Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Top Bobcats, 72-65
1/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ATHENS, Ohio -- Thanks to 29 points off 25 turnovers and 20 points from Brandie Baker, the Central Michigan women’s basketball team earned a 72-65 win over Ohio University at the Convocation Center on Saturday.
Baker’s 20 led four players in double-figures. Britni Houghton, coming off the bench for the first time all season, added 13 and CMU got 12 each from Angel Chan and Kaihla Szunko. Baker and Szunko each paced Central on the glass with eight boards each.
CMU shot 44 percent from the floor (26-of-59) and 30 percent from deep (6-of-20) while holding OU to 45 percent from the field (26-of-57) and 38 percent from long range (6-of-16). The Chippewas turned 25 Bobcat mistakes into 29 points, and Central’s bench outscored Ohio’s by a 21-6 margin.
Central jumped out to an early 12-5 lead four minutes on in a pair of free throws by Chan. A 17-3 run gave the Chippewas a 22-8 lead on a jumper by Houghton with 9:05 remaining in the half.
Chan’s second trey of the half gave the Maroon and Gold its biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes, 31-15, as Central’s defense clamped down to hold Ohio to just one field goal over a seven-minute stretch.
Back-to-back Bobcat treys fueled an 8-0 OU run to bring Ohio back into the game, 31-23, with three minutes left, but Central entered the break up 11, 38-27, on a nice dish from Latisha Luckett to Szunko with time winding down in the half.
In the second half, junior Jenny Poff and senior Lauren Hmielwilled Ohio back into the game. The duo scored every Bobcat point with the exception of one made free throw for the first 12 minutes of the half, as Ohio hit 11 of its first 14 attempts in the frame after shooting just 33 percent over the opening 20 minutes.
But each time Ohio would cut into the lead, Central would respond. An 8-0 run got the Bobcats to within two, but CMU responded with an 8-0 run of its own to push it right back to 10 with 14:20 remaining. OU cut the margin back to four, but once again CMU used a run to take its lead back to 10, 55-45, with just under 11 minutes left.
Central pushed its lead to its largest of the game, 17, with 4:45 left thanks to an 11-0 spurt capped by a Szunko layup that seemed to put the game away. But Poff and Hmiel wouldn’t go away, once again dragging Ohio back to within eight at the 2:23 mark.
Clutch free throw shooting in the final minutes by Baker allowed the Chippewas to hold off the Bobcats, pushing CMU to 2-0 against the Mid-American Conference’s East Division. The Chippewas also snapped a skid of losing nine of 11 to the Bobcats, and pick up their first win in Athens since 2003.
With the win, CMU (12-9, 4-3 MAC) has now doubled its win total from a season ago and moves a game above .500 in the MAC this late in the season for the first time since 2000. The Chippewas now return home to face Kent State as they continue crossover play on Wednesday at Rose Arena.
Baker’s 20 led four players in double-figures. Britni Houghton, coming off the bench for the first time all season, added 13 and CMU got 12 each from Angel Chan and Kaihla Szunko. Baker and Szunko each paced Central on the glass with eight boards each.
CMU shot 44 percent from the floor (26-of-59) and 30 percent from deep (6-of-20) while holding OU to 45 percent from the field (26-of-57) and 38 percent from long range (6-of-16). The Chippewas turned 25 Bobcat mistakes into 29 points, and Central’s bench outscored Ohio’s by a 21-6 margin.
Central jumped out to an early 12-5 lead four minutes on in a pair of free throws by Chan. A 17-3 run gave the Chippewas a 22-8 lead on a jumper by Houghton with 9:05 remaining in the half.
Chan’s second trey of the half gave the Maroon and Gold its biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes, 31-15, as Central’s defense clamped down to hold Ohio to just one field goal over a seven-minute stretch.
Back-to-back Bobcat treys fueled an 8-0 OU run to bring Ohio back into the game, 31-23, with three minutes left, but Central entered the break up 11, 38-27, on a nice dish from Latisha Luckett to Szunko with time winding down in the half.
In the second half, junior Jenny Poff and senior Lauren Hmielwilled Ohio back into the game. The duo scored every Bobcat point with the exception of one made free throw for the first 12 minutes of the half, as Ohio hit 11 of its first 14 attempts in the frame after shooting just 33 percent over the opening 20 minutes.
But each time Ohio would cut into the lead, Central would respond. An 8-0 run got the Bobcats to within two, but CMU responded with an 8-0 run of its own to push it right back to 10 with 14:20 remaining. OU cut the margin back to four, but once again CMU used a run to take its lead back to 10, 55-45, with just under 11 minutes left.
Central pushed its lead to its largest of the game, 17, with 4:45 left thanks to an 11-0 spurt capped by a Szunko layup that seemed to put the game away. But Poff and Hmiel wouldn’t go away, once again dragging Ohio back to within eight at the 2:23 mark.
Clutch free throw shooting in the final minutes by Baker allowed the Chippewas to hold off the Bobcats, pushing CMU to 2-0 against the Mid-American Conference’s East Division. The Chippewas also snapped a skid of losing nine of 11 to the Bobcats, and pick up their first win in Athens since 2003.
With the win, CMU (12-9, 4-3 MAC) has now doubled its win total from a season ago and moves a game above .500 in the MAC this late in the season for the first time since 2000. The Chippewas now return home to face Kent State as they continue crossover play on Wednesday at Rose Arena.
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