Wednesday, November 27
Mount Pleasant, MI
5:00 p.m.
Central Michigan University
2-3,0-0MAC
79
vs
63
Northeastern
0-6,0-0CAA
1
2
3
4
F
Northeastern
10
9
22
22
63
Central Mich.
13
19
20
27
79
Junior Kyra Bussell scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds on Wednesday in CMU's victory over Northeastern at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Chippewas Exploit Height Advantage In Winning Second Consecutive
11/27/2019 8:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Unbeaten Marist, ranked ninth in mid-major poll, comes to McGuirk on Saturday
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan women's basketball coach Heather Oesterle asked for it and her Chippewas delivered.
Kyra Bussell scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds on Wednesday as the Chippewas downed Northeastern, 79-63, in a nonconference game at McGuirk Arena.
It was CMU's second-consecutive win as it improved to 2-3. Marist (5-0) comes to Mount Pleasant on Saturday (1 p.m.) for what should be a showdown between two strong mid-major programs.
"We finally played a game where we had a height advantage," Oesterle said. "So it was nice to get that ball inside and for them to score the ball."
Bussell hit nine of her 13 field goal attempts and the Chippewas outscored the Huskies, 36-20, in the paint.
How It Happened
The Chippewas used two runs to break open the game.
The first came at the end of the first half, when they went on a 12-0 spurt for a 32-19 lead at the break. The second came in the first four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter when they used a 16-4 surge to take command at 68-45.
Bussell and Maddy Watters combined for 10 points during the fourth-quarter spurt.
"I thought we got off to a little bit of a slow start," Oesterle said. "It was kind of like, 'Where is our energy?' Then I thought we picked it up. We went on a little bit of a run in the first half that helped us carry the momentum in the second half. I thought we did a good job of getting the ball inside (the paint) in the second half."
Team Stats
CMU shot 47.5 percent for the day with including 36 percent from the 3-point line. Northeastern shot 38.6 percent from the field including 27.8 percent from the 3-point line.
Defensively, CMU forced 12 turnovers with five of them coming off steals while committing just 11.
Individual Stats
Watters made three of her four 3-point tries for 11 points, her highest point total since she had 17 in the Chippewas' season-opening double-overtime loss to Green Bay.
"My teammates were making good passes," Watters said, "I couldn't get open without them and I couldn't make my shots if I didn't have a good pass. (That's just) my teammates looking out for me."
Statement
Though Northeastern is winless, they Huskies are a good team that has played some very good competition, Oesterle said. Among their opponents this season are No. 1 Oregon and South Dakota, the No. 1 team in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
Marist, Saturday's opponent, is ranked ninth. The Chippewas began the season ranked 12th in the mid-major poll and are now 28th.
"This week is a good resumé builder for us come March and we have to take care of business on our home court," Oesterle said.
Said Bussell: "(This win) shows that we're a threat no matter (who it is). There's five of us on the floor, if one of us is not having a good game, we have four other weapons we can use. We play through all of us. If a team does something where they try to shut one player down, there's so many weapons we can use in so many different ways and fashions.
"If (Kelly) has an off night, that means (Watters) might go off. We feed off each other and if you're doing things that are getting your teammates in good positions, we're going to play good team basketball and we will continue to play the way we want to."
Next
Saturday's game, which tips off at 1 p.m., against Marist is the opener of a women's-men's doubleheader. The CMU men are slated to take on Youngstown State at 4:30 p.m.
Kyra Bussell scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds on Wednesday as the Chippewas downed Northeastern, 79-63, in a nonconference game at McGuirk Arena.
It was CMU's second-consecutive win as it improved to 2-3. Marist (5-0) comes to Mount Pleasant on Saturday (1 p.m.) for what should be a showdown between two strong mid-major programs.
"We finally played a game where we had a height advantage," Oesterle said. "So it was nice to get that ball inside and for them to score the ball."
Bussell hit nine of her 13 field goal attempts and the Chippewas outscored the Huskies, 36-20, in the paint.
How It Happened
The Chippewas used two runs to break open the game.
The first came at the end of the first half, when they went on a 12-0 spurt for a 32-19 lead at the break. The second came in the first four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter when they used a 16-4 surge to take command at 68-45.
Bussell and Maddy Watters combined for 10 points during the fourth-quarter spurt.
"I thought we got off to a little bit of a slow start," Oesterle said. "It was kind of like, 'Where is our energy?' Then I thought we picked it up. We went on a little bit of a run in the first half that helped us carry the momentum in the second half. I thought we did a good job of getting the ball inside (the paint) in the second half."
Team Stats
CMU shot 47.5 percent for the day with including 36 percent from the 3-point line. Northeastern shot 38.6 percent from the field including 27.8 percent from the 3-point line.
Defensively, CMU forced 12 turnovers with five of them coming off steals while committing just 11.
Individual Stats
Watters made three of her four 3-point tries for 11 points, her highest point total since she had 17 in the Chippewas' season-opening double-overtime loss to Green Bay.
"My teammates were making good passes," Watters said, "I couldn't get open without them and I couldn't make my shots if I didn't have a good pass. (That's just) my teammates looking out for me."
Statement
Though Northeastern is winless, they Huskies are a good team that has played some very good competition, Oesterle said. Among their opponents this season are No. 1 Oregon and South Dakota, the No. 1 team in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
Marist, Saturday's opponent, is ranked ninth. The Chippewas began the season ranked 12th in the mid-major poll and are now 28th.
"This week is a good resumé builder for us come March and we have to take care of business on our home court," Oesterle said.
Said Bussell: "(This win) shows that we're a threat no matter (who it is). There's five of us on the floor, if one of us is not having a good game, we have four other weapons we can use. We play through all of us. If a team does something where they try to shut one player down, there's so many weapons we can use in so many different ways and fashions.
"If (Kelly) has an off night, that means (Watters) might go off. We feed off each other and if you're doing things that are getting your teammates in good positions, we're going to play good team basketball and we will continue to play the way we want to."
Next
Saturday's game, which tips off at 1 p.m., against Marist is the opener of a women's-men's doubleheader. The CMU men are slated to take on Youngstown State at 4:30 p.m.
Team Stats
NE
CMU
FG%
.386
.475
3FG%
.278
.360
FT%
.778
.875
RB
32
37
TO
12
11
STL
3
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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