Central Michigan University Athletics
Bobcats End Chippewas' Season, 68-65
3/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Britni Houghton scored 22 points and Candace Wilson scored 14 but the 2007-08 season came to a close for the Central Michigan women’s basketball team after a 68-65 loss to Ohio in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on Sunday.
Houghton was dominating throughout, finishing 9-of-17 from the floor and getting to the basket at will. She also hit a pair of threes in as many tries and grabbed six rebounds to go with four steals. Six of Wilson’s 14 came at the charity stripe where she was 6-of-6. She also grabbed seven boards in her last game in a Chippewa uniform. Shonda Long gave CMU three players scoring in double figures, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including three triple tries, for 12 points. Lauren Kohn led three Bobcats in double-figures with 18.
“I was really proud of our effort today,” head coach Sue Guevara said. “We played very hard and we just didn’t get a couple of shots to fall at the end.”
The Chippewas missed their first six shots from the floor, falling behind 9-1 early. After that, CMU slowly clawed its way back into the contest. Down 17-10 at the 13:15 mark, CMU went on a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to take its first lead of the game, 20-17. Central led by as many as five in the first half, but back-to-back treys sparked an 8-0 Bobcat run and Ohio went into the locker room with a 31-28 lead thanks to a Kohn jumper at the horn.
Central struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just 31 percent compared to 43 percent for Ohio, but a 10-for-12 start from the line helped CMU stay in the game.
In the second half, however, the story would change. Central didn’t make it’s first free throw attempt until the five minute mark, when Houghton split a pair. It would be their only two attempts in the second half.
CMU battled to take a six-point lead, 45-39, five minutes into the second half, but the Bobcats battled back to within two just minutes later. The two offenses went ice cold midway through the frame, as each team would make just one field goal over a five-minute stretch starting at the 11:30 mark.
The game was tied at 54 and then again at 61 with 3:23 remaining, when Quintana Ward hit a trey to put the Bobcats up three. Down three, Wilson’s trey with seven seconds remaining wouldn’t fall. Ohio’s Lauren Hmiel missed two free throws giving CMU another chance to tie and send the game to overtime, but an Angel Chan triple try was off the mark at the horn.
The loss ends the careers of Dana Westover, Stacey Verhoff, Brittany Szunko and Wilson. The foursome played their final game in a Chippewa uniform, with all four seasons ended by the Bobcats in the MAC Tournament.
This is the fourth straight season Ohio has defeated CMU in the opening round of the MAC Tournament. The Chippewas are now 1-5 all-time against the Bobcats in postseason play.
Houghton was dominating throughout, finishing 9-of-17 from the floor and getting to the basket at will. She also hit a pair of threes in as many tries and grabbed six rebounds to go with four steals. Six of Wilson’s 14 came at the charity stripe where she was 6-of-6. She also grabbed seven boards in her last game in a Chippewa uniform. Shonda Long gave CMU three players scoring in double figures, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including three triple tries, for 12 points. Lauren Kohn led three Bobcats in double-figures with 18.
“I was really proud of our effort today,” head coach Sue Guevara said. “We played very hard and we just didn’t get a couple of shots to fall at the end.”
The Chippewas missed their first six shots from the floor, falling behind 9-1 early. After that, CMU slowly clawed its way back into the contest. Down 17-10 at the 13:15 mark, CMU went on a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to take its first lead of the game, 20-17. Central led by as many as five in the first half, but back-to-back treys sparked an 8-0 Bobcat run and Ohio went into the locker room with a 31-28 lead thanks to a Kohn jumper at the horn.
Central struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just 31 percent compared to 43 percent for Ohio, but a 10-for-12 start from the line helped CMU stay in the game.
In the second half, however, the story would change. Central didn’t make it’s first free throw attempt until the five minute mark, when Houghton split a pair. It would be their only two attempts in the second half.
CMU battled to take a six-point lead, 45-39, five minutes into the second half, but the Bobcats battled back to within two just minutes later. The two offenses went ice cold midway through the frame, as each team would make just one field goal over a five-minute stretch starting at the 11:30 mark.
The game was tied at 54 and then again at 61 with 3:23 remaining, when Quintana Ward hit a trey to put the Bobcats up three. Down three, Wilson’s trey with seven seconds remaining wouldn’t fall. Ohio’s Lauren Hmiel missed two free throws giving CMU another chance to tie and send the game to overtime, but an Angel Chan triple try was off the mark at the horn.
The loss ends the careers of Dana Westover, Stacey Verhoff, Brittany Szunko and Wilson. The foursome played their final game in a Chippewa uniform, with all four seasons ended by the Bobcats in the MAC Tournament.
This is the fourth straight season Ohio has defeated CMU in the opening round of the MAC Tournament. The Chippewas are now 1-5 all-time against the Bobcats in postseason play.
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