CMU Women Look for Bounceback Friday at Home
12/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes: Central Michigan | Saint Joseph's
Cullen Maksimowski, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Losing a close game is disappointing no matter how it's spun. It's more disappointing to lose a close game due to missed opportunities and poor fundamentals.
Those areas are what Central Michigan women's basketball coach Sue Guevara found concerning about her team's performance in a 62-51 nonconference loss at Purdue on Tuesday.
The 10th-year CMU mentor fully expects that her Chippewas (6-3) will tighten up in those areas when they play host to Saint Joseph's on Friday (7 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena.
"(The Purdue game) was pretty even statistically all the way across the board except the offensive rebounds," said Guevara, who will coach her 501st career game on Friday. "I think they had 14 points off offensive rebounds and we lost the game by 11 (points). That's probably the most disconcerting thing for me."
Purdue held a 52-33 rebounding advantage. It was a season-high rebounding deficit for the Chippewas, who saw their win streak end at five games.
"Purdue really beasted us on the boards, but the reason they did that is because we didn't box out," Guevara said.
CMU also struggled mightily on offense, shooting just 30.3 percent from the field in the game. Purdue shot 39 percent.
"When you talk about the shooting percentage, frankly I'm not happy with our offense by any stretch of the imagination," Guevara said. "I think we're taking quick shots, I think we're taking contested shots, and I don't think we're doing a good job of reading the defense.
"There is a lot of things that we need to shore up. Our shot faking, pass faking, and boxing out are things that better be fixed by tomorrow."
Senior forward Jewel Cotton has led the CMU offense, averaging a team-best 14.4 points per gam. She is making 67.4 percent of her field goal attempts, which leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks No. 4 nationally.
Junior guard Cassie Breen is second averaging 14.3 point per game and is knocking down her 3-point attempts at a team-high 39.4-percent clip.
Sophomore forward Reyna Frost leads the Chippewas on the glass with 11.1 rebounds per game. She ranks second in the MAC and 12th nationally.
Chelsea Woods is the Hawks' leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game. Adashia Franklyn is second at 12 point per game.
After Friday's matchup, the Chippewas will have 10 days off before they play host to Illinois, their second Big Ten opponent in three games, on Dec.19. They will then take a nine-day break before going to Middle Tennessee State on Dec. 28 in their final nonconference game. They open MAC play on Saturday, Dec. 31, at Kent State.
"I think we need that break," Guevara said. "Next week we'll do a lot of breakdown stuff and a lot of individual work."
