Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Roll Through Cardinals, 84-66
1/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Taylor Johnson grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds, as the Central Michigan women's basketball team rolled through Ball State 84-66, Saturday afternoon.
Three straight jumpers by the Chippewas (11-7 overall, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) allowed the Maroon and Gold to reel off a 10-0 run over a two-minute span that put CMU in front, 17-11, eight minutes into the game. They stayed in the lead and used an 11-1 run to build their biggest lead of the half at 12 with 7:04 showing on the clock. After the Cardinals (7-10, 2-2) cut the lead to six at the 5:39 point, a jumper by Johnson and two three-pointers by Niki DiGuilio had CMU back in front by double-digits, 36-24. The Chippewas took a 40-32 lead into the break, their ninth straight game with a halftime lead.
"It was a nice win for us," said CMU head coach Sue Guevara. "Our bench came to play today. I think one of our biggest strengths is our ability to have different people come off the bench and make contributions. Our style of play is a track meet. Ball State wanted to take us out of our comfort zone and slow the pace down but we did a good job playing our fast pace style of play."
The CMU bench finished the game with 43 total points as nine different Chippewas had six or more points and 10 players played over 15 minutes.
The Chippewas were able to hold a double-digit lead for all but 53 seconds in the second half. Three minutes in, the home team had pushed its lead to 14, 48-34, following a layup by Jessica Green. Jordan LaDuke hit three of her eight second-half points push the lead to 16 at 57-41. Following a 12-4 run, which a Jalisa Olive capped off with a lay in, CMU had its largest lead of the game at 26 with 11:32 left to play. The team would hold a 20-point lead for the majority of the remaining time as the Chippewas shot 60.7 percent from the floor after halftime.
The Maroon and Gold finished the game tying their season high shooting percentage at 51.6 percent from the floor. The Chippewas scored 42 points in the paint, while holding the Cardinals to only 26.
Miller and DiGuilio both scored 11 points off the bench for the home team. Crystal Bradford led all scorers with 16 points while snatching four steals.
The Chippewas will head back on the road for a two-game stand starting Thursday when they travel to Eastern Michigan for a 7 p.m. tip.
