Special Celebration Highlights CMU Women's Basketball Game

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan women's basketball team will entertain Marist in a nonleague game on Saturday, Nov. 30 (1 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena.

It is the first game of a doubleheader at McGuirk. The Chippewa men are scheduled to entertain Youngstown State at 4:30 p.m.

Last Time Out
On Wednesday, CMU improved to 2-3 with a 79-63 nonconference win over Northeastern. It was the Chippewas' second-consecutive victory.

Team Stats
CMU is averaging 77.2 points per game while 45 percent shooting from the field including 34.5 percent shooting from 3-point range.

The Chippewas are surrendering 84.6 points per game and opponents are making 43.7 percent of their field goal attempts, including 36.1 percent from long range.

Defensively, CMU is forcing teams to 13.4 turnovers per game with 4.8 percent of turnovers coming from steals. CMU is committing 16.2 turnovers per game.

Leaders
Leading CMU in scoring is Micaela Kelly with 20.6 points per game, while Kyra Bussell is averaging 16.2 points per game. Bussell, who leads the Chippewas in rebounding with 8.0 per game, is making 55.7 percent of her field goal attempts.

Freshman point guard Molly Davis leads the Chippewas in assists with 22, averaging 4.4 per game.
Scouting
Marist is 5-0 after a 74-63 victory over Lipscomb on Nov. 23. It is ranked ninth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. The Chippewas are 28^th.

The Red Foxes are averaging 74.2 points per game and are making 47.2 percent of their field goal attempts, including 37.4 percent from 3-point range. Marist is surrendering an average of 59.8 points per game.

Leading Marist in scoring is Rebekah Hand averaging 20 points per game. The 5-foot-10 senior guard is making 51.6 percent of her field goal attempts and 41.2 percent (14 of 34) from beyond the arc.

Grace Vander Weide, a 5-11 senior guard, leads the Red Foxes in rebounding (6.8) and assists (5.4).

Celebration Saturday
At halftime of Saturday's game, CMU will honor former coach Sue Guevara, who retired after the 2018-19 season as the program's all-time winningest coach.

In her 12 years at CMU, Guevara posted a 231-156 recording including 100-33 over her final four seasons. Three times she was named the MAC Coach of the Year and in 2017-18 and earned the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year Award.

In her last three seasons, the Chippewas won three consecutive Mid-American Conference championships and made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2017-18.

"She's meant a ton to me," said CMU coach Heather Oesterle, who played for Guevara at Michigan and served under her as an assistant and then the associate head coach at CMU for nine years. "I met her when I was in middle school, she gave me an opportunity to play college basketball, she helped me get my foot in the door (as a volunteer assistant) at Stanford University.

"The past nine years, from the time I got here, to July when I got the job, she was preparing me for that. I will forever be thankful for her. She's left a legacy here and I just want to make her proud and continue to win championships and to help these young women grow and be ready for their future."

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Players Mentioned

Kyra Bussell

Molly Davis

Micaela Kelly

Central Michigan University Athletics