surprise in the MAC so far this season. After finishing in 10th in the preseason poll, WMU has put together an impressive string of conference wins to land in 2nd place in the conference at the five-game mark.
They have kept pace with Ball State this week by winning all three contests. They first beat Ohio 66-49 on Jan. 8, then they closely beat Northern Illinois 61-57 on Jan. 11. Then, on Jan. 15, they beat Toledo 41-38.
The Toledo game can be taken one of two ways for the Broncos. It truly was one of the most impressive defensive performances all season long from any team in any conference. On the other hand, Western Michigan only put up 41 points of offense.
Either way, you look at it, WMU is only one game back from the first-place Cardinals and will face off against them in Muncie, Ind. on Feb. 1.
- Buffalo (14-2, 3-2 MAC)
The Bulls have the best overall record in the MAC at 14-2. After starting off the season 12-0, they were the first-place team heading into the New Year. However, over the last 4 conference games, they are 2-2 and have dropped to third place.
A slim 82-73 loss to Kent State on Jan. 5 wasn’t too much of a problem, but a 78-56 blowout loss to Ball State should be a bit concerning to Bulls fans if they want to hang in the top tier of teams in the MAC.
Buffalo’s next three contests are against teams below them in the standings, before they face off against second-place Western Michigan on Jan. 29.
- Toledo (11-4, 3-2 MAC)
Toledo’s top-tier defense has them in 4th place in the MAC. They have given up 70 or less points in 73.33% of games this season.
However, this defense wasn’t enough to beat Western Michigan on Jan. 15, as they only scored 38 points themselves.
Wins against Central Michigan, Kent State, and Akron before the WMU loss should give Rockets fans some momentum heading into their Jan. 18 matchup against state-rival Ohio.
- Miami (10-5, 3-2 MAC)
Redhawks basketball is on fire right now! While the men’s team is atop the MAC, the women’s team should not be overlooked either. Miami is 5-2 in their last seven games and is currently on a two-game conference winning streak after starting off their conference record at 1-2.
Their Jan. 15 73-52 road victory over Northern Illinois was their largest road win since their season opener against Appalachian State. This win was preceded by a 15-point win on Jan. 11 against Bowling Green.
These victories should give Miami some much-needed momentum as they head into one of their toughest stretches of schedule yet. They play Buffalo, Kent State, and Toledo in three of their next four games, all of which are currently in the top half of the MAC standings.
- Kent State (10-7, 3-2 MAC)
The Golden Flashes have lost two of their last three MAC games, losing to Toledo by 11 on Jan. 5 and to Ball State by nine on Jan. 15.
Despite losing these two games, it should be slightly encouraging to Kent State that they have come the closest out of any team to beating Ball State.
Another optimistic perspective on the Ball State loss is that 6’3 senior forward Bridget Dunn continued to look like one of the most dominant front-court players in the conference this season. She notched her second straight double-double in the contest with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
7. Akron (9-8, 3-2 MAC)
Akron has slipped slightly in the standings after another 2-1 stretch. The Zips got wins this week against Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan, two of the bottom three teams in the MAC.
These wins weren’t all that convincing either, the NIU win was a two-point victory and the EMU win was decided by 6 points, by far the slimmest margin against the Eagles all season in conference play.
The 20-point loss they had against Central Michigan on Jan. 15 was also a disappointing game for Akron.
- Bowling Green (8-8, 2-3 MAC)
The Falcons are now 6-4 in their last 10 games and are coming off a huge victory against Ohio on Jan. 15, winning 74-53. An impressive 19-point performance from fifth-year shooting guard Lexi Fleming helped secure the win for Bowling Green.
Senior point guard Amy Velasco has also been a bright spot for the Orange & Brown this past week, scoring 22 points on Jan. 8 in their 60-70 loss to Buffalo.
Overall, Bowling Green was 1-2 this past week and is 2-3 in their last five games.
- Central Michigan (6-10, 2-3 MAC)
Although they are towards the bottom of the MAC standings, the Chippewas are trending in the right direction after a 2-1 week in the conference.
As aforementioned, beating Akron by 20 was a huge win for Central Michigan. They also beat Miami 47-46 on Jan. 8.
Even the loss they had this week against Toledo was a close one, barely dropping the game 66-71.
- Northern Illinois (7-9, 1-4 MAC)
After starting 2025 on a good note with a New Year’s Day 59-58 victory over Toledo, the rest of the year’s conference play has been nothing short of a quick failed New Year’s resolution.
Four straight losses for the Huskies have been brutal for NIU fans after such a promising start.
While two of the four losses were close and within eight points each, the other two were 15–20-point losses that showed many weaknesses on the defensive side of the ball.
- Ohio (3-12, 1-4 MAC)
The Bobcats had one of the worst weeks in the MAC, losing all three games by 15 or more points. They lost by 15 to Kent State on Jan. 11, by 17 to Western Michigan on Jan. 8, and by a whopping 21 to Bowling Gren on Jan. 15.
Ohio has probably been the most underperforming team in the conference so far. After being predicted to finish sixth in the preseason poll, they have cemented themselves towards the very bottom of the league so far and will now have a hole to dig out of.
- Eastern Michigan (1-14, 0-5 MAC)
It is starting to feel like desperation time for the Eagles. EMU is probably the only team to rival Ohio for the worst week as they lost by 32 points against Ball State on Jan. 8.
They then lost a close one to Akron on Jan. 11 before once again getting blown out, this time against Buffalo, 55-77 on Jan. 15.
The good news for the Eagles is that they play Central Michigan (9th place), Northern Illinois (10th place), and Ohio (11th place) consecutively in their next three games. Maybe they will be able to string some wins together to save their crumbling start in conference play.
