COLLEGE BASKETBALL / WOMEN’S ROUNDUP

Micaela Kelly and Presley Hudson scored 26 points apiece, Tinara Moore and Reyna Moore had double-doubles and Central Michigan earned a berth in the NCAA tournament with a 96-91 win over Buffalo on Saturday in the Mid-American Conference championship game in Cleveland. Moore had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Frost had 10 points and 11 boards for the Chippewas (28-4), who made 10 of 13 free throws in the final 67 seconds. Cassie Breen also had 10 points as Central Michigan, in its 50th season, surpassed the 1983-84 team that finished 27-3 for most wins in school history. The top-seeded Chippewas lost in the last two championship games, including a heart-breaking overtime buzzer-beater to Buffalo in 2016. To make its first tournament since 2013, Central Michigan avenged its last loss, an 85-82 setback in Buffalo. That is now eight wins in a row and 20 in the last 21. Cierra Dillard had 26 points and 10 assists for the Bulls (27-5), who had won 11 straight since losing to Central Michigan in the first meeting. Stephanie Reid scored 15 points and Summer Hemphill and Autumn Jones added 13 apiece. Central Michigan led 43-40 at the half and pushed the lead to 66-56 late in the third quarter as Moore, the MAC regular-season MVP, had a basket and two free throws. The Chippewas led by 11 with 3 1/2 minutes to play but the Bulls got within six two minutes later before the free throw parade began. With time running out, Grambling swiped the SWAC tournament championship and the NCAA tournament berth that goes with it. Shakyla Hill had 27 points and the third-seeded Tigers had two critical steals in the final minute to defeat top-seeded Southern and make the NCAAs for the first time in 19 years. Hill, the tournament MVP, had a layup and 3-pointer and Jazmin Boyd scored four points for a 9-0 run that gave Grambling (19-13) a 66-60 lead with 2 1/2 minutes to go. Despite a flurry of turnovers and missed shots, the teams traded baskets before Briana Green scored twice, pulling the top-seeded Jaguars (17-13) within 68-66 with a nice spin move in the lane with 31.6 seconds to play. The lead was three after a quick foul and Monisha Neal’s free throw. It appeared the Tigers had things wrapped up when freshman Justice Coleman, who is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Southern is located, anticipated a soft pass and went coast-to-coast for a left-handed layup with 16.9 seconds remaining to make it 71-66. Southern answered with a quick over-the-top inbounds basket by Sarai Blissett that made it a one-possession game and when Hill missed the first of two free throws at 12.7 seconds it remained intense. However, Hill, who was 11 of 18 from the field but 4 of 9 from the line, made the second free throw. She then stripped a driving Jaguar player in the lane and Neal secured the loose ball before dribbling out the final seconds to send Grambling to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.