Central Michigan University
Oakland
CMU Women (2-0) Rock Oakland
11/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Yeah, there's a long way to go.
But even the most pessimistic have to be thrilled two games in.
Freshman guard Presley Hudson scored 32 points and four other Chippewas finished in double figures Sunday as the Central Michigan women's basketball team ran past Oakland, 110-87, in a non-league game at Oakland's O'rena.
The win came 48 hours after CMU rolled past Indiana State, 85-65, in its season opener.
"This is a marathon," CMU coach Sue Guevara said. "We finished the second mile and I liked the pace we went. But it's one mile at a time and it's only two games.
"We've got a lot of work to do. We've got a really good Middle Tennessee State team coming in on Thursday (7 p.m.). They will challenge us defensively because they're really athletic."
The 110 points is the fifth-highest single-game total for a CMU women's team in program history, and the Chippewas' 15 3-pointers made (on 27 attempts) ties for the fourth most in a single game in school history.
Like Hudson, junior transfer Jasmine Harris was playing just her second game in a CMU uniform. Harris matched Hudson in finishing 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and collected 17 points.
Also for the Chippewas, Da'Jourie Turner and Tinara Moore added 11 points apiece, and Jewel Cotton had 10. Moore, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, finished with a team-high 12 rebounds. CMU held a 41-31 rebounding edge.
The 2-0 start is particularly gratifying - and perhaps even surprising - in light of the fact that CMU returned just one starter (Turner) and graduated a number of very talented players, including Crystal Bradford, the No. 7 pick in last spring's WNBA Draft.
"I was petrified that we weren't going to be able to score, but we've got a lot of people who can score," Guevara said. "We had 108 possessions today and we had 110 points. I'm happy with that. We want to get up and down. We had nine kids in double digits in minutes played."
Turner finished with a career-high seven assists. Cotton added six assists and nine rebounds, offsetting a 3-for-12 shooting day.
Taylor Jones scored 23 points and Sinclair Russell and Olivia Nash grabbed eight rebounds apiece for the Grizzlies (1-1), who opened the season Friday with a 123-38 victory over UM-Dearborn.
A Hudson triple with 7 minutes, 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter put broke a 7-7 tie and gave the Chippewas their first lead. The bucket touched off an 18-0 Chippewa surge after which CMU was up, 25-7.
CMU led 45-26 after one quarter and 64-44 at halftime. The lead never dipped below 20 points in the second half and the Chippewas extended their advantage to as many as 32 points.
