Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Akron*
Women's Basketball Locks Down Akron, 60-44
2/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2006
AKRON, Ohio - A dominating rebounding and defensive effort led the Central Michigan University women's basketball team to a 60-44 victory at Akron on Saturday afternoon, its fourth-straight win.
The Chippewas improve to 14-8 on the year, 5-6 in the Mid-American Conference while Akron falls to 4-18, 1-10 in conference play. The victory gives CMU its first four game MAC winning streak since 1996-97 and also secures that the Maroon and Gold will have at least a .500 record for the first time since 1992-93.
The Chippewas dominated the boards as they out rebounding Akron by 28 caroms, 47-19. In fact, CMU actually ended with the same number of offensive boards as Akron had total rebounds.
CMU's defense was also stout as it held the Zips to just 44 points with UA shooting just 34.8 percent (16-of-46) from the field. The Chippewas defensive effort was especially dominant in the first half as it held Akron to just 15 points and a 26.1 shooting percentage (6-of-23).
Sharonda Hurd led the way for CMU with 15 points and 11 boards, her first double-double of the season. She was 7-of-12 from the floor and tallied nine points and eight boars in the second half. Chasidy Myers added 12 points and eight rebounds, going 6-of-9 from the floor.
Casey Manning also had a solid effort with eight points and nine rebounds and Angel Chan added a game-high five assists, all the in second half. Courtney Stewart had a team-high 14 points and five rebounds to lead Akron while Jessica Crooks added 11 points.
The two squads battled for control in the opening minutes of the game. CMU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead with a pair of lay ups by Myers, but the Zips battled back to take a 7-6 lead four minutes into the contest.
CMU began to take control of the game with a 10-2 run midway through the half as the Chippewas held a 16-9 lead with 7:49 left in the stanza. CMU's defense led way as it held Akron to just 1-for-8 and committed eight turnovers during the run.
CMU's strong defense continued the rest of the half as Akron tallied just two field goals, both three-pointers, the final 14:13. The Zips were just 2-for-14 from the field over that stretch as CMU held a 10-point lead at the half, 25-15.
Myers and Ann Skufca led CMU with six points in the first while Crooks paced UA with six as well. CMU out rebounded the Zips 23-11 in the first frame with 13 of those boards for CMU coming on the offensive end.
Akron remained in contention early in the second half as the Zips pulled within six points twice in the first six minutes of the stanza. The second time made the score 34-28 CMU with 14:14 remaining.
So with Akron still lurking, CMU put the game away with a 7-0 run over the next four minutes. Myers sparked the run with a lay up and than Chan took over, hitting a three-pointer on the next possession and following that up with a midrange jumper. That gave the Chippewas a 41-28 advantage with 10:30 remaining in the game.
CMU's would control the game the rest of the way as its lead would not drop below 11 the remainder of the game. Hurd played a major role down the stretch as she scored nine straight points for the Chippewas to help her squad push the lead to 20 with 4:42 left in the contest.
The Maroon and Gold were hot from the field in the second stanza, shooting 60.0 percent (15-of-25) on their way to a 46.4 shooting mark for the contest compared to 34.8 percent by UA. Akron did shot well from behind the arc as the Zips finished with a mark of 54.5 percent (6-of-11) while CMU was just 31.6 percent (6-of-19). Neither team got to the line much as Akron was 6-of-12 (.500) and the Chippewas were 2-of-4 (.500).
CMU passed the ball well as the squad finished with 18 assists to 14 for Akron while UA protected the ball, committed 16 turnovers to 21 for the Chippewas. The Zips also had more steals (15-6) with CMU recording more blocks (5-2).
The Chippewas head back into West Division play on Tuesday night, Feb. 14, with Western Michigan at home. Tip off in Rose Arena is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on Comcast Local.
