Big Stage, Big Opponent For CMU Women

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – They've played, and beaten, ranked teams in seasons past. They've played, and beaten, teams representing power-5 conferences this season.

No, it isn't an NCAA Tournament game and it isn't a Mid-American Conference game. Still, they don't come much bigger than this – certainly not in December.

Central Michigan, one of the best mid-major women's basketball teams in the nation, will entertain one of the nation's true heavyweights on Thursday (7 p.m.) when Louisville visits McGuirk Arena

The Cardinals (11-0), who made the Final Four a year ago, are ranked third in both the Associated Press and coaches top 25 polls.

The Chippewas are 8-1 and ranked fifth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. CMU made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament last spring.

RARE AIR
At No. 3, Louisville is the highest-ranked opponent the Chippewas have played since they went to South Bend, Ind. to open the 2016-17 season against then-No. 1 Notre Dame.

JUST ANOTHER GAME
CMU senior guard Presley Hudson, the team's linchpin who has helped lead the Chippewas to several victories over perceived superior competition in her career, said the key is to approach Thursday's game as if it were any of the 30 on the Chippewas' regular-season schedule.

"It's the game we love and play every single day," Hudson said. "It's nothing new to us. We're just going to play our game."

It's a formula that helped the Chippewas a year ago in the NCAA Tournament, when they knocked off 24th-ranked LSU and then 10th-ranked Ohio State on the Buckeyes' home floor. Ohio State entered the tournament having won both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships.

This season, the Chippewas have beaten two teams, Virginia and Vanderbilt, from power-5 conferences. The Cavaliers play in the ACC, while Vanderbilt is a member of the SEC. Louisville is a member of the ACC.

"I think experience is huge," Hudson said. "It's something you can't teach because you have to go through it."

SCOUTING
Asia Durr, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, is the engine that makes the Cardinals go. A consensus All-American a year ago, Durr averages 21.7 points per game, which ranks 13^th nationally.

The Cardinals are one of 18 unbeaten teams in Division I. They rank fifth in the nation in scoring at 86.9 points per game, while the Chippewas average 80.

MORE NUMBERS
Hudson ranks fifth in the nation in scoring at 23.3 points per game.

CMU's Reyna Frost ranks 32^nd in the nation in rebounding at 10.7 per game

LAST TIME OUT
The Chippewas won at Vanderbilt, 66-57, outscoring the Commodores 24-11 in the fourth quarter in improving to 6-2 against teams from power-5 conferences since the start of the 2017-18 season.

Frost hit a career-high three 3-pointers – all three during the game-breaking run midway through the fourth quarter – to lead CMU.

Frost, a senior and the program's all-time leading rebounder, has added the long ball to her repertoire since arriving in Mount Pleasant. She made 12 triples a year ago, and is 10-for-19 from beyond the arc this season.

"I've always worked on (the 3 ball) since I've been here … the big thing was my confidence," she said. "I started shooting it a little bit last year but not a whole lot. Over the summer coach (Sue Guevara) wanted me to get the confidence in so I shot a lot of 3s. The more you shoot the more confidence you get."

NEXT
Two more teams that -- what else -- pose stiff tests for the Chippewas.

The Chippewas are scheduled to partake in the Miami (Fla.) Holiday Classic on Dec. 29-30 in Coral Gables, Fla. CMU plays Tulane in its opener and then takes on the host Hurricanes to close it out.

Tulane, which plays in the American Athletic Conference, is 7-2; Miami is 9-2 and ranked 24^th in the Associated Press Top 25, and 23^rd in the coaches poll.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Reyna Frost

Presley Hudson