Central Michigan University
Bowling Green
Thrilling Win for CMU Women
2/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Cullen Maksimowski, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Fans inside McGuirk Arena held their collective breath Saturday awaiting the result of a layup that left the fingertips of freshman Presley Hudson a fraction of a second before the final buzzer sounded.
It rolled around and fell through, lifting the Central Michigan women's basketball team to a dramatic 76-75 victory over Bowling Green in a Mid-American Conference battle.
Receiving the inbound pass, down by one, near the 3-point line with just three seconds left, Hudson had to make a tough decision: Shoot the 3 or drive to the basket.
"I thought I was going to come up and shoot the ball, but then I saw an open lane so I was able to get in and get the layup," Hudson said. "Reyna (Frost) set a great screen for me to be able to drive. I felt like I would be able to get there in time and luckily I put it up just before (the buzzer) went off."
The Chippewas move to 15-7 overall with a 9-2 record in the MAC and run their winning streak to six games.
"It's unbelievable, with the youth of this team (that) they don't play like freshman and sophomores," CMU coach Sue Guevara said. "There is a belief in each other, there is chemistry and all the intangibles are there with this team."
Bowling Green poured in 16 3-pointers, led by Rachel Myers, who hit 7-of-11 triples en route to a team-high 24 points.
"I thought we responded really well in taking it one possession at a time," said Guevara. " We withstood 16 threes, we were 0-for-8 on our first eight possessions.
"It would have been real easy for us to fold. It'd be easy to put your head down, but they didn't and I think that's part of the beauty of this team."
CMU trailed by as many as 15 points and didn't take its first lead until a minute remained in the game, when Jewel Cotton, who returned to the court after missing the last three games with injury, hit a tough inside jumper to take a 74-72.
Bowling Green took a 75-74 resulting from three trips to the foul line. The Chippewas got the ball with six seconds left to set up the game winner for Hudson.
Hudson finished the day with 14 points and was 4-of-5 from behind the arc, including a heavily contested NBA-range triple with 6:04 left, highlighting CMU's 17-4 game-ending run.
"When it left my hand it felt good, but then I was like, 'I don't know if it's going in or if it's going to be an air ball' because it looked really high, but it went in thankfully," Hudson said.
It marked the second straight game that the Chippewas have won on the final possession. Reyna Frost came away with a game-saving block at the buzzer in a 66-65 win at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday.
"(Bowling Green) scored 16 3-pointers on us and Eastern made us have 25 turnovers, so being able to fight back from both of those is great," Frost said. "I can't really choose (which felt better), but they were both great games to play in."
Frost led all CMU scorers with 24 points and had five rebounds.
The Chippewas finished the day with a 54.9 percentage on field goal attempts and shot 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from behind the arc. CMU held a 30-25 rebounding advantage.
Cassie Breen, who returned after missing the last game with appendicitis, had 15 points including a 4-of-5 performance from three-point range.
The Chippewas go to Ball State on Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. for a key MAC West game. The Cardinals (16-5, 8-2) trail CMU in the standings by one-half game.
