Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, December 15
Nashville, Tenn.
6:00 p.m. ET
Central Michigan University
at
Vanderbilt
Senior guard Presley Hudson is poised to become the career leader in 3-pointers in the Mid-American Conference.
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Back At It
12/14/2018 12:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Chippewa women begin rugged 4-game stretch In rush to MAC opener
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan women's basketball team could not have done much more in proving its worth through the first phase of the 2018-19 schedule.
Now, after a near two-week break, the Chippewas return to the court in the run-up to the Mid-American Conference opener. And the schedule doesn't get any easier.
CMU, which is 7-1 and ranked fifth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, goes to Southeastern Conference country on Saturday (6 p.m.) for a date with Vanderbilt. On Thursday, Dec. 20 (7 p.m.), the Chippewas play their first home game in a month when they take on fourth-ranked Louisville.
After that, CMU goes to the Miami Holiday Classic where it will take the court against Tulane and Miami (Fla.) on Dec. 29-30. The combined record of Louisville, Tulane and Miami is 25-4; Louisville, a Final Four team a year ago, is ranked fourth. Miami is ranked 24th.
ANOTHER MILESTONE
CMU senior guard Presley Hudson is the program's leader with 328 career 3-pointers.
Next up: the top spot in the Mid-American Conference.
Hudson's next triple will tie her with Kiyanna Black for first place in career 3-pointers among MAC players. Black played at Ohio from 2012-16.
Hudson became CMU's all-time leader in 3-pointers – surpassing Cassie Breen – during the Chippewas' 80-71 loss to South Dakota State on Nov. 12. Hudson also became CMU career assists leader in that game.
SCOUTING
The Commodores are 4-5 and have won three of their last four starts. Vanderbilt has lost to Connecticut and to North Carolina State. The Wolfpack was ranked 17th at the time, and UConn was ranked second. UConn is now ranked first.
• Marielle Fasoula, a 6-foot-5 junior, leads Vanderbilt in scoring (15.6 points per game) and rebounding (8.0).
• Cierra Walker is the Commodores' outside threat. She has made 39.4 percent of her 3-point tries and is averaging 13.8 points per game.
• The Chippewas beat the Commodores, 92-75, in Mount Pleasant last season in the first meeting between the two programs.
UNUSUAL ARRANGEMENT
Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium is one of the most distinctive in college basketball with its raised court and team benches on the baselines – rather than on the sidelines – of the court.
The positioning of the benches can make it difficult on visiting teams. It is CMU's first visit to Vanderbilt, though CMU coach Sue Guevara has been in the gym during her days as an assistant at Auburn.
"Our players aren't going to be able to hear us, or see us" because of the distance, Guevara said. "I always talk about (that) championship teams are coached by players not so much by coaches because once they set foot on that floor, it's kind of out of my hands."
That will put on the on-court leadership onus on CMU senior guard Presley Hudson and senior forward Reyna Frost.
"It'll be challenging to Pres, challenging to Reyna, as the two seniors to make sure that everybody's on the same page offensively and defensively," Guevara said.
THE DRAWING BOARD
With 13 days off between games, the Chippewas have taken the opportunity to make personnel and strategic adjustments, Guevara said.
Among those is an experimentation with a bigger lineup featuring post players Frost, Kyra Bussell and Jahari Smith on the floor at the same time along with a backcourt of Hudson and sophomore Micaela Kelly.
Having the likes of Frost, Bussell and Smith on the floor at the same times gives CMU a different look, and a different strength.
"Our rebounding is better, our zone (defense) is really big in the back when we do that," Guevara said. "It's just been something to play with; if somebody goes down, I want us to have practiced with the three bigs. And we've put in a couple of different offenses to play with the three bigs."
That trio on the floor would necessitate sending a guard, such as Maddy Watters or Anika Weekes, to the bench and would make most teams vulnerable to full-court pressure.
CMU's backcourt of Hudson and Kelly, however, is not like most teams.
"Between Pres and (Kelly), they can handle anything that anyone wants to bring to us full-court," Guevara said.
MAINTAINING
With some two weeks off from competition, the tendency might be for a team's intensity to fall off and its focus to wane, particularly with a week of final exams.
That has not been the case for the Chippewas, Guevara said.
"I have liked the energy and the focus that our players have had," she said. "I really like how our players take on the accountability.
"I could tell when we started practice (Thursday), they're ready to play. They're itching to play … they can hardly wait for Saturday."
Now, after a near two-week break, the Chippewas return to the court in the run-up to the Mid-American Conference opener. And the schedule doesn't get any easier.
CMU, which is 7-1 and ranked fifth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, goes to Southeastern Conference country on Saturday (6 p.m.) for a date with Vanderbilt. On Thursday, Dec. 20 (7 p.m.), the Chippewas play their first home game in a month when they take on fourth-ranked Louisville.
After that, CMU goes to the Miami Holiday Classic where it will take the court against Tulane and Miami (Fla.) on Dec. 29-30. The combined record of Louisville, Tulane and Miami is 25-4; Louisville, a Final Four team a year ago, is ranked fourth. Miami is ranked 24th.
ANOTHER MILESTONE
CMU senior guard Presley Hudson is the program's leader with 328 career 3-pointers.
Next up: the top spot in the Mid-American Conference.
Hudson's next triple will tie her with Kiyanna Black for first place in career 3-pointers among MAC players. Black played at Ohio from 2012-16.
Hudson became CMU's all-time leader in 3-pointers – surpassing Cassie Breen – during the Chippewas' 80-71 loss to South Dakota State on Nov. 12. Hudson also became CMU career assists leader in that game.
SCOUTING
The Commodores are 4-5 and have won three of their last four starts. Vanderbilt has lost to Connecticut and to North Carolina State. The Wolfpack was ranked 17th at the time, and UConn was ranked second. UConn is now ranked first.
• Marielle Fasoula, a 6-foot-5 junior, leads Vanderbilt in scoring (15.6 points per game) and rebounding (8.0).
• Cierra Walker is the Commodores' outside threat. She has made 39.4 percent of her 3-point tries and is averaging 13.8 points per game.
• The Chippewas beat the Commodores, 92-75, in Mount Pleasant last season in the first meeting between the two programs.
UNUSUAL ARRANGEMENT
Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium is one of the most distinctive in college basketball with its raised court and team benches on the baselines – rather than on the sidelines – of the court.
The positioning of the benches can make it difficult on visiting teams. It is CMU's first visit to Vanderbilt, though CMU coach Sue Guevara has been in the gym during her days as an assistant at Auburn.
"Our players aren't going to be able to hear us, or see us" because of the distance, Guevara said. "I always talk about (that) championship teams are coached by players not so much by coaches because once they set foot on that floor, it's kind of out of my hands."
That will put on the on-court leadership onus on CMU senior guard Presley Hudson and senior forward Reyna Frost.
"It'll be challenging to Pres, challenging to Reyna, as the two seniors to make sure that everybody's on the same page offensively and defensively," Guevara said.
THE DRAWING BOARD
With 13 days off between games, the Chippewas have taken the opportunity to make personnel and strategic adjustments, Guevara said.
Among those is an experimentation with a bigger lineup featuring post players Frost, Kyra Bussell and Jahari Smith on the floor at the same time along with a backcourt of Hudson and sophomore Micaela Kelly.
Having the likes of Frost, Bussell and Smith on the floor at the same times gives CMU a different look, and a different strength.
"Our rebounding is better, our zone (defense) is really big in the back when we do that," Guevara said. "It's just been something to play with; if somebody goes down, I want us to have practiced with the three bigs. And we've put in a couple of different offenses to play with the three bigs."
That trio on the floor would necessitate sending a guard, such as Maddy Watters or Anika Weekes, to the bench and would make most teams vulnerable to full-court pressure.
CMU's backcourt of Hudson and Kelly, however, is not like most teams.
"Between Pres and (Kelly), they can handle anything that anyone wants to bring to us full-court," Guevara said.
MAINTAINING
With some two weeks off from competition, the tendency might be for a team's intensity to fall off and its focus to wane, particularly with a week of final exams.
That has not been the case for the Chippewas, Guevara said.
"I have liked the energy and the focus that our players have had," she said. "I really like how our players take on the accountability.
"I could tell when we started practice (Thursday), they're ready to play. They're itching to play … they can hardly wait for Saturday."
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballWBB Annual Golf Outing
Friday, September 12
WBB Practice
Friday, July 04
MAC WBB Tournament Press Conference
Wednesday, March 12
Video Podcast: Amy Folan Connection-Women's Basketball March Madness and the Growth of the Game
Wednesday, March 12