Central Michigan University Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts East Division Rival, Miami
2/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2002
Game Notes and up-to-date Stats in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Central Michigan University
Chippewas
Record: 10-13, 2-10 Mid-American
Head Coach: Eileen Kleinfelter
Record at CMU: 10-13 (1st Season)
Career Record: 232-94 (11th Season)
vs.
Miami University
RedHawks
Record: 13-10, 7-5 Mid-American
Head Coach: Maria Fantanarosa
Record at MU: 65-68 (4th Season)
Career Record: 58-48 (5th Season)
Central Michigan Probable StartersName Yr. Pos. Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast.Desiree Eidson Jr. F 6-0 14.7 6.5 1.3Vershaun Jones Sr. F 5-9 9.1 10.2 0.8Kendra Martin Jr. G 5-9 11.9 2.5 1.3Laurie Henderson Jr. G 5-10 4.9 2.9 2.9Molli Munz Sr. G 5-6 6.8 2.7 3.2-RESERVES-Abby Lawinger Jr. G 5-10 5.3 1.3 0.6Elizabeth Widman Jr. F 6-0 1.7 1.5 0.1
The Central Michigan women's basketball team plays its last East Division rival when it hosts Miami today. Tipoff in Rose Arena is set for 2 p.m.
The Chippewas enter today's contest with a 10-13 mark and a 2-10 record in the Mid-American Conference. CMU is 5-6 this season when it plays in Rose Arena with a 1-5 mark when conference rivals come to town. The lone conference home win was against Bowling Green on Jan. 5. Both of Central's conference wins have come at the hands of the East Division. Along with the home win over Bowling Green, CMU topped Akron on the road on Feb. 6.
SERIES INFORMATION - Miami and CMU have met on the hardwood 42 times with Miami winning 23 of the meetings. The RedhHawks have controlled the series the last nine years, going 13-2 since the 1993 campaign. However, the Chippewas own a narrow 10-9 mark when the RedHawks come to Mount Pleasant. The last four meeting have gone back and fourth with Miami nabbing the home win in January of last season, 85-57.
LAST TIME VS. MIAMI - The RedHawks tamed the Chippewas in Miami last season, 85-57.
Beth Kindel led the way for the Chippewas with 11 points. Mandy Elwer (Delphos, Ohio/So.) and Laurie Henderson (Newark, Ohio/Jr.) each added eight points to the effort.
Beth Roederer and Kim Lancaster each tallied a game-high 18 points for Miami.
Central Michigan couldn't keep pace with RedHawks as it shot and impressive .536 (30-for-56) from the floor and 62.5 percent (10-for-16) from downtown. Miami was able to build a 14-point lead at halftime, 47-33, and was able to double that lead in the second half.
CMU shot a mere 35.6 percent (21-for-59) from the floor while only hitting of 5-of-20 attempts (.250) from behind the arc.
EASTERN MICHIGAN RECAP - The Chippewas fell to Eastern Michigan in their second meeting of the season on Wednesday, 70-59.
Mandy Elwer led the offense with 18 points off the bench. She also pulled down four rebounds. Desiree Eidson (Bowling Green, Ohio/Jr.) chipped in 12 points and Laurie Henderson (Newark, Ohio/Jr.) added 10. Vershaun Jones (Detroit/Sr.) proved solid under the glass with a game-high 11 rebounds.
Stephanie Smiley led the Eagles with a season and game-high effort of 23 points.
The Chippewas posted the first two points of the game but Eastern Michigan rattled off the next eight points as it took control of the game. The Eagles dictated the game as it grabbed a 12-point lead with nine minutes left before the break. CMU would cut the deficit down to six but would trail by eight going into the half, 37-29.
Seven points was as close as the Chippewas would get to the Eagles in the second half. EMU's lead stretched to 19 points with three minutes left but CMU's game-ending 10-2 run cut it to 11 before the final buzzer.
The Chippewas shot .423 (22-for-52) from the floor but couldn't keep pace with the swift-shooting Eagles. Eastern shot an impressive 51 percent (26-for-51) from the field.
LEADING THE WAY - The Chippewas are under the tutelage of first-year head coach Eileen Kleinfelter. She comes to CMU with 10 years head coaching experience, the last seven of which she spent at Findlay. She has had nine winning seasons, seven which were 20-win seasons, and owns a 232-94 career mark. Kleinfelter also led Findlay to two NAIA "Final Four" berths. She is assisted by Jill VanderEnde, Jill McCrea and Jessica Viertlboeck.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE - Mandy Elwer had a career night at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. She posted a career-high 18 points off the bench. She shot 7-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-6 from the charity stripe. Elwer has not scored in double-digits all season. The last time she topped the 10-point mark was in the loss to Northern Illinois in the MAC tournament first round last season. She had 10 points and 12 boards in that game. Elwer had six double-digit scoring games and two double-doubles last season.
JUST SHOOT THE BALL -Laurie Henderson tallied her third double-digit scoring game of the season with 10 points against Eastern Michigan. She shot the ball a season-high 10 times against the Eagles. Henderson was 5-for-10 from the floor. She also tied season-high marks with seven boards and three steals. Her season-high point total is 14, scored in the first game of the season against Wayne State (Nov. 18).
SNAGGING THE MISSED OPPORTUNITY - Vershaun Jones grabbed 11 boards against Eastern Michigan which helped her maintain her MAC-leading 10.2 rebounds per game average. She only had two rebounds in the first half at Eastern and finished the game grabbing eight defensive boards. Jones is also the top defensive rebounder in the conference, grabbing 7.0 rebounds per game on defensive side.
A SEASON TO REMEMBER - Vershaun Jones is vying to leave her mark among the top rebounders in a season at CMU. She has a team and conference-high 235 boards. Jones needs 28 more boards this season to crack the top 10 in rebounds in a season. At her current average she would finish sixth in the season record book.
HARMON LAUNCHES THE TREY - Raina Harmon (Detroit/So.) sparked a 10-2 run for Central late in the game against Eastern Michigan. In her one minute of action, she nailed two three pointers for six points. She helped the Chippewas pull together a game-ending 10-2 run. It aided the Chippewas in cutting the Eagles' lead from 19 to 11 before the buzzer.
TOP-NOTCH REBOUNDER - Vershaun Jones has been the conference's top rebounder since the first day of the season. Currently, she is tops pulling down 10.2 caroms per outing.
Going into action the week of Feb. 11, Jones was 16th in the nation in rebounding with a 10.2 average. She is tied with Tori Talbert of Southwest Texas State. The top mark belongs to Idaho State's Mandi Carver. She pulls down 12.7 caroms per game.
Size doesn't matter for the 5-9 senior forward. Jones is one of four nationally-ranked rebounders under 6-0 and the only rebounder in the national rankings under 5-10.
KEEPING TABS ON JONES - Vershaun Jones broke the 800-rebound mark. She is tied for sixth among CMU's all-time rebounders with 813 rebounds. She will likely end her career at sixth ... Jones is only the third Chippewa to grab 770-plus boards and 175 career steals. . Her 813 boards and 175 nabs lists her with the likes of Julie Roberts (1,089 rebounds, 296 steals) and Sue Nissen (977 rebounds, 188 steals) ... Jones has tied her season-best double-double effort. She has eight this season and also did the deed eight times in her sophomore campaign ... Central Michigan is 6-2 this season when Jones tallies a double-double.
AVERAGING A DOUBLE-DOUBLE - Vershaun Jones owns averages of 9.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. She could become only the third Chippewa to finish a season averaging a double-double. Gina Mazzolini did it in 1976 (10.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg), 1977 (12.6, 11.1) and 1978 (13.3, 10.9). Julie Roberts averaged a double-double in 1979 (13.0, 11.6), 1980 (13.7, 16.6) and in 1981 (13.2, 12.4).
BACK-UP STEPPIN' UP - The bench stepped up to knock down 24 points against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. All 24 points came from two reserves. Mandy Elwer poured in 18 while Raina Harmon added six. The bench is averaging 17.0 points on the season. The average dips to 15.7 in MAC play.
A SIGNIFICANT EVENT -The Chippewas broke an eight-game losing streak when they topped the Akron Zips last Wednesday. It was a significant win as it was the first MAC road win on the season and it was the first MAC road win in 13 tries. The last MAC road win was a 60-51 triumph at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 12, 2000. Also, the win doubles the conference wins from a season ago. CMU went 1-15 in conference action last season. Its lone MAC win was a 74-68 home victory over Western Michigan on Feb. 21, 2001. The win at Akron also marks the first 10-win season since the 1998-99 team went 11-16 overall.
SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE - Erin Kuhl (Rochester Hills/Rochester Adams) and Lindsay Mecoli (Clarkston/Our Lady) have signed to play for CMU next season.
Kuhl is a 5-9 guard who averaged 11.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game this past season. The honorable mention all-stater also averaged 14 points and four rebounds as a junior.
Mecoli is a 6-1 two-time all-state forward for Our Lady. She scored at a 21.8 pace this past season and also had 7.4 rebounds. She also scored 17.7 points as a junior and a 16.2 her sophomore year.
INJURIES - Tiffany Douglas (Lansing/Fr.) will sit out the season after suffering an injury to her ACL in the preseason. She had surgery on it on Nov. 20.
UP NEXT - The Central Michigan women's basketball team will finish the road portion of its schedule with dates at Western Michigan (Feb. 19) and Ball State (Feb. 23). The Chippewas return home to bid farewell to their seniors in the season finale on Feb. 26. CMU will close the regular season when it hosts Northern Illinois in Rose Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
