25 For 25; Kingery Helps Lead Women’s Basketball To MAC Championship Semifinals

Wednesday, March 11

Cleveland, Ohio

Approx. 4 pm ET

Ball State University

26-6,16-2MAC

Bowling Green

17-14,9-9MAC

Bowling Green

Ball St.

Grace Kingery at 2026 MAC Women's Basketball Championship

25 For 25; Kingery Helps Lead Women’s Basketball To MAC Championship Semifinals

March 11, 2026 | Women's Basketball

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CLEVELAND - - Led by a career-high 25 points from sophomore Grace Kingery, the second-seeded Ball State women's basketball team overcame a second-half rally from No. 7 seed Bowling Green to earn a 75-63 win in quarterfinal action of the Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Championship.

With the victory, the Cardinals (26-6) advance to Friday's second semifinal contest at Rocket Arena, slated to start around 12:30 p.m., where it will battle the winner of tonight's final quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 UMass and No. 6 Toledo.

Leading by 14 points at the half, the Cardinals saw the Falcons (17-14) cut the advantage to four, at 56-52, with 7:08 remaining in the game. However, a layup and pair of three-pointers from Kingery helped extend the edge back to nine, at 67-58, with 2:22 remining.

BSU would reclaim its 10-point lead moments later when senior Bree Salenbien's connected for her fourth and final trifecta of the afternoon with 1:44 remaining. Junior Karsyn Norman would then hit four straight free throws, helping keep the Falcons at bay, while Kingery made two of her own to cap the scoring in the game.

Kingery's career-high 25 points came on 9-for17 shooting, including five makes from behind the three-point arc. Salenbien was second on the squad with 18 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season.

As impressive as the play of Kingery and Salenbien was, even more impressive was the team's ability to share the ball, collecting 22 assists on 27 made shots. Norman and freshman Aniss Tagayi tied for game-high honors with six assists apiece, while eight of the nine Cardinals to see action had at least one helper in the game.

Ball State also held a 46-to-39 advantage on the glass, including 32 defensive boards. Along with Salenbien's 10 rebounds, both Tagayi and senior Tessa Towers were credited with eight apiece.

The opening tip-off brought expected nerves as the reigning MAC Tournament champions battled through a back-and-forth first quarter. Despite struggling to score in the paint, typically the team's greatest strength, Ball State took a 19-15 lead thanks to a pair of clutch triples from Kingery.

Building on their early momentum, the Cardinals used a three-point play from Salenbien to stretch its lead to nine in the second frame. Despite the Falcons' efforts to accelerate its tempo, BGSU was overwhelmed by a Ball State offense which shot 17-of-37 from the field. This efficient display, highlighted by 45% shooting and five triples, resulted in a 42-28 cushion at the break.

Ball State stumbled early in the third quarter as Bowling Green used a 13-6 run to trim the lead to 48-38 by the media timeout. Kingery answered the threat with her third triple of the game, pushing the cushion back to 13, but a quick BGSU three and consecutive Cardinals' turnovers helped cut the deficit to single digits. However, a gritty, last-second layup by Salenbien restored a 10-point Ball State lead (53-43) heading into the final frame.

The Falcons surged early in the fourth quarter, using a 9-3 run to cut the lead to just four points (56-52) with 7:08 remaining. However, the Cardinals responded with championship poise as Kingery and Salenbien combined to push the lead back to 10 with 1:44 left. This clutch performance effectively sealed the game, sending BSU to their fifth straight MAC Tournament semifinal game.