Central Michigan University
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Western Michigan
CMU Women Hold On For Big Win Over Western
1/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Cullen Maksimowski, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Fans inside McGuirk Arena Wednesday evening saw a different brand of basketball than usual from the Central Michigan women's basketball team.
The Chippewas defeated Mid-American Conference rival Western Michigan, 53-51, in a low-scoring back-and-fourth defensive battle that came down to the final possession.
"I just want everybody to know how pleased I was with our team's defensive effort tonight," CMU coach Sue Guevara said. "Offensively we were struggling and we didn't put our heads down, but we made Western Michigan struggle also with our defense.
"It wasn't the prettiest game in the world but sometimes when the offense isn't going the defense has to be there and that was there today and I was pleased with that."
The Chippewas, who have won three straight games and eight of their last 11, improve to 12-7 overall, 6-2 in the Mid-American Conference. The Broncos are 12-8, 4-4.
It was the first home victory this season in which CMU did not outscore its opponent by at least 10 points and just the second game this season in which the Chippewas failed to reach at least 60 points.
CMU shot 40.4 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from 3-point range and held a 40-34 rebounding advantage.
Western shot 37.3 percent and was limited to 20-percent clip (3-for-15) from behind the arc after entering play with the top 3-point percentage (35.7) in the MAC.
Freshman guard Presley found her rhythm offensively after battling her 3-point stroke in recent weeks, leading CMU with 19 points. She was 4-of-9 from 3-point range.
"This game I was coming in just thinking I have to have a mindset that if I miss a shot I just forget about it and keep pushing," Hudson said.
Hudson played all 40 minutes in the win, the first time she had done that in her collegiate career.
"I was a little tired but I didn't want to show it because you never want to let your opponents see that your tired, so I just kept going," she said.
CMU sophomore Tinara Moore posted her ninth double-double of the season, totaling 12 points and 12 rebounds along with two blocks.
CMU's Amani Corley beat the shot-clock buzzer with a desperation 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 27 seconds remaining to put CMU in front, 53-51. It was just the second triple of the season for Corley, a sophomore guard, and just the fifth of her career.
The was the 15th and final lead change in a game that also featured 11 ties. Neither team led by more than five points at any point in the contest.
"You could just tell (after the shot)," Hudson said. "The whole crowd got on their feet and we just got pumped up from there and we knew we were going to win."
Western missed its final two shot attempts and the Chippewas forced the Broncos into a turnover as they were working for the final shot with under 5 seconds to play.
Miracle Woods scored 18 points and Alex Morton had 10 for Western.
Adding to the excitement of the win, the Chippewas received encouraging news regarding the injury status of Jewel Cotton.
Guevara revealed that an MRI on Cotton's knee, injured in Saturday's win over Akron, came back negative. No timetable was set for the junior forward's return.
The Chippewas will be back in action on Saturday as they host Miami (Ohio) in a MAC matchup in McGuirk Arena. The Chippewas defeated the RedHawks, 72-58, on Jan. 28. Miami is 8-10, 2-5 and snapped a four-game losing streak with a 69-58 win over Buffalo on Wednesday.
