Central Michigan University Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts Miami and Marshall
1/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2000
MOUNT PLEASANT--The Central Michigan University Chippewas (5-11, 2-3 Mid-American) return home to host a pair of games this week after spending a week on the road. CMU hosts Miami University (9-6, 3-2 Mid-American) and preseason All-MAC selection AuBree Hamilton on Wednesday, Jan. 19, in Rose Arena at 7 p.m. The Chippewas then face Marshall University (5-10, 0-5 Mid-American) on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 7 p.m.
"We're excited to be back home and hopefully we can continue our strong play," coach Fran Voll said. "We have to be ready to go this week. We don't have much time to stew over the Toledo loss. There are a lot of games to play yet this season."
Central's two opponents for the week actually squared off last Saturday with Miami capturing a 66-55 victory at Marshall.
The RedHawks have won three of their last four games with the lone loss coming at Toledo (73-66). MU has defeated Akron (72-71), Northern Illinois (85-69) and Marshall over the recent stretch. Miami was picked to finish third in the MAC East Division in the preseason poll.
Marshall is looking for its first conference win of the season. The Thundering Herd play West Virginia on Jan. 18 in game played at a neutral site in Charleston, W.V. The Herd enter the week on a five-game losing streak with the last win being a 67-57 decision over Western Illinois on Dec. 29.
The Chippewas continued their recent string of strong play last week, earning a split with a win at Eastern Michigan (60-51) on Wednesday and a loss at Toledo (67-60) on Saturday.
The win over EMU marked the first time this season that CMU recorded back-to-back wins. The Chippewas held the Eagles to only 11 first half points and led 35-11 at the break. CMU limited EMU to a .154 shooting percentage in the first half. The Eagles then scored 40 points in the second half, but the Chippewas held on for the nine-point win. Eastern defeated CMU, 92-55, earlier in the season in a non-conference game.
"Eastern didn't play well in the first half but we knew they would come back strong in the second," Voll said. "The players are in a good rotation now and we are in sync as a team. We've been executing well in most phases of the game."
Alicia Rozak (Sterling Heights/So.) led CMU with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Shelly Woods (Midland/Sr.) added 12 points and Jodi Culbertson (Ft. Wayne, IN/Sr.) 11. Vershaun Jones (Detroit/So.) tallied eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Central then traveled to MAC West Division favorite Toledo on Saturday and fell, 67-60. Toledo led by as many as 13 in the first half, but the Chippewas trimmed the margin to four at the break. The Chippewas tied the game three different times in the opening minutes of the second half, but never took the lead. Central went on a 11-0 run late in the game, trimming the lead to only two with 2:26 left in the game. Toledo reserve guard Lisa Miller then hit a three-pointer with the shot clock running out for one of the biggest shots of the game, giving the Rockets a five-point cushion. Toledo hit free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
"We needed sound performances from more people," Voll said. "We struggled in the first half and didn't take care of the ball. We played a lot better in the second half and it was a good game down the stretch."
Rozak and Woods paced CMU with 14 points apiece. Molli Munz (Bellefontaine, OH/So.) had 10 points and Jones added eight points and seven rebounds.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Miami is 9-6 overall and 3-2 in MAC action. MU has won two straight with wins over Northern Illinois (85-69) and Marshall (66-55). Junior Jenny Martin leads the team with 12.1 points per game. Freshman Heather Cusick is second on the team with 11.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Preseason All-MAC selection, senior AuBree Hamilton, is averaging 8.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Former Miami standout player Maria Fantanarosa is in her second season as head coach. She guided the team to an 11-15 overall record last season.
SCOUTING THE HERD: Marshall is the lone MAC team still looking for its first conference win of the season. The Thundering Herd have lost five straight entering the week. MU faces in-state rival West Virginia in a non-conference game on Tuesday before traveling to Mount Pleasant. Junior Yashico Stevens leads the team in scoring with 13.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Guard Toni Patillo averages 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. Marshall averages 60.9 points per game, ranking 12th in the MAC in scoring. Juliene Simpson is in her third season at Marshall and her 22nd year overall as a head coach. Her husband, Mike, is an assistant coach.
THE SERIES: Central Michigan leads the all-time series versus Miami, 22-18. However, Miami had won 11 straight before last season, marking CMU's longest losing streak versus a conference school in Chippewa history. The Chippewas ended that skid last season with a 79-64 win in Mount Pleasant. Central then dropped an 82-78 decision at Miami in the second to last game of the regular season.
The Chippewas are 3-0 all-time against Marshall. The series started in 1998 when the Thundering Herd entered the MAC. Central captured a pair of wins last season, winning 87-78 in Mount Pleasant and 73-64 in Huntington, W.V.
AT THE CONTROLS: Fran Voll is in his fourth season with the Chippewas. The veteran MAC coach enters the season ranked second in conference history with 181 career wins. He trails current Kent coach Bob Lindsay's total of 197. Voll is 37-60 in his three seasons at CMU. He coached at Bowling Green from 1984-91 and led the Falcons to four MAC championships. Voll was named MAC "Coach of the Year" in 1987 and '89 and District "Coach of the Year" in '87. He now has an overall record of 181-120 in his 11th year.
GETTING TO THE LINE IS KEY: Free throw shooting is key for the Chippewas to win the game. Central has more trips to the line than the opponent in all five wins this season and they have less free throw attempts in every loss. The Chippewas are shooting .694 from the stripe this season, a mark that ranks fifth in the conference. CMU averages 20.0 free throw attempts in wins and 13.9 in losses.
BOARD BATTLES: Central doesn't have a lot of height but it has been managing well on the boards all season long. The Chippewas' average is 1.2 less than the opponents (39.9-38.7). But, CMU has won or tied the battle of the boards in nine of the 16 games this season.
ROZAK ATTACK: Alicia Rozak has led CMU in scoring the past three games and she's averaged 17 points per game over that stretch. She had a career-high 21 in the win over Ball State and she followed that with games of 16 and 14. Rozak is 25-for-30 (.833) from the charity stripe in the past three games. The sophomore is averaging 9.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She is shooting .776 from the free throw line which ranks 10th in the MAC. Rozak is averaging a team-high 13.2 points in conference games.
MILESTONE ALERT: Chippewa senior Shelly Woods now has 969 career points and she could hit the 1,000-career point plateau this week if she hits just above her average. Woods leads CMU with a 14.3 points per game average. That mark ranks eighth in the MAC and her shooting percentage of .473 is ninth. Woods' free throw percentage of .789 would rank among the MAC leaders if she had enough attempts. She has scored in double-figures in four straight games.
ON A ROLL: Point guard Molli Munz has hit a three-pointer in 15 straight games now to raise her season total to 38, which ties for the sixth best mark in school history. Munz ranks among the MAC leaders in both three-pointers made (fourth) and three-point percentage (third). The sophomore is averaging 2.38 treys per game and she is hitting them at a .432 clip. Munz is averaging 10.8 points in conference games. Her assist to turnover ratio is 1.3.
ALL-AROUND ALL-STAR: Sophomore Vershaun Jones continued her strong all-around play last week. She had eight points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists versus Eastern Michigan and eight points, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal against Toledo. Jones ranks third in the MAC with 9.3 rebounds per game and she's averaging near a double-double with 9.7 points an outing. Her field goal percentage of .479 ranks seventh in the MAC. Jones' 1.69 steals per game ranks 13th in the conference.
LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK: Starter Jodi Culbertson struggled in the Toledo game and she was held scoreless for the first time this season. Culbertson is second on the team in scoring with 10.4 points per game. Her average dips to 7.6 in conference games, though. The senior has hit 42 three-pointers this season, the third most in Chippewa history. She ranks second in the MAC in three-pointers made (2.62) and 14th in three-point field goal percentage (.365). She also leads the team and ranks 12th in the conference in assists with 4.0 per game.
STEPPING UP: Freshman Desiree Eidson (Bowling Green, OH) continues to make contributions as CMU's top post player off the bench. She is averaging 6.2 points over the last five games after she scored only six points total in the first 11 games of the season. Eidson had seven points and two rebounds in front of a hometown crowd in Toledo. She is from Bowling Green, Ohio, but went to Central Catholic High School in Toledo. The true freshman is averaging 5.0 points per game in conference play.
PITCHING IN: Reserve guard Rochelle Germany (Columbus, OH/So.) scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in the loss at Toledo. She hit her fifth three-pointer of the season during a big stretch when the Chippewas went on an 11-0 run. Germany is averaging 3.6 points per game, but her average climbs to 6.2 in conference contests.
HITTING THE BOARDS: Freshman guard Laurie Henderson (Newark, OH) has been making mixing it up under the boards lately. She's averaging just under three rebounds per game over the last four games while playing an average of 10 minutes per game. She had a career-high five caroms two weeks ago against Bowling Green.
M*A*S*H UNIT: Abby Lawinger (Menomonee Falls, WI/Fr.) has dressed for the past four games but has only played in two of them. She missed four games before that while waiting for a special knee brace. Rory Wendt (Okemos/So.) and Beth Kindel (Clare/Fr.) are both likely out for the season with injuries. Wendt was involved in an offseason car accident and never began practicing. She's also been bothered by an old knee injury. Kindel has a foot injury.
UP NEXT: The Chippewas travel to Northern Illinois next Wednesday, Jan. 26, for a meeting with the Huskies. Game time in DeKalb is 7 p.m. CST. Central then hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 29, in the third meeting with the Eagles this season. Tipoff in Rose Arena is set for 2 p.m.
