Thursday, December 20
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7:00 p.m. ET
Central Michigan University
8-2
68
vs
72
No.3 Louisville
12-0
1
2
3
4
F
Louisville
21
11
20
20
72
Central Michigan
17
11
21
19
68
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Chippewas Take No. 3 Louisville To The Wire
12/20/2018 11:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CMU falls, 72-68, in electric atmosphere at McGuirk Arena
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – No, it wasn't a victory.
But Central Michigan women's basketball coach Sue Guevara and the 2,833 Chippewa fans in McGuirk Arena could not have asked for much more than they got from their beloved team on Thursday night.
All-American Asia Durr scored 26 of her 31 points in the second half as No. 3 Louisville held off the hard-charging Chippewas, 72-68, before a raucous partisan crowd.
"I'm very happy with the way that we competed," Guevara said. "I'm not sure I could ask for a whole lot more except maybe a few more shots to go in. But with the tenacity that we played with for 40 minutes, I'm happy with the effort. Never happy about losing.
"We can compete with some of the best teams in the country and I think that we're a pretty darned good basketball team. These kinds of games prepare us for March. And that's what this is all about. It's always about that."
The loss ended CMU's win streak at seven games. The Chippewas (8-2) are off until Dec. 29 when they go to the Miami Holiday Classic in Coral Gables, Fla.
Louisville, a Final Four team a year ago, is 12-0. The Cardinals entered the game having beaten their previous 11 opponents by an average of 23.5 points, and just two of their games – a five-point win over Kentucky and a two-point victory over Arizona State – had been decided by less than double digits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Chippewas led just once, 47-46, with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter.
The Cardinals quickly regained the lead, but never got comfortable as the Chippewas continually clawed at their heels throughout the fourth quarter. Five times in the final 10 minutes CMU drew to within a point, the last at 69-68 on a Presley Hudson 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining.
Durr hit two free throws with 16 seconds left to re-up Louisville's lead to three, 71-68. Hudson's potential game-tying 3-pointer with 3 seconds to play was short. Sam Fuehring then made a free throw to ice it.
LEADERS
Senior Reyna Frost scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead CMU, while Micaela Kelly added 19 points. Hudson, who entered the game averaging 23.3 points, finished with 13, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter.
Hudson clearly was the focus of Louisville's defense, and the 5-foot-6 senior guard had to battle for everything she got.
"They're pretty athletic and they're very physical," Guevara said of the Cardinals. "I thought it was a really physical game on (Hudson). She's going to get beat up pretty good so that's why it's good that we have other players step up."
Frost, Kelly and several of their teammates did just that as the Chippewas traded blows with one of the nation's best, and never ceded an inch.
"I think that speaks to the rest of our basketball team," Guevara said. "It's not just Presley Hudson."
The 6-foot Frost, one of the nation's leading rebounders who was honored before the game for becoming the program's career rebounding leader, posted her eighth double-double of the season.
"There's the size of the heart and there's no fear," Guevara said of Frost. "I think that's half the battle. You go in and you go in confidently. And the other thing is, she's put in the work. And that's the bottom line. I think it probably bodes well for her at the next level.
"The consistency that Reyna gives us game in and game out is huge. Very selfless and just a very hard worker."
LOUISVILLE
Durr took over during crunch time, scoring 11 of Louisville's final 12 points. She scored 13 points in the final stanza and finished 10-for-11 at the free throw line and 10-for-18 from the floor.
"She took over," Guevara said. "She got going. We were trying to deny her the ball down the stretch, and she still got the ball. She's an All-American. She's good. She's good."
ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere inside McGuirk Arena was electric from the get-go and remained that way throughout. The 2,833 was the Chippewas' largest crowd of the season – home or away – and it was the largest for a women's game at McGuirk Arena since Nov. 17, 2017, when 3,084 took in CMU's 79-58 victory over College of Charleston.
"A lot of great energy coming from our bench, coming from our crowd and it really helped us, especially in key moments," Frost said. "That was the kind of energy we needed in this game."
HIGH PRAISE
Jeff Walz, who in 12 years has led the Cardinals to three Final Four appearances and two national runner-up finishes, paid the Chippewas a major compliment before the game, Guevara said.
"He just said he really enjoyed watching our team play because they play with a lot of passion and they play with a lot of heart," she said, "and I think that's what you saw tonight."
But Central Michigan women's basketball coach Sue Guevara and the 2,833 Chippewa fans in McGuirk Arena could not have asked for much more than they got from their beloved team on Thursday night.
All-American Asia Durr scored 26 of her 31 points in the second half as No. 3 Louisville held off the hard-charging Chippewas, 72-68, before a raucous partisan crowd.
"I'm very happy with the way that we competed," Guevara said. "I'm not sure I could ask for a whole lot more except maybe a few more shots to go in. But with the tenacity that we played with for 40 minutes, I'm happy with the effort. Never happy about losing.
"We can compete with some of the best teams in the country and I think that we're a pretty darned good basketball team. These kinds of games prepare us for March. And that's what this is all about. It's always about that."
The loss ended CMU's win streak at seven games. The Chippewas (8-2) are off until Dec. 29 when they go to the Miami Holiday Classic in Coral Gables, Fla.
Louisville, a Final Four team a year ago, is 12-0. The Cardinals entered the game having beaten their previous 11 opponents by an average of 23.5 points, and just two of their games – a five-point win over Kentucky and a two-point victory over Arizona State – had been decided by less than double digits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Chippewas led just once, 47-46, with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter.
The Cardinals quickly regained the lead, but never got comfortable as the Chippewas continually clawed at their heels throughout the fourth quarter. Five times in the final 10 minutes CMU drew to within a point, the last at 69-68 on a Presley Hudson 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining.
Durr hit two free throws with 16 seconds left to re-up Louisville's lead to three, 71-68. Hudson's potential game-tying 3-pointer with 3 seconds to play was short. Sam Fuehring then made a free throw to ice it.
LEADERS
Senior Reyna Frost scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead CMU, while Micaela Kelly added 19 points. Hudson, who entered the game averaging 23.3 points, finished with 13, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter.
Hudson clearly was the focus of Louisville's defense, and the 5-foot-6 senior guard had to battle for everything she got.
"They're pretty athletic and they're very physical," Guevara said of the Cardinals. "I thought it was a really physical game on (Hudson). She's going to get beat up pretty good so that's why it's good that we have other players step up."
Frost, Kelly and several of their teammates did just that as the Chippewas traded blows with one of the nation's best, and never ceded an inch.
"I think that speaks to the rest of our basketball team," Guevara said. "It's not just Presley Hudson."
The 6-foot Frost, one of the nation's leading rebounders who was honored before the game for becoming the program's career rebounding leader, posted her eighth double-double of the season.
"There's the size of the heart and there's no fear," Guevara said of Frost. "I think that's half the battle. You go in and you go in confidently. And the other thing is, she's put in the work. And that's the bottom line. I think it probably bodes well for her at the next level.
"The consistency that Reyna gives us game in and game out is huge. Very selfless and just a very hard worker."
LOUISVILLE
Durr took over during crunch time, scoring 11 of Louisville's final 12 points. She scored 13 points in the final stanza and finished 10-for-11 at the free throw line and 10-for-18 from the floor.
"She took over," Guevara said. "She got going. We were trying to deny her the ball down the stretch, and she still got the ball. She's an All-American. She's good. She's good."
ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere inside McGuirk Arena was electric from the get-go and remained that way throughout. The 2,833 was the Chippewas' largest crowd of the season – home or away – and it was the largest for a women's game at McGuirk Arena since Nov. 17, 2017, when 3,084 took in CMU's 79-58 victory over College of Charleston.
"A lot of great energy coming from our bench, coming from our crowd and it really helped us, especially in key moments," Frost said. "That was the kind of energy we needed in this game."
HIGH PRAISE
Jeff Walz, who in 12 years has led the Cardinals to three Final Four appearances and two national runner-up finishes, paid the Chippewas a major compliment before the game, Guevara said.
"He just said he really enjoyed watching our team play because they play with a lot of passion and they play with a lot of heart," she said, "and I think that's what you saw tonight."
Team Stats
UL
CMU
FG%
.429
.456
3FG%
.211
.370
FT%
.824
1.000
RB
32
37
TO
7
15
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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