Central Michigan University
No. 3 seed Ohio State
Sweet 16 Bound!
3/19/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Before Saturday, Central Michigan women's basketball had never won a game in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, coach Sue Guevara's Chippewas are headed to the Sweet 16.
Presley Hudson scored 28 points and the Chippewas made 52 percent of their 3-point attempts in knocking off another giant on Monday night, topping Ohio State, 95-78, in the Buckeyes' St. John Arena in a second-round NCAA Tournament game.
Two days after the 11th-seeded Chippewas toppled sixth-seeded LSU, the Chippewas took down the third-seeded Buckeyes - the Big Ten regular season and tournament champions - on the Ohio State campus. Ohio State is ranked 10th by the Associated Press, LSU is ranked 24th.
The Chippewas never blinked and never backed down against either opponent. When the final horn sounded, senior guard Cassie Breen threw the ball high in the air and ran to her teammates. The celebration that followed started on the court among players and coaches, extended into the stands to include the 250 CMU fans who traveled to the game and concluded with dancing and singing in the locker room.
CMU (30-4) advances to Spokane, Wash., where it will play second-seeded and sixth-ranked Oregon on Saturday. Game time is TBA.
The 30 wins is a program record, and the Chippewas head west after having pocketed the first two NCAA Tournament wins in program history in the past 48 hours.
Cassie Breen added 22 points, Tinara Moore had 20 and Micaela Kelly added 15 for CMU, which outrebounded the Buckeyes, 46-35.
All season, Guevara spoke of going further than last season's squad, one that won a regular-season Mid-American Conference title, but lost in the first round of the MAC Tournament and then in the first round of the WNIT.
"This team will not fold," Guevara said. "This team is very tough. This team is very focused. We know what we have to do and we went out and did it."
What has transpired already qualifies as the finest season in the 50 years of Central Michigan women's basketball. A record 30 victories. Back-to-back wins in the NCAA Tournament - when the program had never won even a single tournament game - and those two wins came over ranked foes.
The tournament wins came a week after CMU won the MAC Tournament to complete the league triple crown, which started with the West Division and overall regular-season championships.
The Chippewas used a pair of big first-half runs - the first 20-1, the second 9-0 - in building a 34-21 halftime lead.
They stepped on the gas in the second half, never letting the Buckeyes gain much traction. CMU, just as it did against LSU on Saturday, played like a mature veteran team accustomed to the pressure of the spotlight.
CMU, which trailed in the first quarter, 15-5, made 14 of its 27 3-point attempts.
"We withstood that first punch," Guevara said. "We didn't melt, we just kept fighting and kept coming back. When we go the momentum, in that second quarter, you could see (Ohio State) got tired. Some of their players had their hands on their knees and we saw that and we said just keep running.
"We don't hope we're going to win, we just keep attacking, and that's what we did."
CMU pushed its lead to 23, 58-35, with under 3 minutes to play in the third quarter and was up 21, 67-46, entering the fourth. The Buckeyes drew to within 13, 82-69, but Hudson hit two free throws with 2:36 to play to make it 84-69, snuffing out Ohio State's last legitimate attempt.
CMU made 25 of its 27 free throws. Hudson was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.
Saturday's opponent, No. 2 seeded Oregon, is 32-4 and ranked No. 6 nationally. The Ducks beat Minnesota, 101-73, in the second round.
Fired Up fans can see the CMU vs. Oregon game in Spokane Arena in Spokane, Wash. CMU fans can ensure they are among fellow Chippewas by purchasing from CMU's Ticket Central. Tickets are on sale for $38 each. Fans can buy online, in person at Ticket Central in the John G. Kulhavi Events Center or by phone by calling 989-774-3045 Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. All seating for CMU fans is based on time of purchase and investment in the program.
