Central Michigan University Athletics
Women's Basketball Takes On UW-Milwaukee
12/11/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2000
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MOUNT PLEASANT -- The Central Michigan University women's basketball team (2-5, 0-0 Mid-American) will take the next six days off as its players are tested off the court during finals week.
The Chippewas will return to the hardwood next Sunday when they take on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers. This is the final meeting the Chippewas have slated against a Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) team. So far, they are 0-2 against the MCC losing to Cleveland State, 85-63, earlier this year and to Detroit, 83-71.
CMU carries a 1-5 record on the road this season. The lone win was in a neutral site contest with Harvard. The Chippewas downed the Crimson at the Dead River Classic at the University of Maine, 69-52.
The Panthers are 1-4 so far this season and are 1-0 on their home court. They are led by Jessica Wilhite who's averaging 14.0 points per outing. UWM saw the MAC last week when it played the Northern Illinois Huskies and tamed them, 58-52. They play one game this week, a home date with Chicago State on Thursday, Dec. 14.
"We beat the Panthers last year," said head coach Fran Voll. "It was a game that they felt they should have won. We snuck by them last year and they'll probably be ready for us this year.
"There hasn't been a team we haven't been ready for this year. It's just a matter of getting our players to execute."
The all-time series favors the Chippewas. The series started in 1981 and history gives the Chippewas the 3-1 edge over the Panthers. Last January, CMU topped the Panthers, 70-67. CMU trailed the Panthers at the half, 33-27. The Chippewas wouldn't steal the lead until three minutes remained in the game. Jodi Culbertson hit a three-pointer that vaulted CMU past UWM and the Chippewas cruised to the three-point victory.
Last week, the Chippewas were downed by the Detroit Titans in Detroit, 72-58.
The Chippewas and the Titans battled for the lead at the start of the first half. Detroit took control of the game with 10 minutes left in the opening stanza. It went on a 12-4 run and took a 41-34 lead into the locker rooms.
Alicia Rozak (Sterling Heights/Jr.) led the team with 12 points at the half.
The Titans kept control of the game throughout the second half as well. Twice Detroit jumped up 17 points over the Chippewas.
However, CMU would put forth one last scoring effort. Down 18 points with eight minutes left in the game, the Chippewas put together a 15-10 scoring drive. It wasn't enough as the Titans walked away with the 12-point victory.
The leading scorers for the Chippewas were Rozak with 26, Molli Munz (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Jr.) who tallied 17 and Vershaun Jones (Detroit/Jr.) with 12. Desiree Eidson (Bowling Green, Ohio/So.) added to the effort with five points.
" We're not a bad team," said Voll. "Detroit was a better team on Saturday. It knows its strengths and utilizes them well. The Titans had a strong performance against us."
The Chippewas were able to contain one of Detroit's top scorers in the first half, Shari Hill. However, Randee Henry stepped up to hurt the Chippewas.
"I thought we did a good job of containing Detroit's key players," Voll said. "However, the Titans broke out in the second half. We were able to contain Hill in the first half but she broke out in the second. Plus, Henry's effort hurt us as well."
The Chippewas got a good effort from their trio of juniors but Voll would like to see his younger players step up as well
"We needed more to step up against Detroit," Voll said. "Rozak and Munz have stepped up their games this season and Jones has been a reliable element as well. However, when Detroit has four players step up and we only have two, that's going to hurt. We need to get more production from more of our players in order to succeed.'
The team will return to the floor Dec. 17 as it takes the week off during final exams. Voll sees this as an opportunity to study, rest and practice.
"We've been bothered by some nagging injuries so we're going to use the week to rest and study for exams.
"The athletes will have a couple days off before we return to practice. We're not going to change a thing. We have had some intense practices and we just need to keep working hard and staying positive.'
THREE-POINT WATCH --Molli Munz (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Jr.) tallied 17 points against Detroit last week. She was 4-for- 8 from behind the arc. Munz is vying to become the most prolific three-point shooter in school history. She now has 108 treys and needs 21 more to pass Carrie Isanhart who owns the record with 128 threes. She is shooting threes at a .288 (15-for-52) clip this season.
CONSISTENT OUTPUT -- Desiree Eidson (Bowling Green, Ohio/So.) has come off the bench to be one of the more consistent players recently. In the last three games she is shooting 5-for-14 (.357) and has 17 points. She notched five points against Detroit and had six points in each of the two games prior.
ROZAK'S RETURN --Alicia Rozak (Sterling Heights/Jr.) broke out of her shooting slump to score a career-high 26 points against Detroit last week. She was 10-for-20 from the field and hit 5-of-7 from downtown. She upped her season average from 6.5 points per game to 9.3 with last week's effort.
LUCKY THIRTEEN -- Vershaun Jones (Detroit/Jr.) posted the 13th double-double of her career against Detroit last week. She scored 12 points and grabbed 12 boards in the losing effort. It is the third double-double for Jones this season. Her 12-rebound effort equals her season high and she leads the team with 60 boards this season.
SLOWING DOWN -- Mandy Elwer (Delphos, Ohio/Fr.) has scored only two points in the last three games. She posted a double-double on Nov. 25 and has one bucket since. She put in two points against Cleveland State and was held scoreless against Wofford and Detroit.
CHARITY STRIPE WOES -- Central Michigan's .754 free throw percentage was third in the conference going into the game at Detroit. It shot .250 from the charity stripe in the first half against Detroit and CMU finished shooting .467 for the game. It is the lowest free throw percentage CMU has shot all season. It now averages .725 from the foul line and ranks fourth in the MAC.
DOWNTOWN CONNECTION -- The Chippewas shot a season best 10-for-17 (.588) from behind the arc against Detroit. Their previous bests were 4-for-8 (.500) against Harvard and 5-for-13 (.384) against Wofford. CMU bumped it's season three-point average up from .232 to .293.
A LITTLE HELP -- The Chippewas' starting lineup accounted for 93 percent of the 71 points scored against Detroit. The bench only added five points to the cause. All five points came from one person, Desiree Eidson (Bowling Green, Ohio/So.), while Mandy Elwer (Delphos, Ohio/Fr.) was the only other reserve to attempt a shot.
SOFT FINISH -- The Chippewas continue to experience a drop in shooting success in the second half. The Chippewas score at a .392 clip in the first half of their games. However, that drops to a .309 when they return to the floor for the second half. CMU is last in the conference with a .350 shooting percentage. The Chippewas also outscore their opponents in the first half, 234-224. The opponents return to top the Chippewas in the second half, 279-213.
ROAD TRIP -- The Chippewas play eight of their 11 non-conference matches on the road. The Chippewas are 1-5 on the road so far this year. The only road win was a neutral-site win over Harvard at the University of Maine. CMU is down to two non-conference road games left on its schedule. It faces Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sunday, Dec. 17, and travels to Michigan State on Dec. 20. The Chippewas will then enjoy a four-game homestand.
ON THE AIR -- Fans can catch the Chippewas over the air or on the internet. All remaining games will be broadcast on WMHW-FM 91.5 or can be heard on the internet at www.cmuchippewas.com
UP NEXT -- The Chippewas face Michigan State in East Lansing on Dec. 20 before hosting Oakland on Dec. 23 and Lake Superior State on Dec. 29. CMU starts its conference schedule when it hosts Eastern Michigan on Jan. 3.
