Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Travel To EMU, UT
2/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2000
MOUNT PLEASANT - The Central Michigan University women's basketball team (4-10, 1-2 Mid-American) looks to build upon its 2-1 record last week when it hits the road for a pair of games this week.
CMU plays at Eastern Michigan University (8-6, 2-1 Mid-American) on Wednesday, Jan. 12, in Ypsilanti. Game time is set for 5:15 p.m. The EMU game is the second of three scheduled meetings with the rival Eagles this season. The two teams played a non-conference game on Dec. 4 and EMU won by a 92-55 count. The final meeting is set for Jan. 29 in Mount Pleasant.
"Eastern is a good team with some excellent individuals, such as Kristy Maska and Stephanie Smiley," coach Fran Voll said. "EMU took it to us in the first meeting but hopefully it will be different this time around."
The Chippewas then travel to Toledo on Saturday, Jan. 15, for a tipoff at 6 p.m. Toledo has been one of the traditional powers in the MAC, but things are a little different for the Rockets this year. Only two starters return from last year's squad and UT is without the MAC's all-time leading scorer Kim Knuth who graduated.
"Toledo is one of my favorite places to play," Voll said. "The Rockets are a well coached team with a great tradition, but we seem to play well against them every year."
Central Michigan hopes to start the second half of the season off on a positive note.
"We've grown as a team over the first half because the players have improved and shown great effort," Voll said. "We've taken on different roles and we're starting to see new people put themselves forward. Last week gave us a boost of confidence heading into the second half of the season."
Central went 2-1 in a three-game homestand last week. It started on Tuesday with a 70-67 non-conference win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Panthers had a shot to tie the game at the buzzer but a three-point attempt rimmed out. CMU trailed by six at halftime but came back for the three-point win. The Chippewas were sparked by Jodi Culbertson's (Ft. Wayne, IN/Sr.) career-high 23 points, including five three-pointers. Vershaun Jones (Detroit/So.) had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Alicia Rozak (Sterling Heights/So.) had 15 points and six rebounds.
CMU then fell to Bowling Green, 80-69, on Thursday. Central trailed by only three at the half but BGSU's Francine Miller took the game over in the second, scoring 20 of her career-high 28 points. Culbertson led CMU for the second straight game with 16 points and Rochelle Germany (Columbus, OH/So.) had 13 off the bench. Shelly Woods (Midland/Sr.) and Molli Munz (Bellefontaine, OH/So.) posted 10 each.
A balanced team effort led the Chippewas to a 74-69 win over Ball State on Saturday. It was a game of runs with Ball State starting the game on a 12-2 run. The Chippewas caught back up over the course of the first half and then went on a 14-0 run to end the half and give CMU a 13-point lead. BSU put 44 points on the board in the second half comeback effort. Rozak scored a career-high 21 for CMU and Jones had 15 points and 19 rebounds. Woods added 19 points and 11 rebounds while Munz tossed in 11.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Eastern Michigan has won four of its last five games to improve its record to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the MAC. The Eagles sport MAC wins over Marshall (66-57) and Northern Illinois (64-52) and a loss to conference favorite Kent (87-69).
Sophomore Stephanie Smiley leads the team with 12.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Senior Jessica Henry adds 11.6 points and 2.9 rebounds. EMU also likes shoot the three-pointer, hitting 6.64 per game compared to CMU's 6.21.
Former Chippewa player Suzy Merchant is in her second season as head coach at EMU. She guided the Eagles to a 14-13 record last season.
SCOUTING THE ROCKETS: Toledo enters the week 4-8 overall and 1-1 in conference action. UT hosts Bowling Green on Tuesday before playing CMU. The Rockets lost to Western Michigan, 67-66, in overtime to open the MAC season before beating Miami, 73-66. The two teams have met one common opponent this season in Detroit. Both teams lost to the Titans with the Rockets falling, 78-74, in overtime.
Jennifer Markwood, a 6-4 center, leads the team in scoring with 12.2 points per game. She also leads the MAC in rebounding with 10.2 caroms per game. Markwood is one of two returning starters, along with forward Karin Husbeck who averages 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Head coach Mark Ehlen is in his fifth season at UT. He has led the Rockets to two conference championships and three NCAA tournament appearances. Ehlen was named MAC "Coach of the Year" in 1997 and '99.
THE SERIES: Central Michigan leads the all-time series versus Eastern Michigan, 35-16. The Chippewas have won three of the last five, including a season sweep last season. EMU defeated the Chippewas, 92-55, earlier in the year on Dec. 4. Molli Munz led CMU with 13 points in that game.
Toledo holds a 23-22 advantage in the all-time series against CMU. The Rockets have won three of the last five. The Chippewas captured a 83-75 home win over Toledo during the regular season last year before the Rockets downed CMU, 88-78, in the first round of the MAC tournament in Toledo.
EMU-CMU TIES: Eastern Michigan head coach Suzy Merchant was a standout player for the Chippewas from 1988-91. She holds the CMU career assists record and also ranks in several other categories in the CMU record book. EMU assistant coach Andrea Nordmann is a former CMU assistant coach who played for Fran Voll at Bowling Green.
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 178 career wins. He trails current Kent coach Bob Lindsay's total of 195. Voll is 36-59 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 180-119 in his 11th year.
THREE-POINT PARTY: The Chippewas hosted a three-point party in their three-game homestand last week. A total of 135 treys were launched in Rose Arena during the week for an average of 45 per game or 22.5 per team. CMU attempted a record 24 three-pointers against Ohio last Sunday before it launched 31 and made 10 against Bowling Green. BGSU entered the week as the nation's leading three-point shooting team. The Falcons hit their average with eight made triples while attempting only 23. Ball State then fired up 33 triple tries on Saturday to close out the week.
BALANCED EFFORT: The Chippewas have had a balanced attack during the MAC season. In Central's three MAC games, four of the five starters are averaging in double figures with Jodi Culbertson only a tenth of a point away from double digits. Molli Munz leads CMU with a 13.0 points per game average in MAC games, followed by Alicia Rozak (12.0), Shelly Woods (11.7), Vershaun Jones (10.3) and Culbertson (9.9).
JONES GOES ON A TEAR: Sophomore forward Vershaun Jones went on a tear for CMU while recording a pair of near triple-doubles last week. She did manage her team-leading third and fourth double-doubles on the week. Against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Jones had 14 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high nine steals. Versus Ball State she had 15 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and a career-high seven assists. The nine steals tied a CMU record set by Sylvia Odum in 1984. The 19 rebounds ties for the second best mark in CMU history. Three people are tied for the record with 24 in a game. The last to accomplish the feat was Julie Roberts in 1979. Jones' averages jumped to season highs of 9.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. She ranks second in the conference in rebounding and 14th in field goal percentage (.469). The nine steals is the top mark in the conference this season and the 19 rebounds is the second-best behind Cheryl Bowles' (Akron) 21 versus Youngstown State.
CULBERTSON HITS CAREER-HIGH: Senior Jodi Culbertson led CMU in scoring versus both Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Bowling Green. She had a career-high 23 versus the Panthers and then 16 against the Falcons. Culbertson struggled in the BSU game and tied a season low with two points. The three-point specialist has hit 39 threes this season while shooting .375 from three-point land. She ranks second in the conference with 2.79 made per game and her percentage ranks 12th. The 39 triples this season ranks fourth in the CMU record books and the 60 career makes ranks fourth as well.
ROZAK LETS OUT A ROAR: Guard Alicia Rozak was the Chippewas' top offensive player last week, averaging 14.0 points per game over the three-game stretch. She poured in a career-high 21 in leading CMU to the win over Ball State. Rozak had 15 in the win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is averaging 8.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Her rebound total is second-best on the team. Rozak ranks 10th in the MAC in free throw percentage at .745.
LEADING THE PACK: Shelly Woods posted her second double-double of the season with a 19-point, 11-rebound performance in the win over Ball State. She has scored in double figures 10 times this season. Woods leads the Chippewas and ranks eighth in the MAC in scoring with 14.5 points per game. She has 943 career points and 54 career blocked shots. Her blocked shot mark now ties for seventh in the CMU record books.
RUNNING THE POINT: Point guard Molli Munz is averaging a team-high 13.0 points in conference games. She's hit double figures in two straight games with 10 against BGSU and 11 versus BSU. Munz is averaging 8.9 points, 3.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game on the year. She has hit 34 three-pointers on the year while shooting .436 from beyond the arc. Her three-point field goal percentage ranks seventh in the MAC and she's fourth in three-pointers made.
SEASON-HIGH FOR GERMANY: Rochelle Germany was a spark off the bench with a season-high 13 points in the Bowling Green loss. She came down hard on her knee in the first half against Ball State and was out for the rest of the game. Germany should return to action this week. She is averaging 3.6 points per game, including an 8.0 average in MAC games. The sophomore has seen action in all 14 games this season.
BOOST OFF THE BENCH: Freshman Desiree Eidson (Bowling Green, OH) made a strong showing off the bench for CMU last week. She had games of six, eight and four points while grabbing six rebounds on the week. Eidson was
five-for-nine from the floor and eight-for-11 from the charity stripe on the
week. Her eight points came in the against BGSU. She is a native of Bowling
Green, Ohio.
M*A*S*H UNIT: Abby Lawinger (Menomonee Falls, WI/Fr.) has dressed for the past two games but has only played one minute. 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: Central Michigan returns home to host two games next week. Miami comes to town next Wednesday, Jan. 19 and Marshall visits Mount Pleasant on Saturday, Jan. 22. Both games begin in Rose Arena at 7 p.m.
