# 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.
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. Quinesha Lockett of Toledo was the MVP of both the regular season and the tournament.

## 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. 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.

### 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. Defending 2021–22 regular season champion Toledo was named the favorite.

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

## Regular season

The schedule was released in late August.

### 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

| | | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| Akron | AP | | | | | |
| Akron | C | | | | | |
| Ball State | AP | | | | | |
| Ball State | C | | | | | |
| Bowling Green | AP | | | | | |
| Bowling Green | C | | | | | |
| Buffalo | AP | | | | | |
| Buffalo | C | | | | | |
| Central Michigan | AP | | | | | |
| Central Michigan | C | | | | | |
| Eastern Michigan | AP | | | | | |
| Eastern Michigan | C | | | | | |
| Kent State | AP | | | | | |
| Kent State | C | | | | | |
| Miami | AP | | | | | |
| Miami | C | | | | | |
| Northern Illinois | AP | | | | | |
| Northern Illinois | C | | | | | |
| Ohio | AP | | | | | |
| Ohio | C | | | | | |
| Toledo | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Toledo | C | | | | | |
| Western Michigan | AP | | | | | |
| Western Michigan | 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

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

## Postseason
### Mid–American Tournament

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

### NCAA 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. They lost to Tennessee in the second round.

### Women's National Invitation Tournament

Bowling Green, Ball State, and Kent State accepted bids to the WNIT. 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.

### Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament

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

### Postseason Awards

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