Central Michigan University
No. 2 seed Oregon
CMU's NCAA Tournament Run Ends in Sweet Sixteen
3/24/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SPOKANE, WASH. - Down by 15 points at halftime, the Central Michigan women's basketball team came out firing in the third quarter Saturday against Oregon in the third round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
Sophomore guard Presley Hudson, who closed the first half with a 3-pointer, opened the second with another. Then she fed senior forward Tinara Moore for a basket. Hudson scored on the next trip down the floor.
The problem: Oregon answered nearly every basket with one of its own.
When senior guard Cassie Breen hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the quarter, the Chippewas pulled to within nine points at 55-46.
Not enough open shots fell as the 11th-seeded Chippewas fell, 83-69, to No. 2 seed Oregon. The Ducks (33-4) will face Notre Dame (32-3) on Monday in the Spokane Regional final, with the winner advancing to the Final Four.
In the end, the 2017-18 women's basketball team produced memories for a lifetime and the finest season in Central Michigan history. Thirty victories. A victory against a ranked LSU team in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and no-doubter against a ranked Ohio State team in the second round. A Mid-American Conference regular-season title. A MAC Tournament title.
All season, CMU coach Sue Guevara spoke of going further than last season's squad, one that won a regular-season MAC title, but lost in the first round of the MAC Tournament and then in the first round of the WNIT.
"Give a lot of credit to Oregon," Guevara said. "They're tough, they have a lot of weapons. When they're firing, they're firing.
"I cannot tell you enough how proud I am of our team, the way we battled."
CMU (30-5) hung with Oregon in nearly every category. Oregon had two more rebounds than CMU. The Chippewas had one less turnover and four more steals than the Ducks. But the Chippewas were 38-for-78 shooting, 35.9 percent while Oregon was 34-of-69, 49.3 percent. Ruthy Hebard, working inside most the game, led Oregon with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu just missed a triple-double with 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
"We were just going to keep pushing," Breen said. "Whether it was back-to-back threes or Tinara's back-to-back and-one layups, we just wanted to fight."
The loss in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament is the team's first since Feb. 14 at Buffalo, a span of 38 days. The Chippewas put together winning streaks of eight, 12 and 10 games.
The starting five of seniors Moore and Breen, juniors Hudson and Reyna Frost and freshman Micaela Kelly started every game. Along the journey of the season, each found moments to shine.
Frost, a junior forward, averaged a double-double for the season and established herself as one of the nation's best rebounders. The MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player trophy sits in her apartment. DJ Pauly D from "Jersey Shore" wore her No. 13 jersey while performing at Wayside Central in Mount Pleasant earlier this week. She had her usual double-double with 14 rebounds and 10 points against Oregon.
Breen, a senior guard, established a CMU mark for career 3-pointers and finished with 303. She scored in double digits in 21 games, and she finished her CMU career having started 111 of the 130 games she played.
Moore leaves as one of the most accomplished players in CMU history. She was the MAC Player of the Year this season and earned the MAC Defensive Player of the Year her junior and senior seasons. She is first in CMU history in blocks and field goal percentage. She came on strong in the second half against Oregon, scoring 19 of her 23 points.
Hudson, a First Team All-MAC selection for the second consecutive season, continues to get better. She improved her shooting percentage - both overall and from 3-point range - and rebounding average. She is fourth in the NCA in free-throw percentage (.933) and scored in double digits in 33 games, including against Oregon. She had 15 points and five assists against the Ducks.
Kelly, a freshman guard, earned MAC All-Freshman Team honors and scored her season high of 26 points in the MAC Tournament championship game. She hit two 3-pointers and finished with eight points, six assists and two steals against Oregon.
