Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Eastern Michigan
Mission Accomplished
3/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2
Lindsay Gerber, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Almost exactly a year ago, the Central Michigan women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking Mid-American Conference championship loss to Buffalo on an overtime buzzer-beater.
Since then, the Chippewas played each game like a championship game.
Eighteen MAC games later, the mindset has paid off.
The nets were cut following a 71-48 MAC win against Eastern Michigan at McGuirk Arena on Saturday as Central Michigan won the MAC regular-season championship, an achievement that the program hasn't seen in 32 years.
The Chippewas are 23-7 overall, 15-3 MAC. The win gave CMU the second-highest victory total in program history. The record of 27 was set in 1983-84. They also set a program record with 15 home victories, and they earned the first seed following a Ball State overtime loss against Toledo on Saturday.
"Team 49 has an opportunity to do something very special that hasn't been done here before," CMU coach Sue Guevara said. "So it's a really nice thing and I get to enjoy it, then it's time to move on because then we have the conference tournament. It doesn't matter what your seed is because everyone comes in hungry."
The Chippewas began play on Saturday tied with Ball State for the best record in the conference. The Cardinals lost, 76-66, in overtime at Toledo on Saturday. That gave the Chippewas the outright title.
Seniors Jewel Cotton and Jasmine Harris played their final game at McGuirk Arena. Cotton and Tinara Moore scored 14 points each tolead the Chippewas past EMU (6-24, 1-17).
"We're building memories, making memories every day," said Cotton, who has been a part of three MAC West Division championship teams in her time at CMU. "I'm just trying to slow down and take it all in before it's over."
Cotton's halftime buzzer-beater gave the Chippewas their largest first-half lead, 28-16. The hungry champions didn't look back in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 20-14 in the quarter.
"Eastern Michigan did a good job of slowing the game down." Guevara said. "I thought we got a little undisciplined early defensively, but I thought we responded. Obviously our outside game wasn't flowing today, our 3-ball wasn't going, but we were able to get the ball inside.
"Then I thought we did a decent job on the boards, Reyna Frost got aggressive, getting an offensive rebound and going to the basket. This team just responds."
The Chippewas shot 43.3 percent from the field and outrebounded the Eagles, 45-35. Frost finished with 16 rebounds and 12 points, while Presley Hudson had 10 points and five assists. It was Frost's
Micah Robinson led EMU with 19 points.
CMU has a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament in Cleveland. The Chippewas will play a quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 6.
"(At the start of the season) you knew that this team was going to be special. How special? You don't know," Guevara said. "But if you look at our players individually, they've gotten better. My assistant coaches do a great job of developing players, and those kids want to be in the gym. There's a hunger that they have."
That hunger has been fueled by the Chippewas heartbreaking overtime loss in the MAC Tournament final a year ago, when Buffalo inbounded the ball with 3.2 seconds left and scored the game-winning bucket at the buzzer.
"That 3.2?" Guevara said. "That makes you real hungry. Now we have that opportunity to go back."
