Thursday, November 21
Mount Pleasant, MI
12:00 p.m.
Central Michigan University
1-3,0-0MAC
81
vs
80
Dayton
3-2,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
Dayton
18
17
26
10
9
80
Central Mich.
19
19
22
11
10
81
CMU players celebrate their 81-80 overtime victory over Dayton on Thursday at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Oesterle's First Win Is A Barn-Burner
11/21/2019 3:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Kelly carries Chippewas in OT
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A freshman point guard took some big steps, so did a team under a first-year coach.
And in the end, it was the seasoned veteran who delivered when her team most needed her.
Micaela Kelly scored 10 of her career-high 29 points in overtime as the Central Michigan women's basketball team rallied past Dayton, 81-80, before 4,324 on Thursday afternoon at McGuirk Arena.
It was the first win of the season for CMU (1-3), which has played a brutal nonconference slate of ranked teams and mid-major heavyweights. It was also Heather Oesterle's first win in charge of the program.
"We beat a very, very good Dayton team that's going to win a lot of games this year," said Oesterle, whose team lost in double-overtime to Green Bay in its season opener, and then fell at No. 9 Louisville and at Western Kentucky.
"Our team knows that we schedule like this for a reason, and that reason is to get us ready for the (Mid-American Conference)," Oesterle said. "I just wanted this so bad for them because they've been working their butts off, and they've been working so hard even though the other games maybe haven't gone our way. But they realize the bigger picture is March. We're learning lessons right now that are going to help us in the MAC.
"To win in overtime against a team like that is pretty special."
How It Happened
Kelly, a junior guard who has started since she set foot on campus prior to the 2017-18 season, scored on a tough inside shot with 15 seconds to play to put CMU up 81-80. The Chippewas never led in overtime until that point.
In overtime, Kelly made three of her six field goal attempts and all four of her free throw tries. She also grabbed two rebounds, both on the offensive end.
"She took this team on her back," Oesterle said.
Freshman Breaks Out
Freshman guard Molly Davis turned in her best game of her young career, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, both career highs.
It was just the fourth collegiate game for Davis, who hails from Midland. She made nine of her 10 field goal attempts overall including three of four from 3-point range. It was her second double-double after her 15-point, 10-assist performance in her collegiate debut against Green Bay.
"My teammates, my coaches have been getting on me a little bit," Davis said. "They gave me that confidence the entire game. It's finally good to see some 3s go in. I'm getting more comfortable as the games go on, getting put in those kinds of situations, getting that experience. Really excited for what's to come next."
Mission Accomplished
The Chippewas had been outrebounded by an average 14.7 per game in their first three games. They finished with a 43-40 edge on Thursday; it was the first time this season the Chippewas have won the battle of the boards.
That proved decisive, Oesterle said, as the Chippewas limited Dayton to six second-chance points, only two of which came after the first quarter.
"I tell the team that sometimes we're going to be smaller than teams, and we have to just have that much more fight in us," Oesterle said. "We battled; we got down and then we battled back."
Kyra Bussell shared game-high honors in rebounds (10) with Davis, while Jahari Smith added nine.
Happy and Relieved
Said Kelly: "Basically, you just look back it like, we got the dub, we got the first win for H.O., but basically we were just tired of losing so it was like we've got to come together and dig deep. We dug deep, we played together as a team; I give big props to my teammates. We stuck it out and we kept fighting.
"We still have things to fix."
Next
Thursday's game was the first of four consecutive at home for the Chippewas. They entertain Northeastern on Wednesday, Nov. 27 (5 p.m.). The Huskies (0-4) fell to Dayton, 71-60, on Saturday. Two of Northeastern's other three losses have come to No. 1 Oregon and to South Dakota, which is ranked No. 1 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
And in the end, it was the seasoned veteran who delivered when her team most needed her.
Micaela Kelly scored 10 of her career-high 29 points in overtime as the Central Michigan women's basketball team rallied past Dayton, 81-80, before 4,324 on Thursday afternoon at McGuirk Arena.
It was the first win of the season for CMU (1-3), which has played a brutal nonconference slate of ranked teams and mid-major heavyweights. It was also Heather Oesterle's first win in charge of the program.
"We beat a very, very good Dayton team that's going to win a lot of games this year," said Oesterle, whose team lost in double-overtime to Green Bay in its season opener, and then fell at No. 9 Louisville and at Western Kentucky.
"Our team knows that we schedule like this for a reason, and that reason is to get us ready for the (Mid-American Conference)," Oesterle said. "I just wanted this so bad for them because they've been working their butts off, and they've been working so hard even though the other games maybe haven't gone our way. But they realize the bigger picture is March. We're learning lessons right now that are going to help us in the MAC.
"To win in overtime against a team like that is pretty special."
How It Happened
Kelly, a junior guard who has started since she set foot on campus prior to the 2017-18 season, scored on a tough inside shot with 15 seconds to play to put CMU up 81-80. The Chippewas never led in overtime until that point.
In overtime, Kelly made three of her six field goal attempts and all four of her free throw tries. She also grabbed two rebounds, both on the offensive end.
"She took this team on her back," Oesterle said.
Freshman Breaks Out
Freshman guard Molly Davis turned in her best game of her young career, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, both career highs.
It was just the fourth collegiate game for Davis, who hails from Midland. She made nine of her 10 field goal attempts overall including three of four from 3-point range. It was her second double-double after her 15-point, 10-assist performance in her collegiate debut against Green Bay.
"My teammates, my coaches have been getting on me a little bit," Davis said. "They gave me that confidence the entire game. It's finally good to see some 3s go in. I'm getting more comfortable as the games go on, getting put in those kinds of situations, getting that experience. Really excited for what's to come next."
Mission Accomplished
The Chippewas had been outrebounded by an average 14.7 per game in their first three games. They finished with a 43-40 edge on Thursday; it was the first time this season the Chippewas have won the battle of the boards.
That proved decisive, Oesterle said, as the Chippewas limited Dayton to six second-chance points, only two of which came after the first quarter.
"I tell the team that sometimes we're going to be smaller than teams, and we have to just have that much more fight in us," Oesterle said. "We battled; we got down and then we battled back."
Kyra Bussell shared game-high honors in rebounds (10) with Davis, while Jahari Smith added nine.
Happy and Relieved
Said Kelly: "Basically, you just look back it like, we got the dub, we got the first win for H.O., but basically we were just tired of losing so it was like we've got to come together and dig deep. We dug deep, we played together as a team; I give big props to my teammates. We stuck it out and we kept fighting.
"We still have things to fix."
Next
Thursday's game was the first of four consecutive at home for the Chippewas. They entertain Northeastern on Wednesday, Nov. 27 (5 p.m.). The Huskies (0-4) fell to Dayton, 71-60, on Saturday. Two of Northeastern's other three losses have come to No. 1 Oregon and to South Dakota, which is ranked No. 1 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
Team Stats
UD
CMU
FG%
.388
.456
3FG%
.400
.438
FT%
.720
.923
RB
40
43
TO
11
14
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
29
FGM
12
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
C
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