With only one more game left for each team other than Central Michigan in the 2026 regular season, we look ahead to this year’s 2026 Mid-American Conference (MAC) women’s basketball tournament.
There are only eight teams each year that are fortunate enough to punch their ticket to Cleveland, Ohio, inside Rocket Arena. That being said, 13 teams are in the MAC, and some teams have already been mathematically eliminated, while others are playing for the best possible seed in the standings.
The Buffalo Bulls, Northern Illinois Huskies, Akron Zips, Western Michigan Broncos, and Eastern Michigan Eagles have all been eliminated from this season’s MAC tournament.
Meanwhile, the other eight teams have each clinched a berth to Cleveland, Ohio, and are now fighting for the best possible position in the standings.
Each team that will be going to Cleveland has its own strengths and weaknesses, which fuel each fanbase to believe that their team can win it all.
The Miami (OH) RedHawks, Ball State Cardinals, Massachusetts Minutewomen, Central Michigan Chippewas, Ohio Bobcats, Bowling Green Falcons, Toledo Rockets, and the Kent State Golden Flashes all have punched their tickets to the MAC women’s basketball tournament.
So, let’s take a deeper dive into all eight of these teams to see where they stand a week before the tournament begins.
#2 Ball State Cardinals (24-6, 15-2)
The Cardinals are led by senior guard Bree Salenbine, senior center Tessa Towers, and sophomore guard Grace Kingery. Both Salenbine, Towers, and Kingery lead the charge, all averaging over 10 points per contest.
Salenbine and Kingery together are the two primary guards who pose a shooting threat to opposing teams. Collectively, the two are each shooting 45.2% from the field.
Additionally, Ball State’s junior guard Karsyn Norman can be a lethal option on offense, registering 9.3 points per outing. However, she paces the Cardinals in assists per game, averaging 4.9 assists per night.
Now that we covered Ball State’s ball-dominant guards, we need to transition back to Towers, who can become a roadblock to opposing centers on each team. Towers is listed at six feet five inches and uses all of her height to her advantage, commanding the court in rebounds recorded each game with 8.2 boards per night.
Rounding out this season, Ball State tops the MAC with the best overall field goal percentage. The Cardinals are shooting a conference best, 46.3% from the floor this year.
Beyond that, the Cardinals also spearhead the conference in combined team rebounds per night, averaging 44.3 rebounds a night. The second-highest are the Central Michigan Chippewas with 41.6 rebounds a game.
#7 Bowling Green Falcons (16-13, 8-9)
The Falcons are anchored by junior guard Paige Kohler and sophomore guard Johnea Donahue, who are the two vocal points offensively for BGSU. Kohler is averaging a team-high 14.7 points per game, while Donahue is second in points scored each contest, accounting for 11.3 points per matchup.
Behind Kohler and Donahue is sophomore guard Lauren Gerken, who is a spot-up shooter for BG. Gerken is averaging 9.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest.
Gerken thrived at UMass earlier this season, scoring 18 points off 53.8% shooting from the floor, including 44.4% from distance. More recently, against Toledo, Gerken scored 14 points, connecting on 45.5% of her shots, with a 44.4% efficiency beyond the arc.
Bowling Green is protected in the paint by junior forward Taya Ellis, who has caught a groove down the stretch this season, recently registering three consecutive double-doubles against the Bobcats, Rockets, and Broncos. Her most recent double-double came against Ohio, in which she scored 16 points and 16 rebounds, leading Bowling Green to a 60-56 overtime victory.
The Orange and Brown have been up and down all season long, with a shooting percentage ranking them tenth in the MAC, posting a 39.3% field goal percentage. Not to mention, also standing tenth in the conference in 3-point percentage as well, with a 28.8% 3-point percentage on the season.
The Falcons sit fourth in the MAC with the fourth-fewest turnovers committed per matchup with 17 giveaways a night. Only the Eastern Michigan Eagles, Miami (OH) RedHawks, and the Massachusetts Minutewomen average less than BGSU this season.
#4 Central Michigan Chippewas (18-11, 12-6)
Sophomore guard Madi Morson fortifies the Chippewas while running point and leading the entire MAC in points scored per matchup, averaging 20 points per game. Morson also sits alone, scoring the most points in the MAC, scoring a total of 581 points this year.
Alongside Morson is sophomore forward Ayanna-Sarai Darrington, who is recording 14.7 points per contest. Aside from that, she is the most efficient shooter on the Chippewas roster with a team-best 56.2% field goal percentage.
As a squad, CMU is ranked second in the conference in rebounds won per game, totalling 41.8 boards a night. Senior guard Taylor Anderson paces the Chippewas, logging 9.5 rebounds per matchup.
Moreover, CMU ranks fourth in the MAC in field goal percentage at 43%, and second in 3-point percentage at 34.5%.
On the other hand, Central Michigan this season has a reputation for turning the ball over numerous times in an outing. CMU is tied with the Kent State Golden Flashes for the third-most turnovers committed on a nightly basis in the MAC. Only the Akron Zips and the Buffalo Bulls average more turnovers than Central Michigan, which is eclipsing 18.5 turnovers a night.
#8 Kent State Golden Flashes (14-15, 8-9)
Before the 2025-2026 season began, the Kent State Golden Flashes received the most first-place votes out of all 13 teams in the conference. Yet, occupy the eighth seed in the MAC tournament at the moment.
Junior guard Mya Babbitt guides the Golden Flashes, orchestrating the most points for Kent State each time out, clipping near 16 points per matchup, averaging 15.8 points per game.
Trailing Babbitt is junior forward Janae Tyler, who is tallying 10.5 points per contest, as well as being ranked third on the team in field percentage with a 46% shooting clip.
Having said that, senior guard Dionna Gray is best known for her precision as a passer for Kent State, posting 4.9 assists a night, which ties her with Ball State’s Karsyn Norman, sitting fourth in the MAC in assists per contest.
Kent State ranks eighth in the conference in both overall field goal percentage and 3-point percentage this year. The Golden Flashes clock a 40.7% success rate and a 29.2% from downtown.
#3 Massachusetts (UMass) Minutewomen (22-6, 14-3)
The Minutewomen are engineered by their big three, as sophomore guard Yahmani McKayle, senior forward Megan Olbrys, and graduate student guard Allie Palmieri lead UMass offensively as they each average over 10 points a night.
McKayle leads the way, averaging a team-best 16.3 points, along with the most assists in every run out, notching 5.1 dimes on a per-appearance basis.
Olbrys may not score the most points for Massachusetts, yet she does command the glass by conducting the most rebounds per game, coupled with the second-best shooting percentage on the team, bracing a 52% field goal percentage.
The Minutewomen place third in the MAC with a 43% shooting clip, while also ranking in the top-five with a 31.6% 3-point percentage.
On top of that, UMass is also registering the fewest miscues per game, turning the ball over 14.9 times on average.
#1 Miami (OH) RedHawks (25-5, 16-1)
In the midst of the final week of the 2025-2026 regular season, the RedHawks occupy the top spot in the MAC standings, with a 25-5 overall record and a conference record of 16-1.
Miami’s roster includes four players with averages above 10 points this season. Junior Forward Amber Tretter tops the team with 14.6 points per contest, but she also leads the team in rebounds won as well, averaging 8.1 boards a game.
Behind Tretter is senior guard Amber Scalia, who is posting 13.6 points a night off 41.8% shooting. During Scalia’s last five games, she is averaging 11.6 points per game with a 30.3% field goal percentage.
Sophomore guard Tamar Singer records 10.9 points per contest, which ranks fourth on the roster, and yet is also a surgical passer, pinpointing a team-best 7.2 assists on a nightly basis.
The RedHawks rank second in the conference, chasing only Ball State with the second-best field goal Percentage per night, generating a 45.3% conversion rate.
Beyond that, Miami does, in fact, sit alone with the conference’s standard-setting 3-point percentage. This season, the RedHawks are shooting 35.4% from deep, and Miami’s junior guard Nuria Jurjo fronts the effort with a 43.8% 3-point percentage.
The Bobcats are led by junior guard Bailey Tabeling, who fronts OU on the offensive end.
Tabeling pilots Ohio with 14 points per contest, along with four rebounds and three assists per 40 minutes. Dating back to the Bobcats’ last date with Kent State on Feb. 14, Tabeling has averaged 16 points per game, shooting 29% from the floor, in addition to shooting 23.6% from three-point land.
During that five-game stretch, OU has only won two games against Kent State, winning 71-61, and against Eastern Michigan, 62-54.
OU is positioned with a field goal percentage of 40.2% as a team, which ranks ninth in the conference this season. However, Ohio does have the firepower to let it rain from range, slotted fourth in the MAC with a 3-point percentage of 32%, with one last date with the Miami (OH) RedHawks to conclude their regular season.
#6 Toledo Rockets (15-13, 9-8)
The Rockets are anchored by a trio of guards leading the charge offensively as junior guard Kendall Carruthers, sophomore guard Faith Fedd-Robinson, and graduate student guard Patricia Anumgba lead UT on the attacking end.
Carruthers spearheads the team, with 12.1 points per matchup off 42.5% shooting. En route to Toledo’s most recent victory against Western Michigan, Carruthers scored 25 points off 66.7% from the floor and 50% from downtown.
That being said, for the majority of the season, Fedd-Robinson was the primary ball-handler for the Rockets, averaging 11.7 points per contest, not to mention grabbing seven rebounds a game too. But, on Feb. 18, Fedd-Robinson sustained an injury against UMass that has kept her sidelined since.
Leading up to her injury, Fedd-Robinson was scoring 12.6 points per matchup during her last five outings, with a scoring high of 20 points against the Southern Miss Lady Eagles during that span.
Toledo rounds out the top five schools in the MAC with a 42.6% field goal percentage this season, but ranked second-last in the conference in 3-point efficiency, connecting on 27.8% of their deep shots this year.
This year’s MAC tournament will be held from March 11-14 inside Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
