Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Take Five-Game Win Streak on the Road
12/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game One: Central Michigan (7-5, 0-0 Mid-American) vs. Hampton (8-2, 0-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic)
Game Two: Winner/Loser faces Winner/Loser of Tulane (9-2, 0-0 Conference USA) and College of Charleston (2-8, 0-0 Southern)
Wednesday, December 28, 8 p.m., New Orleans, La., Fogelman Arena
Thursday, December 29, TBA, New Orleans, La. Fogelman Arena
Broadcast Information
Live Audio: 91.5 wmhw-fm
Preview
The Central Michigan women's basketball team is currently riding a five-game win streak, the longest since the 2006-07 season. They went 3-0 at the Wright State Invitational knocking off Southeast Missouri State, 100-59, Longwood, 70-59, and Wright State, 65-60.
The Chippewas have never faced the three teams in the Tulane Holiday Tournament.
The first challenge for the Maroon and Gold will be Hampton who is coming off a 71-63 win over Boston College. Before that win they were on a five-game win streak that was snapped with a loss to UAB. Chicetta McMillian is leading the offense with her 16.4 points a game average and is shooting 41.5 percent from the floor. Melanie Warner cleans the boards with her 7.2 average.
The winner/loser of the first game will play the winner/loser of the second game.
The host school Tulane will meet the College of Charleston in the first game on Wednesday. The Green Waves have won their last three games with their most recent being over Louisiana-Lafayette, 75-40. Olivia Grayson leads their offense with 13.7 points a game. Brett Benzio is averaging near a double-double with 9.2 points and 9.6 rebounds.
The College of Charleston won its last outing against East Carolina 58-43. Cathryn Hardy and Megan Fisher lead the offense both averaging 7.1 points a game.
| Probable Starters | |||||||||
| Name | Ht. | Yr. | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | | Notes | ||
| (1) G | 33 | Brandie Baker | 6-0 | Jr. | 12-11 | 7.0 | 6.4 | 3.2 APG | Recorded her first double-double on the season against Purdue |
| (2) G | 4 | Kylie Welch | 5-4 | So. | 6-4 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 APG | Against Southeast Missouri State she had a career high nine points. |
| (3) G | 31 | Jordan LaDuke | 5-11 | So | 5-3 | 8.0 | 4.4 | 0.4 3PG | Hit 17 points against Longwood while making three three-pointers. |
| (4) F | 23 | Crystal Bradford | 6-0 | Fr. | 12-10 | 14.6 | 7.6 | 2.3 APG | Has posted four double-doubles this season. |
| (5) F | 32 | Jas'Mine Bracey | 6-2 | Fr. | 12-12 | 11.2 | 7.2 | 1.6 BPG | Recorded her first double-double against RMU (21 pts., 11 rebs.) |
News and Note
Freshman Force -- Three freshmen are leading CMU's offense - Crystal Bradford, Jas'Mine Bracey and Jessica Green. Bradford has posted four double-doubles against PITT, South Florida, Ole Miss, and Wright State. She is currently averaging 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest. She has also scored in double figures in every game this season. Bradford is the eighth best freshman scorer in the country. She ranks fifth among freshman in her field goal percentage (42.4) and is ninth in blocked shots per game (1.7)
Bracey, who is second on the team in scoring, is averaging 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. She has scored 20 or more points twice this season. Currently she is also the ninth best blocker among freshman and is the ninth best freshman in the country in rebounds per game.
Green is third on the team in scoring averaging 10.3 points and 2.5 assists a game.
Road Warriors -- The Chippewas finished their first road trip 2-3. They went 3-0 while at the Wright State Invitational, and will compete in the Tulane Holiday Tournament next.
While on the road the Maroon and Gold have played in three overtime games holding a 2-1 record. They are averaging 74 points a game while holding the opponent to only 68. They hold a 1.6 rebound margin, and are forcing the home team into 24 turnovers a game.
Starting Changes -- Head coach Sue Guevara has now used five different line ups this season. Heading into the Wright State Invitational she had used a consistent line up for six straight games. She changed things up at WSU and started Brandie Baker, Kylie Welch, Jordan LaDuke, Crystal Bradford and Jas'Mine Bracey. Since those five have started the team is 3-0.
Winning Feels Good -- CMU is currently on a five-game win streak. This is the longest win streak since the 2006-07 season when it also won five straight games. The streak began in the 75-62 win at home against No. 12/14 Purdue. The team won six straight games during the 2005-06 season.
Bench Mark -- CMU's bench combined for 43 of the team's 60 points against Northwestern. Bradford and Green both came off the bench and led the team in scoring at 14 and 13, points respectively. CMU's bench also recorded 43 points in the season opener last year against North Carolina A&T, with Jalisa Olive scoring 32 of them. In the game against Southeast Missouri State the bench scored a season high 65 of the team's 100 points. The Maroon and Gold bench is averaging 28.9 points per game and have scored 30 or more points in five games this year.
Double or Nothing -- Bracey and Bradford have each recorded their first collegiate double-doubles. Bracey posted 21 points and 11 rebounds against Robert Morris, while Bradford had 18 points and 12 boards against Pittsburgh. Bradford grabbed another double-double against South Florida with 22 points and 17 rebounds, against Ole Miss with 12 points and 14 boards, and at Wright State with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Baker joined the double-double club this season in the win over Purdue where she finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. In the win over Ole Miss Taylor Johnson recorded her fifth career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
MAC West POW -- Crystal Bradford was named MAC West Division Player of the Week for her performance of 35 points and 22 rebounds in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. Taylor Johnson was named MAC West Division Player of the Week for her double-double in the win at Ole Miss.
NCAA Standings -- As a team the Chippewas moved from 61st in scoring offense in the country to 39th (74.5 points per game). They are 64th in three-point field goals per game (6.4) and 78th in three-point field goal percentage (32.7). They hold the 20th spot in the country with 12.8 steals per game and are 26th in blocked shots per game (5.3)
Bracey and Bradford are 63rd in the country in blocked shots per game (1.9) while Baker is 66th in assists to turnover ratio at 1.8.
MAC Ranklings -- As a team the Chippewas are first in the conference in blocked shots (4.6 per game), second in scoring offense (74.8 points per game), defensive rebounds (27.8), offensive rebounds (16.8) and in steals (12.8 per game). They are ranked third in the conference in three-point field goals made (6.1) and are fourth in scoring margin (+4.2), field goal defense (37.9), three-point field goal percentage (30.9), three-point field goal defense (28.5) and assists (13.5).
Bradford is fifth in the MAC in scoring (14.6 per game) and fifth in rebounding (7.6). She holds the top spot in blocks per game with 1.7 while Bracey averages 1.6 and is in second. DiGuilio is fourth in three-pointers a game averaging 1.8 and Taylor Johnson is fifth in free throws shooting 84 percent.
Rebounding Key to Chippewas' Success -- In the win over Ole Miss CMU grabbed a total of 61 rebounds, the most since 2004 when it also grabbed 61 against Tri-State and ties the record for fifth most in single-game program history. As a team the Chippewas are in the top three in the conference for rebounding and have three players averaging more than six rebounds a game. During their five game win streak the Chippewas have out-rebounded their opponent in four out of five games. Three of those games the rebounding margin as been greater then 10.
Hit the Free Ones -- Against Ole Miss CMU shot 41 free throws - the most since the team attempted 49 against Miami last year. The Chippewas have been to the line 20 or more times in six games this year. The have made over 60 percent of their free throws in 10 of the 12 games. LaDuke is perfect thus far at 9-for-9 while Johnson is 21-for-25.
