EMU women advance to title game; CMU & WMU go down

In what some would consider an upset, the #5 Eastern Michigan Eagles earned a big win against the #1 Toledo Rockets, 61-55, in the semifinals of the women's MAC tournament. EMU's Cassie Shrock led the team with a team-high 20 points, along with Paige Redditt with her fourth double-double of the year with 18 points & 11 rebounds. The Eagles (22-11) will now headline the main event as they will compete for the MAC Championship & an automatic NCAA Tournament bid on Saturday against #2 Bowling Green. This last time Eagles & Falcons faced each other for the MAC title was 2004, where Eastern came out victorious.




On the other side of the women's MAC bracket, Central Michigan had a chance to face Eastern for the MAC championship, but were stopped flat by Bowling Green, 80-72, in the semifinals. CMU's Kaihia Szunko tied a MAC tournament record with 19 rebounds, but the team shooting 33% from the field was the downfall for the Chippewas. Central Michigan (20-10) now awaits to see where they'll be placed in the NCAA postseason.

Meanwhile on the men's side, #2 Western Michigan rallied hard in the 2nd half, but the hot start of #6 Akron in the 1st half, especially from 3-point range, was too much for the Broncos as they went down, 79-68. With a record of 20-12, there's a slim chance the NCAA will allow Western Michigan to participate in the NCAA tournament.