Central Michigan University
Eastern Michigan
Tamm Tosses in 21, But CMU Women Fall at Eastern
2/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jared Porter, CMUChippewas.com
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Senior Kerby Tamm set career-highs in points and three-pointers Saturday, but the Central Michigan women's basketball team fell to Eastern Michigan, 85-64, at EMU's Convocation Center.
The Chippewas have lost three straight Mid-American Conference games and six of their last eight, dropping their record to 11-12 and 6-6 in MAC play.
CMU senior Crystal Bradford, the MAC's leading scorer at 20.3 points per game, was sidelined for the second consecutive game due to knee pain and swelling. Her status remains day-to-day.
The Eagles built a 12-point lead, 19-7, after the first 8 minutes, 52 seconds of the game. Eastern Michigan cruised from that point and the Chippewas cut the deficit to no more than seven points for the remainder of the contest.
A 15-0 EMU run that spanned the end of the first half and first 1:18 of the second extended the Eagles' lead to 18, 48-30. CMU never got closer than 16 the rest of the way.
Eastern opened the floodgates in the second half by shooting 14-for-30 (46.6 percent) from the field. Its largest lead, 28 points, came with just over four minutes remaining.
CMU allowed the Eagles to shoot 45.3 percent overall and 46.4 percent from three-point.
"I thought Eastern Michigan had too many scorers for us," coach Sue Guevara said. "A lot of kids stepped up and hit threes for them. We just couldn't match their firepower.
"(EMU) came in shooting (28.8 percent) from the three-point line but we knew that they had players that could shoot it. There were a couple times that we just didn't close out close enough to them and there were other times that we were too slow on our rotations.
"I think our freshmen, except for Cassie (Breen), were very unaggressive and could not match the physicality of the game."
Breen hit four of her eight three-point attempts (50 percent) and finished with 13 points for the Chippewas. Four other freshmen played for CMU and went a combined 2-of-8 (25 percent) from the floor and totaled just four points.
"Unfortunately, with freshmen, they're up and down," Guevara said. "I thought Cassie had been having some good practices. She came into my office the other day and I told her that she didn't have to prove anything to me. She just needed to have fun.
"(Breen) is someone that can stretch the defense. I was happy with her performance. She did have five turnovers and that's when she's trying to do a little too much. But, again with her, it's can we get that same consistency the next game?"
The Chippewas were 33.8 percent shooting from the field and 36.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
Tamm led CMU, scoring 21 points all on seven three-pointers (in 18 attempts). Both her point total and her triple total are career-highs. She also had five rebounds.
Senior Lorreal Jones had her second consecutive double-double with 14 points -- on a team-best 5-for-8 (62.5 percent) shooting -- and 13 rebounds. She finished with 10 points and 12 boards against Toledo on Wednesday. Saturday marked her fourth double-double of the season.
Senior Jas'Mine Bracey suffered a high ankle sprain on Wednesday and her status was questionable coming into Saturday's game. However, she was given the green light and finished the day with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes.
"Bracey hadn't practiced for two days this week because of a high ankle sprain," Guevara said. "But I'll tell you what, those three seniors (Tamm, Jones and Bracey) are playing their guts out.
"I give Kerby all the props in the world for putting up 18 threes, because that's what she needs to do. The only problem with her is that she has to play 39 minutes. She does get tired in the second half, so it was nice to see (Breen) come in and give us a little three-point shooting.
"Lorreal has been consistent for us the last couple games with double-doubles and being physical on the glass. And Jas'Mine has eight points and seven rebounds while she's playing in pain.
"This is their senior year and it's not how they expected it to go, but we have six game left and we just have to keep battling."
Junior Da'Jourie Turner and freshman Amani Corley split time at point guard for CMU and went a combined 1-for-9 (11.1 percent) shooting with just six points.
The point-guard production has been inconsistent and is an area they need to improve moving forward, Guevara said.
With Bradford out of the lineup, CMU loses a player with team-high averages in scoring, rebounding (9.1) and assists (3.7).
Guevara said it has been difficult finding the right lineups and player combinations to fill the void left by Bradford, but the experience the players are gaining without their teammate - the reigning MAC player of the year and an All-America candidate -- could lead to a more well-rounded unit upon her return.
"I'm just trying to get this team to click right now and everything is always worse when you're losing," Guevara said. "I think keeping things in perspective, going with the process and executing the game plan with all-out effort is what this team needs to do moving forward."
The Chippewas travel to Muncie, Ind. to take on Ball State on Wednesday, Feb. 18, in a MAC game. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
