2022–23 Mid-American Conference women's basketball season

The 2022–23 Mid-American Conference women's basketball season is the season for Mid-American Conference women's basketball teams. It began with practices in October 2022, followed by the start of the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2023 and concluded in March 2023. The 2023 MAC tournament was held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio for the 23rd consecutive season.^[1]

2022–23 Mid-American Conference women's basketball season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Number of teams	12
Regular season
League champions	Toledo
Runners-up	Bowling Green
Season MVP	Quinesha Lockett
2023 MAC tournament
champions	Toledo
2023 MAC tournament MVP	Quinesha Lockett
Tournament
Mid-American women's basketball seasons
← 2021–22 2023–24 →

2022–23 Mid-American Conference women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Toledo†	16	–	2		.889			29	–	5		.853
Bowling Green	14	–	4		.778			30	–	6		.833
Ball State	14	–	4		.778			26	–	8		.765
Kent State	12	–	6		.667			21	–	11		.656
Akron	8	–	10		.444			17	–	13		.567
Northern Illinois	8	–	10		.444			16	–	17		.485
Eastern Michigan	7	–	11		.389			15	–	15		.500
Buffalo	7	–	11		.389			12	–	16		.429
Western Michigan	7	–	11		.389			12	–	17		.414
Miami (OH)	7	–	11		.389			12	–	19		.387
Central Michigan	4	–	14		.222			6	–	23		.207
Ohio	4	–	14		.222			6	–	23		.207
† 2023 MAC tournament winner As of March 24, 2023

Toledo won the regular season championship with a 16–2 record and defeated second seeded Bowling Green in the MAC tournament final to earn the conference's automatic bid into the 2023 NCAA tournament.^[2] Quinesha Lockett of Toledo was the MVP of both the regular season and the tournament.^[3]

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Buffalo

On March 26, 2022, Felisha Legette-Jack, who had been the head coach at Buffalo since 2012, was hired as the head coach of her alma mater Syracuse.^[4][5] In 10 years Legette-Jack compiled a 201–114 at Buffalo with three MAC tournament titles, four NCAA tournament appearances, and three NCAA tournament wins. On April 6 Buffalo announced USC Upstate head coach Becky Burke as their new head coach.^[6]

Coaches

Team	Head coach	Previous job	Years at school	Overall record	School record	MAC record	MAC titles	MAC Tournament titles	NCAA tournaments	NCAA Final Fours	NCAA Championships
Akron	Melissa Jackson	Akron (Assoc. HC)	5	55–56 (.495)	55–56 (.495)	32–40 (.444)	0	0	0	0	0
Ball State	Brady Sallee	Eastern Illinois	11	318–242 (.568)	183–142 (.563)	113–68 (.624)	0	0	0	0	0
Bowling Green	Robyn Fralick	Ashland	5	161–90 (.641)	57–66 (.463)	29–45 (.392)	1	0	0	0	0
Buffalo	Becky Burke	USC Upstate	1	113–55 (.673)	0–0 (–)	0–0 (–)	0	0	0	0	0
Central Michigan	Heather Oesterle	Central Michigan (Assoc. HC)	4	44–39 (.530)	44–39 (.530)	30–25 (.545)	1	1	1	0	0
Eastern Michigan	Fred Castro	Washington (Asst.)	7	64–107 (.374)	64–107 (.374)	33–73 (.311)	0	0	0	0	0
Kent State	Todd Starkey	Indiana (Asst.)	7	255–172 (.597)	101–77 (.567)	60–48 (.556)	0	0	0	0	0
Miami	DeUnna Hendrix	High Point	4	148–154 (.490)	23–61 (.274)	11–47 (.190)	0	0	0	0	0
Northern Illinois	Lisa Carlsen	Lewis	8	287–269 (.516)	103–105 (.495)	62–67 (.481)	0	0	0	0	0
Ohio	Bob Boldon	Youngstown State	10	277–187 (.597)	179–99 (.644)	102–60 (.630)	2	1	1	0	0
Toledo	Tricia Cullop	Evansville	15	419–268 (.610)	296–158 (.652)	161–85 (.654)	2	1	1	0	0
Western Michigan	Shane Clipfell	Michigan State (Assoc. HC)	11	220–203 (.520)	148–156 (.487)	80–102 (.440)	0	0	0	0	0

Notes:

• Appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
• Years at school includes 2022–23 season.
• MAC records are from time at current school only.
• All statistics and records are through the beginning of the season.

Preseason

The preseason coaches' poll and league awards were announced by the league office on October 27, 2022.^[7] Defending 2021–22 regular season champion Toledo was named the favorite.^[8]

Preseason women's basketball coaches poll

Women's Basketball Preseason Poll

Place	Team	Points	First place votes
1.	Toledo	143	11
2.	Ball State	130	1
3.	Bowling Green	109	--
4.	Kent State	103	--
5.	Northern Illinois	99	--
6.	Western Michigan	91	--
7.	Ohio	61	--
8.	Akron	50	--
9.	Eastern Michigan	46	--
10.	Buffalo	40	--
11.	Miami	35	--
12.	Central Michigan	29	--

MAC Tournament champions: Toledo (9), Ball State (3)

MAC Preseason All-Conference

Honor	Recipient
Preseason All-MAC First Team	Quinesha Lockett, G, Toledo Sr.
	A'Jah Davis, F, Northern Illinois Sr.
	Ally Becki, G, Ball State, So.
	Peyton Scott, G, Miami Sr.
	Sophia Wiard, G, Toledo Sr.
Preseason All-MAC Second Team	Lauren Ross, G, Western Michigan, R-So.
	Chelby Koker, G, Northern Illinois Sr.
	Lexi Fleming, G, Bowling Green Jr.
	Raegan Bass, F, Akron, So.
	Kadie Hempfling, F, Bowling Green Sr.

Regular season

The schedule was released in late August.^[9]

Record against ranked non-conference opponents

This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Significance	Score	Conference record
Nov 7	Northern Illinois	No. 9 Notre Dame	Purcell Pavilion ● Notre Dame, IN	—	L 48–88	0–1
Nov 16	Western Michigan	No. 23 Michigan	Crisler Center ● Ann Arbor, MI	―	L 67–99	0–2
Nov 17	No. 8 Ohio State	Ohio	Convocation Center ● Athens, OH	―	L 56–86	0–3
Nov 17	Bowling Green	No. 12 Indiana	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall ● Bloomington, IN	―	L 61–96	0–4
Nov 20	Ball State	No. 9 Notre Dame	Purcell Pavilion ● Notre Dame, IN	―	L 60–95	0–5
Dec 8	Toledo	No. 14 Michigan	Crisler Center ● Ann Arbor, MI	―	W 71–68	1–5
Dec 21	Western Michigan	No. 5 Notre Dame	Purcell Pavilion ● Notre Dame, IN	―	L 57–85	1–6

Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking

† denotes game was played on neutral site

Rankings

Main article: 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

		Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19	Final
Akron	AP
	C
Ball State	AP
	C
Bowling Green	AP
	C
Buffalo	AP
	C
Central Michigan	AP
	C
Eastern Michigan	AP
	C
Kent State	AP
	C
Miami	AP
	C
Northern Illinois	AP
	C
Ohio	AP
	C
Toledo	AP																RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	C
Western Michigan	AP
	C

Legend

		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

All-MAC Awards

Mid-American women's basketball weekly awards

^[10]

Week	Player(s) of the Week	School
Nov 14^[11]	Maddi Cluse	Miami
Nov 21^[12]	Lauren Ross	Western Michigan
Nov 28^[13]	A’Jah Davis	Northern Illinois
Dec 5^[14]	Chelby Koker	Northern Illinois
Dec 12^[15]	Lauren Ross	Western Michigan
Dec 19^[16]	Lauren Ross	Western Michigan
Dec 26^[17]	Zakiyah Winfield	Buffalo
Jan 2^[18]	Reagan Bass	Akron
Jan 9^[19]	Rochelle Norris	Central Michigan
Jan 16^[20]	Quinesha Lockett	Toledo
Jan 23^[21]	Lauren Ross	Western Michigan
Jan 30^[22]	Quinesha Lockett	Toledo
Feb 6^[23]	Taylor Williams	Western Michigan
Feb 13^[24]	Anna Clephane	Ball State
Feb 20^[25]	Re’Shawna Stone	Buffalo
Feb 27^[26]	A’Jah Davis	Northern Illinois
Mar 6^[27]	Re’Shawna Stone	Buffalo

Postseason

Mid–American Tournament

Main article: 2023 MAC women's basketball tournament

Toledo defeated Bowling Green in the final to earn the conference's automatic bid into the 2023 NCAA tournament.^[2] Quinesha Lockett of Toledo was the MVP.^[3]

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

Toledo was placed as the twelfth seed in the Seattle Region 3 of the 2023 NCAA tournament where they defeated Iowa State in the first round.^[28][29] They lost to Tennessee in the second round.^[30][31]

Women's National Invitation Tournament

Main article: 2023 Women's National Invitation Tournament

Bowling Green, Ball State, and Kent State accepted bids to the WNIT.^[32] Kent State was knocked out in the first round. Ball State lost in the second round. Bowling Green won four games before losing in the semi-finals.^[33]

Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament

Main article: 2023 Women's Basketball Invitational

Northern Illinois accepted a to the WBI where they lost to Georgia Southern in the first round.^[34]

Postseason Awards

^[35]

1. Coach of the Year: Tricia Cullop, Toledo
2. Player of the Year: Quinesha Lockett, Senior, Guard, Toledo
3. Freshman of the Year: Sydney Harris, Guard/Forward, Central Michigan
4. Defensive Player of the Year: Nyla Hampton, Junior, Guard, Bowling Green
5. Sixth Player of the Year: Janae Poisson, Graduate Student, Guard, Northern Illinois

Honors

Honor	Recipient
Postseason All-MAC First Team	Quinesha Lockett, Senior, Guard, Toledo
	A’Jah Davis, Senior, Forward, Northern Illinois
	Anna Clephane, Senior, Guard/Forward, Ball State
	Elissa Brett, Senior, Guard, Bowling Green
	Reagan Bass, Sophomore, Forward, Akron
Postseason All-MAC Second Team	Yaya Felder, Sophomore, Guard, Ohio
	Re’Shawna Stone, Graduate Student, Guard, Buffalo
	Ally Becki, Sophomore, Guard, Ball State
	Chelby Koker, Senior, Guard, Northern Illinois
	Allison Day, Senior, Forward, Bowling Green
Postseason All-MAC Third Team	Katie Shumate, Senior, Guard, Kent State
	Peyton Scott, Senior, Guard, Miami
	Ivy Wolf, Sophomore, Guard, Miami
	Sophia Wiard, Senior, Guard, Toledo
	Sydney Harris, Freshman, Guard/Forward, Central Michigan
Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention	Ce’Nara Skanes, Redshirt Junior, Forward, Eastern Michigan
	Thelma Dis Augustsdottir, Graduate Student, Guard/Forward, Ball State
	Taylor Williams, Redshirt Junior, Forward, Western Michigan
	Lauren Ross, Redshirt Sophomore, Guard, Western Michigan
	Lindsey Thall, Graduate Student, Forward, Kent State
All-MAC Freshman Team	Sydney Harris, Guard/Forward, Central Michigan
	Corynne Hauser, Guard, Kent State
	Bridget Utberg, Guard, Central Michigan
	Olivia Smith, Guard, Eastern Michigan
	Jaya McClure, Guard, Ohio
All-MAC Defensive Team	Nyla Hampton, Junior, Guard, Bowling Green
	Dominique Camp, Senior, Guard, Akron
	Khera Goss, Junior, Guard, Toledo
	Taylor Williams, Redshirt Junior, Forward, Western Michigan
	Elissa Brett, Senior, Guard, Bowling Green

See also

2022–23 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season

References

1. Zarrella, Tony. "MAC Tournament staying in downtown Cleveland through 2030". Cleveland 19 News. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
2. "Toledo returns to NCAA tournament with win over Bowling Green for MAC women's basketball championship". Cleveland.com. March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
3. "Toledo Wins MAC Women's Basketball Title". Mid-American conference. March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
4. "Legette-Jack Returns Home to Lead the Orange". Syracuse University Athletics (Press release). March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
5. Jackson, Wilton (March 26, 2022). "Syracuse Hires Program Legend As New Women's Basketball Coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
6. Lenzi, Rachel (April 6, 2022). "UB announces hire of Becky Burke as women's basketball coach". The Buffalo News. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
7. "MAC Announces 2022-23 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll". Ohio University Athletics. October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
8. "Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll & All-MAC Teams Announced". Mid-American Conference. October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
9. "MAC Announces 2022-23 Women's Basketball Conference Schedule". getsomemaction.com. August 24, 2022. from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
10. "Women's Basketball Players of the Week".
11. "Cluse Earns Player of the Week Honors".
12. "WMU's Ross Earns Player of the Week Accolades".
13. "NIU's Davis Named Player of the Week".
14. "Huskies' Koker Tabbed Women's Basketball Player of the Week".
15. "Broncos' Ross Earns Player of the Week Honors".
16. "WMU's Ross Earns Player of the Week Honors".
17. "Buffalo's Winfield Named Player of the Week".
18. "Akron's Bass Earns Player of the Week Accolades".
19. "CMU's Norris Earns Women's Basketball Player of the Week Accolades".
20. "Toledo's Lockett Named Women's Basketball Player of the Week".
21. "Broncos' Ross Tabbed Women's Basketball Player of the Week".
22. "Toledo's Lockett Earns Player of the Week Honors".
23. "WMU's Williams Named Player of the Week".
24. "Ball State's Clephane Named Women's Basketball Player of the Week".
25. "Buffalo's Stone Named Women's Basketball Player of the Week".
26. "NIU's Davis Earns Player of the Week Honors".
27. "Bulls' Stone Tabbed Women's Basketball Player of the Week".
28. "No. 12 seed Toledo women draw fifth-seeded Iowa State in NCAA tournament". Toledo Blade. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
29. Birch, Tommy. "Iowa State women's basketball team upset by Toledo in first round of NCAA tournament". Des Moine Register. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
30. Hall, Cora. "Lady Vols basketball vs Toledo in March Madness a rematch for Jordan Walker, Sophia Wiard". The Tennessean. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
31. "Toledo 47, Tennessee 84". ESPN. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
32. "Toledo Wins MAC Women's Basketball Title". Mid-American conference. March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
33. "2023 Postseason WNIT". WNIT.
34. "NIU Wraps Up Season With Loss To UIC In WBI". Northern Illinois Athletics. March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
35. "2022-23 MAC Women's Basketball Postseason Awards Announced".