Sensational Start

Thursday, November 8

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

7:00 p.m. ET

Central Michigan University

1-0

104

Oakland

1-1

OAKLAND

Central Michigan

104

Photo by: Allissa Rusco

11/8/2018 10:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Chippewas roll past Oakland in season opener

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – No two teams, no matter the composition, are exactly the same.

Still, there was an awfully familiar feel, look and result on Thursday night at McGuirk Arena.

Coach Sue Guevara's Central Michigan women's basketball team opened the season with a 104-61 nonconference victory over Oakland. It's Team 51 – the 51^st season of women's basketball at CMU.

A banner commemorating Team 50's run to the Sweet Sixteen was raised prior to Thursday's game. Now it's Team 51's turn.

And the Chippewas didn't miss a beat. The Big 3 – the returning starting trio of Presley Hudson, Micaela Kelly and Reyna Frost – led a Chippewa squad that looked as impressive as ever, jumping to a 23-14 first-quarter lead and extending it to 56-33 at halftime.

"I thought it was a good opener for us," Guevara said. "I thought it was great that I was able to get everybody in, everybody contributed – maybe it doesn't show up on the stat sheet – but they contributed knowing what we were doing and we'll take the first one and move on."

STARS SHINE
Hudson scored 26 points, Frost had 24, and Kelly finished with 20 to lead the Chippewas. Jahari Smith, a 6-foot freshman, added 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The quartet, none of whom played more than 29 minutes, combined to make 29 of their 48 field goal attempts (60.4 percent).

Frost added 10 rebounds for her 32^nd career double-double.

THE BENCH
All eight reserves played for the Chippewas, and five of them logged double digits in minutes. They combined to score 20 points, led by guard Maddy Watters who hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eight points.

Guevara said she was pleased with the play of her reserves, particularly compared to their collective performance in CMU's exhibition win over Northwood last week.

"I think the bench has a pretty high ceiling," she said. "I think if our bench, if they keep working, they're giving me the confidence to put them in."

3 BALL
The Chippewas made 15 of their 28 3-point attempts. Hudson hit six of her 12 tries from long range, while Kelly was 4-for-4. Frost made two triples, tying her career high.

Kelly made 39.6 percent of her triple attempts a year ago, and her 20-point effort against the Grizzlies marked the fourth time in her career that she has scored at least 20 points.

"(Hudson) gets so much attention that I think they don't look at (Kelly) and she can knock down the 3, obviously," Guevara said. "She doesn't take a whole lot of them, but when she does, they're going in."

CENTURY MARK
The 104 points was more than the Chippewas scored in any game a year ago, a remarkable accomplishment when one considers that CMU won a program-record 30 games in 2017-18. The Chippewas' highest point total last season, 103, also came against Oakland.

Annie Yost, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, gave the Chippewas their 100^th point on Thursday when she hit the first of two free throws with just over a minute to play.

"Annie works really hard," Guevara said. "Annie is a preferred walk-on. She's a Centralis Scholar; yeah, she's pretty smart. She doesn't travel (to road games). But she gives everything she has every single day. For her to get in and then break the hundred mark, yeah that was pretty special. I think you heard the enthusiasm from our bench."

As is typically the case any time a team's reserves see extended playing time, the starters cheered enthusiastically from the bench throughout the fourth quarter as the likes of Yost put their skills on display. The Chippewas outscored the Grizzlies, 20-7, in the final 10 minutes.

"It's just really good because they work really hard in practice as well," Hudson said. "They give us energy when we're out playing so we want to give them energy as well. It's just an amazing feel."

SPECIAL NIGHT
The energy in the arena – the announced attendance was 1,835 – was evident long before the opening tip with the unveiling of the Chippewas' Sweet Sixteen banner.

"It was just a really special night for us," said Hudson, a senior. "You could feel that energy. It was loud, packed and that's what we want every game."

Smith, who made five of her eight field goal attempts and went 4-for-5 from the free throw line, said her first game in McGuirk Arena was special. Watching the Chippewas receive their championship rings prior to their Maroon and Gold scrimmage nearly three weeks ago serves as motivation.

"I want it to be me," she said. "Watching them do what they did last year and seeing all the success and the rings and the banners, I just want it to be me."

NEXT
The Chippewas play host to South Dakota State on Monday, Nov. 12 (7 p.m.). The Jackrabbits opened with a 91-52 loss to No. 19 Marquette on Tuesday. South Dakota State is the defending Summit League champion and finished 26-7 a year ago, bowing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.