Central Michigan University
Kent State
Frost Red Hot, CMU Women Win MAC Opener
1/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Cullen Maksimowski, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Reyna Frost exploded for a career-high 27 points Saturday, as the Central Michigan women's basketball team claimed an 81-61 victory over Kent State in its Mid-American Conference opener at McGuirk Arena.
Frost, a freshman, added nine rebounds and three assists as CMU improved to 7-5. Frost, who made 13 of her 20 field goal attempts, led five Chippewas who scored in double figures.
"I think Kent State was really focused on the people who have been performing well lately, like Presley (Hudson) and Cassie (Breen)," Frost said. "That allowed me to get open looks, and today I was just finishing really well."
Five Chippewas scored in double figures. Tinara Moore had 11, and Hudson, Breen and Jasmine Harris had 10 each. CMU outscored the Golden Flashes, 44-31, in the second half to record its fourth victory of at least 20 points this season.
CMU, which led 37-30 at halftime, bested Kent State on the glass, 42-34, and forced 16 turnovers.
"I thought our players did a nice job of executing our plan," CMU coach Sue Guevara said. " It was nice to see our post presence today and if we can get that type of consistency with our post players and our perimeter players then this young team is only going to get better."
It marks the sixth consecutive year that CMU has won its MAC opener. The Chippewas are 6-3 in MAC openers under Guevara.
"It's probably been the most consistent game for us," Guevara said. "Jewel Cotton and Ree Ree (Turner) struggled today but with the bench play that we had, it was nice to see that contribution.
"It gives me confidence that when we have starters that are struggling, we have a strong enough bench that can come in and make a difference."
After she was demoted from the starting lineup and was challenged by Guevara to be more aggressive, Moore responded with her third double-double in her last five games, finishing with 12 rebounds to go along with her 11 points.
"My mental focus has really helped me lately, I think I've just been getting more mentally prepared before the game," Moore said.
Hudson finished with five assists.
"Pres has good vision and I think that's why people like (Frost and Moore) really like playing with her, because she's going to get them the ball," Guevara said. "She has a good understanding of passes that certain people can handle and she gets them in a position to catch and shoot."
The Chippewas will continue MAC play on Wednesday, Jan. 6 (7 p.m.) at Buffalo for a matchup with the Bulls, which is 8-4 overall and fell to Eastern Michigan, 67-56, on Saturday in its league opener. On Saturday, Jan. 9, the Chippewas play at Akron (6-5).
Guevara said that her team's all-around team performance in the win over Kent State is the type of play they will need moving forward in the MAC Schedule.
"When you have more people that are contributing, it's harder to defend a team like that," she said. "It's almost like you have to pick your poison, but we're still going to poison you."
