Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Open MAC Play with 73-66 Win at Toledo
1/11/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TOLEDO, Ohio - Sophomore Crystal Bradford matched a career high with 27 points and Central Michigan knocked off preseason favorite Toledo in its Mid-American Conference opener Thursday night, 73-66.
The win was the first for the Chippewas (7-7, 1-0 MAC) in Savage Arena since January 18, 2006 and the first road win in the series under head coach Sue Guevara. The victory also snapped the Rockets' (12-2, 0-1 MAC) 11-game winning streak.
The Chippewas and Rockets played even for the first 36-plus minutes of the contest, as the game was tied 65-65 with 3:25 left to play. Preseason All-MAC selection Naama Shafir split a pair of free throws with 3:05 to give the Rockets the lead, 66-65, but the Chippewas' defense held UT scoreless for the remainder of the game to take over.
Bradford drove down the middle of the lane, spun left and hit a floater over two UT defenders on the Chippewas' next possession to reclaim the lead, 67-66, before jumping a skip pass on the Rockets' next possession to draw a foul and head to the line where she split a pair.
The defense forced another stop next time down the floor and senior Brandie Baker hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to four, 70-66, and Bradford tied her career high with a jumper with 1:38 to play to push the lead to 72-66.
Bradford came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, knocking down her first four three-point attempts to score 14 of the Chippewas' 16 points over the first 4:55 of the game. The Rockets went on a 15-8 run midway through the first half to claim a six-point lead, 30-24, but the Chippewas held strong and eventually tied the game, 34-34, on a corner three by junior Niki DiGuilio.
Senior Jessica Schroll scored four straight to tie the game yet again, 38-38 and after a jumper by Lacretia Smith gave the Rockets a 40-38 lead with 1:36 to play in the first half, sophomore Jessica Green finished an attack at the basket to send the two teams to the locker rooms tied at halftime, 40-40.
With the game tied at 53 with 14:12 to play in the second half, Green went on a personal 5-0 run to give the Chippewas' a five point-lead, 58-53, and force a timeout by the Rockets at the 10:52 mark. The Rockets pulled within three, 60-57, with 7:12 to go, but Green knocked down her second trey of the game 25 seconds later to push the lead back to six.
The Rockets made their final run of the game over the next three minutes, going on an 8-0 run that was concluded with a fastbreak layup by Andola Dortch to give them the lead with 3:36 to play, 65-63. The rest was history as the Chippewas' defense showed off its athleticism to fend off Rockets who were feeding off a hostile crowd of 4,131.
The Chippewas continue MAC action this Sunday when they return home to take on defending MAC champs and rival Eastern Michigan. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., inside McGuirk Arena.
Game Notes
Sophomore Crystal Bradford scored 20-plus points for the second-straight game and the 10th time in her career. Her 27 points matched a career-high and ironically came in the MAC opener for the second straight season as she scored 27 versus Northern Illinois in last season's MAC opener.
Senior Jessica Schroll finished with 14 points in her MAC debut, marking the fourth time in just six games with the Chippewas that she has scored in double figures.
Junior Niki DiGuilio earned the start and played a season-high 37 minutes. She finished the night with 10 points, marking the 34th time in her career that she has scored in double figures.
Baker's 10 rebounds were a game and season high, marking the second time she has had double digit rebounds this season and the 11th time in her career.
After being outscored in the paint by the Rockets in the first half, 20-12, Central Michigan outscored UT 20-14 in the second 20 minutes.
The Chippewas outrebounded the Rockets, 40-32. They are now 6-1 on the season when outrebounding their opponents.
Thursday's game saw the score tied nine times and the lead change 11 times. CMU's largest lead was seven with 15 seconds to play and Toledo's was six at the 8:14 mark of the first half.