Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Face Busy Week Of Action
2/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 6, 1999
MOUNT PLEASANT - The Central Michigan University women's basketball team (1-3, 0-0 Mid-American) faces one of its busiest weeks of the year with three games scheduled in four days.
The first matchup could be one of Central's toughest this year with Big Ten Conference foe Michigan State University (6-0, 0-0 Big Ten) coming to Rose Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 8. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
"This is a most formidable challenge for our young team," coach Fran Voll said. "MSU has a lot of experience back and a couple great players in Maxann Reese and Kristen Rasmussen. It is a great opportunity for our fans to see us play a quality team like MSU and one that has a chance to be a contender in the Big Ten race."
CMU will leave immediately following the game for the Hatter Classic Tournament hosted by Stetson. The Chippewas will face Niagara University (2-3, 0-0 Metro Atlantic) in the first round of the tournament on Friday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. The consolation/championship round will pit CMU against either host Stetson University (2-3, 0-0 Trans America) or University at Stony Brook (3-3, Independent). That game is scheduled for Saturday at 6 or 8 p.m.
"The challenge of the week will be playing three games in such a tight time period," Voll said. "We won't have a lot of time to prepare. It will give us great experience, though, for a situation such as continuing to play in the MAC tournament.
"The competition level at the Stetson tournament will be right at our level. We're looking forward to it and hopefully it will help us start some momentum into the upcoming conference season."
Central is looking to bounce back from a 92-55 non-conference loss at Eastern Michigan (2-3) last Saturday. The Eagles jumped out to a quick lead and never lost it. Molli Munz (Bellefontaine, OH/So.) led CMU with 13 points, including three three-pointers, four rebounds and two assists. Forward Vershaun Jones (Detroit/So.) had 10 points and five rebounds.
"We got off to a poor start because our rhythm and chemistry were strained by the change of our starting lineup," Voll said. "That had nothing to do with the outcome, though. Eastern played well and it had great ball movement and defense. We had a tough time rebounding and that dictated things early."
EMU shot .559 for the game, including .792 in the second half, compared to Central's .317 mark. Eastern hit 12 three-pointers and outrebounded the Chippewas 47-32.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: The Spartans are undefeated at 6-0, including a one-point home victory over Alabama. MSU has met a common opponent in Detroit which the Spartans defeated 74-52. Michigan State is coming off an 84-64 win at Butler on Sunday.
First team All-Big Ten guard Maxann Reese leads MSU with 16.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Becky Cummings adds 15.2 points and 5.5 rebounds a contest and Kristen Rasmussen posts 11.3 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game.
MSU is averaging 82.7 points per game and allowing only 62.5. The Spartans are shooting .492 from the floor.
SCOUTING THE HATTER CLASSIC FIELD: Niagara is 2-3 this season with wins over MAC foe Buffalo (66-61) and Canisius (91-81). The Purple Eagles lost at Manhattan (71-50) on Sunday. Center Amy Getman averages 19.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game for NU.
Host Stetson is 2-3 on the year and the Hatters host Campbell on Monday night. Cher Dyson averages a team-high 12.4 points and 3.4 rebounds. Eboni Long averages 11.2 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds. SU's wins came over Puerto Rico-Mayagues and Bethune-Cookman.
Stony Brook is 3-3 on the year, with three straight wins heading into a Wednesday game against Iona. The Seawolves captured a tournament title at Davidson last weekend with a 70-66 win over MAC foe Marshall in the finals. Julie Szabo is averaging 21.3 points per game for Stony Brook.
NEW FACES: Central Michigan has never faced anyone from the Hatter Classic tournament field before in school history. CMU hasn't played in the state of Florida since 1988-89 when the Chippewas traveled to Lake Mary for the Lady Sunshine Tournament. The Chippewas lost to Florida State, 100-78, in the first round.
ALL-NICKNAME TOURNAMENT: The Hatter Classic tournament doesn't feature standard nicknames such as lions, tigers or bear. The tournament field consists of four of the more unique nicknames in college sports. The Chippewas meet the Purple Eagles of Niagara in the first round and either the Hatters of Stetson or the Seawolves of Stony Brook in the championship/consolation.
THE CMU VS. MSU SERIES: Michigan State holds a 26-13 lead in the all-time series against CMU. The teams have met for three straight years with MSU picking up all the win in all three contests CMU last defeated the Spartans in a home game on Nov. 29, 1993 by a 60-59 count. MSU has won four of the last five. In the last meeting in Rose Arena in 1997, then sophomore Maxann Reese scored 32 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the floor to lead MSU to an 89-82 victory. CMU sophomore Shelly Woods had a team-high 23 for CMU. Central opened the season last year in East Lansing with a 73-48 loss.
CMU VS. THE BIG TEN: Central Michigan is 32-52 all-time against the Big Ten Conference. CMU has a winning record versus Minnesota (2-0), Purdue (3-2) and Wisconsin (1-0). Central hosts both Michigan State and Michigan this season.
AT THE HELM: Fran Voll is in his fourth season with the Chippewas. The veteran MAC coach enters the season ranked second in conference history with 177 career wins. He trails current Kent coach Bob Lindsay's total of 189. Voll is 33-52 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 176-111 in his 11th year.
TURNOVERS IMPROVING: Central Michigan has limited its turnovers in the past two games after averaging 26 in the first two. CMU had 16 turnovers in the win against Texas Southern and a season-low 15 at Eastern Michigan. The Chippewas are averaging 20.8 per game for the season and have a minus 5.2 margin on the season compared to their opponents.
CHANGING LINEUPS: At the beginning of the season, coach Fran Voll said that the starting lineup would vary throughout the season and it has. Nine of CMU's 12 active players have started at least one game this season. Senior Jodi Culbertson (Ft. Wayne, IN) and sophomore forward Vershaun Jones are the only two who have started all four games.
THE DISH: When point guard Molli Munz isn't dishing out assists, she can often be found hanging around the three-point arc. Munz is averaging a team high 5.25 assists per game. She's also hit nine three-pointers in 20 attempts for a .421 three-point field goal percentage. She has only eight regular field goal attempts on the year. The 5-6 sophomore is averaging 10.0 points per game.
THREE-POINT THREAT: Guard Jodi Culbertson was slowed a little in the Eastern Michigan game after being hit in the head with a ball in warmups. Culbertson scored five points for her first single-digit game of the season. She did hit one three-pointer, her 12th of the season. Culbertson is averaging 11.5 points per game while dishing out 4.3 assists per game. She's hit at least one three-pointer in every game, including a career-high five against George Washington.
SHOOTING FOR 1,000: Shelly Woods (Midland/Sr.) continues her quest for the 1,000-point barrier. She should reach the 800-point plateau this week after raising her mark to 791 against EMU. Woods is averaging 12.8 points per game along with 5.0 rebounds. The last time Central played Michigan State in Rose Arena, Woods tallied a career-high 23 points to lead CMU. She's hit 23 in a game twice since then. The 6-3 forward/center has also swatted five shots this season.
STEPPING UP: Vershaun Jones had 10 points and five rebounds in CMU's loss at Eastern. Jones has been in double figures in points or rebounds in all four of Central's games this year. She is averaging a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game along with 8.5 points. The sophomore now has seven career double-figure scoring games and four double-digit rebounding games.
GETTING THE START: Rochelle Germany (Columbus, OH) started against EMU and saw her first extended playing time of the year. She had six points and two rebounds while also playing some good defense and picking up a pair of steals. It was her seventh career start after getting the call in six games as a frosh.
FRESHMEN GET THE NOD: Freshmen Abby Lawinger (Menomonee Falls, WI) and Beth Kindel (Clare) started against Eastern Michigan for the first starts of their career. It was also the most playing time each had seen in a game. Lawinger played 19 minutes and scored two points and grabbed a rebound. Kindel had five points, four rebounds and a steal in 16 minutes.
RELIABLE RESERVE: Center Mandy Winner (Ft. Loramie, OH/So.) has been solid off the bench for CMU. She had four points and two rebounds against EMU last week. The 6-2 post player is averaging 7.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. She's shooting a team-high .560 from the floor.
SIGNED ON: The CMU coaching staff signed two players to national letters of intent on Nov. 3. Coming to play at CMU next season will be 6-1 forward/center Mandy Elwer (Delphos, OH/St. John's HS) and 6-0 forward Kasey Kraft (Pickerington, OH/Pickerington HS). Elwer was third team all-state last year and conference "Player of the Year" honor after averaging 19.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Kraft played for USA Today's No.-1 nationally ranked team, Pickerington High. She will be a starter this year after playing behind three post players who went Division I after last season.
UP NEXT: Central Michigan will take next week off for final exams before returning to the hardwood to host another Big Ten opponent, Michigan, on Sunday, Dec. 19. CMU then travels to Oakland on Wednesday, Dec. 22.
ON THE AIR: Most CMU women's basketball games can be heard on CMU's student radio station, WMHW-FM (91.5). The broadcasts can also be heard on TEAMLINE by calling 1-800-846-4700 extension 1102.
