“The Zips women’s basketball team will play at Quicken Loans Arena as they take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles at 6:00 p.m. in the Mid American Conference tournament. After defeating the Ohio Bobcats on senior night, the Zips got a first round bye for the first time in program history and became the fourth seed for the tournament.”
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The Zips women’s basketball team will play at Quicken Loans Arena as they take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles at 6:00 p.m. in the Mid American Conference tournament.

After defeating the Ohio Bobcats on senior night, the Zips got a first round bye for the first time in program history and became the fourth seed for the tournament.

After last week’s win, we took a day off and then we knew we had to get focused for the MAC tournament, Zips head coach Jodi Kest said.

First round games were played this weekend and the Eagles defeated the Buffalo Bulls 66-56 to advance to the second round.

Tavelyn James leads the Eagles with 596 points, and Kristen Thomas has 206 rebounds this season.

The Miami RedHawks defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies 67-66 to advance to the second round.

The RedHawks will take on the number one-seeded Bowling Green State Falcons on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Courtney Osborn leads the RedHawks in scoring with 503 points, and Lauren Prochaska of the Falcons has a team high of 529 points.

The sixth-seeded Central Michigan Chippewas defeated the 11th-seeded Ohio Bobcats 69-66 and will take on the third seeded Kent State University Golden Flashes on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Key players to keep an eye on in this game are Jalisa Olive and Shonda Long of the Chippewas who both scored in double-digits against the Ohio Bobcats in their first round win. The Golden Flashes’ Taisjha Jones leads the team in scoring with 416 points.

The seventh-seeded Ball State University Cardinals defeated the 10th-seeded Western Michigan Broncos 67-43.

The Cardinals will take on the second seeded Toledo Rockets on Wednesday at noon.

Leading the Cardinals in scoring is Emily Maggert with 514 points. The Toledo Rockets are MAC western division champions led by head coach Tricia Cullop.

If the Zips can get past Eastern Michigan, they will advance to the semifinals on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and will take on the number one-seeded Bowling Green State Falcons or the eighth-seeded Miami RedHawks.

Playing the other semifinal game Friday at noon will be the winner of the Ball State versus Toledo Rockets and the Central Michigan versus Kent State game.

Leading the Zips in scoring for the regular season is small forward Kara Murphy with 404 points. Point guard Ayla Guzzardo leads the team with 125 assists. Power forward Jolene Tamboue leads the team in rebounding with 225.

For seniors Tamboue and Guzzardo, the MAC tournament could be the last time they play for the Zips.

This year we are having a great year and I have gotten very close to everybody on the team, Zips point guard Ayla Guzzardo said.

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