Friday, November 30
New Rochelle, N.Y.
7:00 p.m. ET
Central Michigan University
at
Iona
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Another Road-Trip Weekend For CMU Women
11/29/2018 1:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Rematch with Quinnipiac set for Sunday afternoon
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan women's basketball team heads east this weekend for a pair of nonconference games with Iona and Quinnipiac.
The Chippewas (5-1) will play Iona (1-4) on Friday (7 p.m.) in New Rochelle, N.Y., and then are scheduled to take on Quinnipiac (3-3) on Sunday (2 p.m.) in Hamden, Conn.
The game with Quinnipiac features plenty of storylines and will provide the Chippewas another good early season barometer.
The Bobcats handed the Chippewas one of their five losses during the 2017-18 season, winning 84-70 in Mount Pleasant. Quinnipiac is the defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion and defeated Miami (Fla.) in its NCAA Tournament opener last season before falling to top-seeded UConn.
Quinnipiac is 3-3 and ranked 10th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll. The Chippewas are ranked fifth. Quinnipiac is the latest solid mid-major program the Chippewas have face this season. Among the others are South Dakota State, Western Kentucky and UCF.
"I don't look at the mid-major rankings," CMU coach Sue Guevara said. "I just know that Western Kentucky and Central Florida, those to me are heavyweights, those are really good basketball teams. We're playing some of the top mid-major schools that can beat major schools.
"It only goes to show that we're not shying away from competition, and UCF doesn't shy away, Western Kentucky doesn't shy away, South Dakota doesn't shy away, and Quinnipiac certainly doesn't either. To me it's like two quality basketball teams, it's an NCAA-type of basketball game that will get these freshman and sophomores ready for that game in March."
"I think we've had a challenging schedule to this point. I think we've answered some of the tests I wondered about (such as) how would we react and play with those types of opponents."
WHERE THEY STAND
CMU ran its win streak to four games last weekend when it beat Virginia and then topped Chattanooga to win the Cavalier Classic in Charlottesville, Va. Those two wins capped a 3-0 week that began with a 75-68 home victory over UCF.
The Chippewas are ranked fifth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll and carry an RPI of 58. They are the second Mid-American Conference school in the RPI behind Buffalo (53). Kent State (84) is next in the RPI.
TRENDS
• CMU senior Reyna Frost was named the MAC West Division Player of the Week on Tuesday after posting two double-doubles and averaging 16.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in the Chippewas' three wins last week.
Frost became CMU's all-time leading rebounder in the Chippewas' 74-61 victory over Virginia. She has 1,163 career boards. She supplanted Crystal Bradford, who had 1,140 rebounds from 2011-15.
Frost is averaging 10.5 rebounds per game, which ranks 37th nationally. Her eight double-doubles this season tie her for eighth in the country.
• Presley Hudson continues to impress in her senior year, leading the Chippewas in scoring (24.8 points per game). She ranks second in the MAC in scoring behind Buffalo's Cierra Dillard (26.6), who is the national leader.
Hudson ranks fourth nationally in scoring, is 23rd in the country in free throw percentage (92.1 percent), and 29th with 5.8 assists per game.
• The Chippewas rank 20th in the nation in scoring at 84.2 points per game, are fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (44.2) and eighth in field goal percentage (50).
BALANCE
Four Chippewas are averaging double digits in scoring. Frost is at 17.2 points per game, Micaela Kelly is at 15.2, and Jahari Smith is averaging 11.
Maddy Watters, the Chippewas' fifth starter, is averaging 9.2 points per game.
Kelly and Watters are sophomores, Smith is a freshman. Watters and Smith have solidified the Chippewas' starting lineup, a major concern entering the season after the graduation of All-American and MAC Player of the Year Tinara Moore and program mainstay Cassie Breen.
"I've been pleased with (Smith) and (Watters)," Guevara said. "Even though they may have struggled one game, they have been able to pull it together and get it back the next game."
SCOUTING
• Iona, which, like Quinnipiac, plays in the MAAC, is coming off a 75-44 loss at Kansas. The Gaels' lone victory came over George Washington, 52-43. They are led in scoring by Morgan Rachu, who averages 16.4 points per game. Iona averages 43.6 points per game, which ranks 345th of the 349 teams in Division I.
The Gaels' roster includes freshman Paulla Weekes, the twin sister of CMU freshman guard Anika Weekes. Paulla Weekes was injured last week and won't play against the Chippewas.
• Quinnipiac finished 28-6 a year ago and are 3-3 this season, with the losses coming to Bucknell, which has an RPI of 22, and to Texas and to Missouri. The Longhorns are ranked 10th nationally by the Associated Press, and the Tigers are just outside the Top 25.
Jen Fay, a 6-foot senior, is Quinnipiac's top scorer (14.3 points per game) and rebounder (6.7).
NEXT
The Chippewas will have 13 days, because of final exams, between their game with Quinnipiac and a game at Vanderbilt, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 15 (6 p.m.).
The Chippewas (5-1) will play Iona (1-4) on Friday (7 p.m.) in New Rochelle, N.Y., and then are scheduled to take on Quinnipiac (3-3) on Sunday (2 p.m.) in Hamden, Conn.
The game with Quinnipiac features plenty of storylines and will provide the Chippewas another good early season barometer.
The Bobcats handed the Chippewas one of their five losses during the 2017-18 season, winning 84-70 in Mount Pleasant. Quinnipiac is the defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion and defeated Miami (Fla.) in its NCAA Tournament opener last season before falling to top-seeded UConn.
Quinnipiac is 3-3 and ranked 10th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll. The Chippewas are ranked fifth. Quinnipiac is the latest solid mid-major program the Chippewas have face this season. Among the others are South Dakota State, Western Kentucky and UCF.
"I don't look at the mid-major rankings," CMU coach Sue Guevara said. "I just know that Western Kentucky and Central Florida, those to me are heavyweights, those are really good basketball teams. We're playing some of the top mid-major schools that can beat major schools.
"It only goes to show that we're not shying away from competition, and UCF doesn't shy away, Western Kentucky doesn't shy away, South Dakota doesn't shy away, and Quinnipiac certainly doesn't either. To me it's like two quality basketball teams, it's an NCAA-type of basketball game that will get these freshman and sophomores ready for that game in March."
"I think we've had a challenging schedule to this point. I think we've answered some of the tests I wondered about (such as) how would we react and play with those types of opponents."
WHERE THEY STAND
CMU ran its win streak to four games last weekend when it beat Virginia and then topped Chattanooga to win the Cavalier Classic in Charlottesville, Va. Those two wins capped a 3-0 week that began with a 75-68 home victory over UCF.
The Chippewas are ranked fifth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll and carry an RPI of 58. They are the second Mid-American Conference school in the RPI behind Buffalo (53). Kent State (84) is next in the RPI.
TRENDS
• CMU senior Reyna Frost was named the MAC West Division Player of the Week on Tuesday after posting two double-doubles and averaging 16.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in the Chippewas' three wins last week.
Frost became CMU's all-time leading rebounder in the Chippewas' 74-61 victory over Virginia. She has 1,163 career boards. She supplanted Crystal Bradford, who had 1,140 rebounds from 2011-15.
Frost is averaging 10.5 rebounds per game, which ranks 37th nationally. Her eight double-doubles this season tie her for eighth in the country.
• Presley Hudson continues to impress in her senior year, leading the Chippewas in scoring (24.8 points per game). She ranks second in the MAC in scoring behind Buffalo's Cierra Dillard (26.6), who is the national leader.
Hudson ranks fourth nationally in scoring, is 23rd in the country in free throw percentage (92.1 percent), and 29th with 5.8 assists per game.
• The Chippewas rank 20th in the nation in scoring at 84.2 points per game, are fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (44.2) and eighth in field goal percentage (50).
BALANCE
Four Chippewas are averaging double digits in scoring. Frost is at 17.2 points per game, Micaela Kelly is at 15.2, and Jahari Smith is averaging 11.
Maddy Watters, the Chippewas' fifth starter, is averaging 9.2 points per game.
Kelly and Watters are sophomores, Smith is a freshman. Watters and Smith have solidified the Chippewas' starting lineup, a major concern entering the season after the graduation of All-American and MAC Player of the Year Tinara Moore and program mainstay Cassie Breen.
"I've been pleased with (Smith) and (Watters)," Guevara said. "Even though they may have struggled one game, they have been able to pull it together and get it back the next game."
SCOUTING
• Iona, which, like Quinnipiac, plays in the MAAC, is coming off a 75-44 loss at Kansas. The Gaels' lone victory came over George Washington, 52-43. They are led in scoring by Morgan Rachu, who averages 16.4 points per game. Iona averages 43.6 points per game, which ranks 345th of the 349 teams in Division I.
The Gaels' roster includes freshman Paulla Weekes, the twin sister of CMU freshman guard Anika Weekes. Paulla Weekes was injured last week and won't play against the Chippewas.
• Quinnipiac finished 28-6 a year ago and are 3-3 this season, with the losses coming to Bucknell, which has an RPI of 22, and to Texas and to Missouri. The Longhorns are ranked 10th nationally by the Associated Press, and the Tigers are just outside the Top 25.
Jen Fay, a 6-foot senior, is Quinnipiac's top scorer (14.3 points per game) and rebounder (6.7).
NEXT
The Chippewas will have 13 days, because of final exams, between their game with Quinnipiac and a game at Vanderbilt, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 15 (6 p.m.).
Players Mentioned
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