# 2019 MAC women's basketball tournament

The 2019 MAC women's basketball tournament was the postseason basketball tournament that ended the 2018–19 college basketball season in the Mid-American Conference. Tournament first-round games were held on campus sites at the higher seed on March 11. The remaining rounds were held at Quicken Loans Arena, now known as Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, in Cleveland, Ohio between March 13 and 16. The MAC Women's Tournament champion received the conference's automatic bid into the 2019 NCAA tournament. Buffalo won the conference tournament championship game 77–61 over Ohio. Cierra Dillard was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

## Format

Unlike recent MAC women's tournaments, in which the top two seeds received byes into the semifinals, with the 3 and 4 seeds receiving a bye to the quarterfinals, the tournament reverted to its original structure in which the top four seeds receive just one bye into the quarterfinals.

## Seeds

| Seed | School | Conference record | Division | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Central Michigan | 15–3 | 24–6 | |
| 2 | Ohio | 14–4 | 25–4 | |
| 3 | Miami (OH) | 13–5 | 22–7 | |
| 4 | Buffalo | 12–6 | 20–9 | |
| 5 | Kent State | 11–7 | 18–11 | 1–0 vs. TOL |
| 6 | Toledo | 11–7 | 19–10 | 0–1 vs. KSU |
| 7 | Northern Illinois | 10–8 | 18–12 | |
| 8 | Akron | 7–11 | 16–13 | |
| 9 | Eastern Michigan | 6–12 | 13–16 | |
| 10 | Western Michigan | 4–14 | 10–19 | |
| 11 | Ball State | 3–15 | 10–19 | |
| 12 | Bowling Green | 2–16 | 9–20 | |

## Schedule

| Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Television |
| First round – Monday March 11 – Campus sites |||||
| 1 | 5:00 pm | No. 9 Eastern Michigan at No. 8 Akron | 61–59 | ESPN+ |
| 2 | 7:00 pm | No. 12 Bowling Green at No. 5 Kent State | 62–86 | ESPN+ |
| 3 | 6:30 pm | No. 10 Western Michigan at No. 7 Northern Illinois | 69–70 | ESPN+ |
| 4 | 7:00 pm | No. 11 Ball State at No. 6 Toledo | 63–67 | ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinals – Wednesday March 13 – Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH |||||
| 5 | 12:00 pm | No. 9 Eastern Michigan vs. No. 1 Central Michigan | 80–88, OT | ESPN+ |
| 6 | 2:30 pm | No. 5 Kent State vs. No. 4 Buffalo | 52–85 | ESPN+ |
| 7 | 5:00 pm | No. 7 Northern Illinois vs. No. 2 Ohio | 56–72 | ESPN+ |
| 8 | 7:30 pm | No. 6 Toledo vs. No. 3 Miami (OH) | 54–72 | ESPN+ |
| Semifinals – Friday March 15 – Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH |||||
| 9 | 11:00 am | No. 1 Central Michigan vs. No. 4 Buffalo | 77-82 | ESPN+ |
| 10 | 1:30 pm | No. 2 Ohio vs. No. 3 Miami (OH) | 74-48 | ESPN+ |
| Championship – Saturday March 16 – Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH |||||
| 11 | 11:00 am | No. 2 Ohio vs. No. 4 Buffalo | 77-61 | CBSSN |
| Game times in ET. Rankings denote tournament seed |||||

## Bracket

Miami (OH), Ohio, Buffalo and Central Michigan have clinched first round byes Miami (OH), Ohio, Buffalo and Central Michigan have clinched home games in the second round Akron, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Ball State will play in the first round
| First round | First round | First round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Championship | Championship | Championship |
| | | | 1 | Central Michigan | 88* | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Eastern Michigan | 80 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Akron | 59 | 9 | Eastern Michigan | 80 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Eastern Michigan | 61 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Eastern Michigan | 61 | | | | 1 | Central Michigan | 77 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Buffalo | 82 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Buffalo | 85 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Kent State | 52 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Kent State | 86 | 5 | Kent State | 52 | | | | | | |
| 12 | Bowling Green | 62 | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Bowling Green | 62 | | | | | | | 4 | Buffalo | 77 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Ohio | 61 |
| | | | 2 | Ohio | 72 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Northern Illinois | 56 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Northern Illinois | 70 | 7 | Northern Illinois | 56 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Western Michigan | 69 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Western Michigan | 69 | | | | 2 | Ohio | 74 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Miami (OH) | 48 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Miami (OH) | 72 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Toledo | 54 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Toledo | 67 | 6 | Toledo | 54 | | | | | | |
| 11 | Ball State | 63 | | | | | | | | | |
First round games at campus sites of lower-numbered seeds

## All-Tournament team

Tournament MVP – Cierra Dillard, Buffalo
| Player | Team |
| Cierra Dillard | Buffalo |
| Hanna Hall | Buffalo |
| Summer Hemphill | Buffalo |
| Reyna Frost | Central Michigan |
| Cece Hooks | Ohio |