Central Michigan University
No. 13/9 Kentucky
Chippewas Rally, But Fall to Kentucky
11/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - An effort like that will, against most opponents, put the Central Michigan women's basketball team in very good position.
Jennifer O'Neill hit five three-pointers en route to a game-high 19 points Saturday as Kentucky held off the hard-charging Chippewas, 71-68, in what turned out to be an early season non-conference thriller before 2,361 at McGuirk Arena.
"I told our team I was very proud of the way they battled," said CMU coach Sue Guevara, whose team trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half and was down 19, 47-28, at halftime. "We battled back. I know you can't win a game in the first half, but you can lose it, and I thought that's what happened to us today.
"It was a really good game and now we have to build on that."
Jessica Green scored 16 points, Lorreal Jones added 12 points and freshman Cassandra Breen had 11 for CMU (1-1), which turned in a much better effort than it did six days prior in a season-opening 72-70 win over UMass.
The Wildcats (4-0, who have made five consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, are ranked ninth in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 13th by the Associated Press.
"So our team can understand, the next game we play isn't going to be Kentucky," Guevara said. "So they have to come ready to play like it is Kentucky, every single game. We have to bring the best effort we can."
The Chippewas trailed by 20 points with under 16 minutes remaining, then slowly chipped away. They managed to claw within eight, 60-52, at the 10-minute mark and drew within three, 69-66, on a Breen three-pointer - one of her three on the night - with 2 minutes, 59 seconds left.
A Jewel Cotton free throw with 41 seconds to play got CMU back to within three, 71-68. Green's potential game-tying three-pointer with 3 seconds left hit the rim and bounced off.
"We're fighters," Green said. "We don't give up, even when we're down. Keep playing. In the locker room at halftime we just picked each other up and talked about what we needed to work on. We're not blaming anybody or anything like that. We just talked to each other about what we needed to do.
"It was step by step by step. We didn't rush anything."
A switch to a zone defense helped to slow the Wildcats and allowed the Chippewas to make their move in the second half.
"It wasn't like they could just take it and ram it down our throats," Guevara said of the effectiveness of the zone. "They actually had to make some perimeter passes and then take long shots."
All three of Breen's triples came in the second half, the result of the Chippewas becoming more aggressive offensively in attacking the basket.
"It was our ability to get to the basket," Guevara said. "Just down the stretch we had a couple key turnovers, a foul. It's the little things that if we can clean up, we can play with people."
The Chippewas made just 17 of their 27 free throw attempts (63 percent) on the night, including a 10-for-17 effort in the second half.
"Shooting 63 percent from the free throw line, it's going to be tough to win," Guevara said. "But we battled and I think that's the biggest thing."
Jas'Mine Bracey and Jones grabbed 10 rebounds apiece as CMU held a slight 48-46 edge on the boards. That the Chippewas were able to play with a team such as Kentucky when their top scoring threat, Crystal Bradford, scored just six points (on 2-of-12 shooting), is encouraging.
And, while playing the zone defense was critical in CMU's ability to make a game of it, the pace was relatively fast from start to finish. Nine of the 10 Chippewas who played logged at least 11 minutes.
"What it showed me tonight is that I have people on that bench that I can go to," Guevara said. "If we can play fast and play like that, we'll be alright. We want to play fast, and we can play fast. If I can play 10 kids, let's go. I think that's what it showed our team also."
