Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas To Wrap Up Crossover Action
2/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Central Michigan (12-12, 4-6 MAC) vs. Buffalo (7-17, 2-8 MAC)
Saturday, February 11, 3 p.m., Buffalo, N.Y., Alumni Arena (6,100)
Broadcast Information
Live Audio: cmuchippewas.com
Radio: 91.5 wmhw-fm
Preview
The Central Michigan women's basketball teams will wrap-up Mid-American Conference East play this weekend when it travels to Buffalo on Saturday. The Maroon and Gold remain tied for third in the MAC West. The Bulls enter Saturday's game in the bottom of the East, but are coming off a 61-37 victory over Ball State.
Buffalo owns an 8-5 edge in the all-time series with both teams splitting the two meetings last year. The Bulls won the first five meetings, but the Chippewas responded with four victories in the next five games. These two teams met twice last season with UB picking up a win in the regular season, 92-89, and the Chippewas claiming a win at the MAC Tournament, 90-69. The Maroon and Gold are 2-2 against the Bulls under head coach Sue Guevara during the regular season.
The Chippewas enter the game with the second highest scoring offense in the conference, averaging 72.3 points per game. The Bulls have the sixth highest points-per-game average, 67.3, and are very effective shooters, shooting the MAC's second best percentage (43.4) from the floor and 37.5 percent from three-point range. Both of these teams make it hard for an opponent to shoot in the paint with UB averaging four blocks a game (2nd) and CMU averaging 3.8 (T3rd). The Chippewas still hold the second spot in conference steals (11.7 per game) and offensive rebounds (15.8 per game).
Three of the conference's best scorers will be on display in UB's Brittney Hedderson (2nd, 23.5 points per game) and CMU's Crystal Bradford (6th, 15.6 point per game) and Jessica Green (8th, 14.8 point per game). The Bulls will also have to stop Bradford on the boards, as she is eighth in the conference averaging eight rebounds per game. In the paint, both teams will be on the lookout as Bradford is second in the MAC in blocks per game at 2.3 and UB's Christa Baccas and Beth Christensen are tied for fourth averaging 1.3 per game.
| Probable Starters | |||||||||
| Name | Ht. | Yr. | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | | Notes | ||
| (1) G | 24 | Niki DiGuilio | 5-8 | So. | 24-13 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 1.7 3PG | Scored 17 points against Akron, going 3-9 from three-point range. |
| (2) G | 3 | Jessica Green | 5-10 | Fr. | 22-16 | 12.3 | 4.8 | 3.1 APG | Scored 11 points against Akron while dishing out four assists. |
| (3) G | 33 | Brandie Baker | 6-0 | Jr. | 17-13 | 7.7 | 5.9 | 2.6 APG | Has scored in double figures in the past three games, averaging 14.3 points. |
| (4) F | 32 | Jas'Mine Bracey | 6-2 | Fr. | 22-22 | 9.5 | 6.9 | 1.3 BPG | Recorded her fourth double-double against Eastern Michigan. |
| (5) F | 44 | Taylor Johnson | 5-11 | So. | 22-4 | 7.2 | 4.7 | 1.1 SPG | Recorded her second double-double of the year against BGSU. |
News and Notes
Crossover Action -- Following the third loss in a row to a MAC East opponent, the Chippewas are now 1-4 against the East this year. They are 14-15 during the regular season against MAC East foes under Guevara.
Road Warriors -- This year the Maroon and Gold are 8-8 when away from McGuirk Arena and are 1-4 during conference play. They are out-scoring their opponents by a slight 71.2 to 70.1 points per game advantage. The Chippewas have committed fewer turnovers while averaging more steals and blocks than the home team.
Good to be Back -- After missing two games, freshmen Jessica Green, Crystal Bradford, and Jas'Mine Bracey returned to action against Akron. They accounted for 37 percent of the team's offense and 40 percent of the team's rebounds. Green led the team with eight rebounds while Bradford was second on the team with 15 points.
Freshmen Impact -- Currently Bradford is averaging eight rebounds per game, which places her third on the all-time freshman rebounds per game chart (Sue Nissen 9.8 rpg, Latange Cox 8.8 rpg). She is also currently second on the freshman points per game list with 14.4 points per game, behind Nissen who averaged 17.5. In third place is Jessica Green who is averaging 12.4 points per game.
Quaker Oats -- "Quaker Oats" is the name that head coach Sue Guevara has coined for freshman point guard Crystal Bradford. She is leading CMU in many categories averaging 14.4 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and 2.5 steals per game. She has scored in double figures in every game but three this year and has recorded 20 or more points four times. She leads the team in double-doubles with six and is ranked seventh among NCAA freshmen in steals (2.5), fifth in blocked shots (2.0) and is ninth in field goal percentage (41.4) (as of 2/8/12). She has also moved into the fourth spot on the CMU single-season blocks chart with 43.
Share the Rock -- Green leads the team with 67 assists. Since hitting MAC play she has dished out six assists three different times and has had an assist in every game.
Baker Leads by Example -- Since returning to action against Bowling Green, Brandie Baker has really improved her game. She has now scored in double figures in the past three games averaging 14.3 points per game compared to the 7.4 average she had before missing time due to an injury. In the past three games she has hit four three-pointers while in the previous 14 games she had only tallied five.
Power House -- Taylor Johnson has recorded double figure points in five out of the last six games. In those games she is averaging 12 points and 7.2 rebounds, both higher than her season averages of 7.2 points per game and 4.7 rebounds. Her playing time has also increased by eight minutes.
Heating up the Three -- Niki DiGuilio went 3-for-9 from long range in the loss to Akron. This is the seventh time this season she has made three or more three-pointers. She finished the night with 17 total points, the second most for her this season.
This was the third straight game that a Chippewa has made three or more three-pointers, and the fourth time in the last five games that CMU has attempted 20 or more from behind the arc.
Wanna Shoot -- In the 97-87 loss to Akron, the Chippewas posted the fourth most points on the season. It was also the fifth conference game that they scored over 70 points and are 3-2 on the year when doing so. The 97 points scored by Akron was the most CMU has given up this season.
As a team the Maroon and Gold hoisted up 88 total shots, the most while under Guevara.
Bench Mark -- While the CMU bench was outscored 41-30 in the loss at Akron, it was above the season average of 25.3 points. Bradford came off the bench to score 15 points with Jordan LaDuke adding 12.
One-Two Punch -- In 12 different games this year a CMU player has recorded a double-double. Bradford leads the team with six followed by Bracey with four. Against Ole Miss both Bradford and Johnson recorded double-doubles.
| Brandie Baker | vs. Purdue (16 pts., 10 rebs.) |
| Jas'Mine Bracey | at Robert Morris (21 pts., 11 rebs.) |
| vs. Longwood (18 pts., 15 rebs.) | |
| vs. College of Charleston (18 pts., 15 rebs.) | |
| at Eastern Michigan (16 pts., 10 rebs.) | |
| Crystal Bradford | at PITT (18 pts., 12 rebs.) |
| vs. South Florida (22 pts., 17 rebs.) | |
| at Ole Miss (12 pts., 14 rebs.) | |
| at Wright State (17 pts., 13 rebs.) | |
| at Toledo (23 pts., 10 rebs.) | |
| vs. Ohio (10 pts., 11 rebs.) | |
| Taylor Johnson | at Ole Miss (16 pts., 10 rebs. |
| vs. Bowling Green (18 pts., 10 rebs.) |
