CMU Women Face Another Mid-Major Test

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan women's basketball team returns to the court for the first time in nine days on Saturday.

And there's no easing back into it.

The Chippewas go on the road for the first time in nearly four weeks when they play at South Dakota State on Saturday (3 p.m.).

The Jackrabbits, like the Chippewas, are among the top mid-major teams in the nation, and it's yet another solid test for CMU ahead of the Mid-American Conference opener on Jan. 4 at Akron.

"South Dakota State has played just as tough a schedule as we have and they're getting themselves ready for their conference season," CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "They have a good mix of new players as well as returners from last year who played a lot of minutes. Same as us."

The Chippewas
CMU (4-3) has won four consecutive games, all of them at home, after a 0-3 start. They began the season ranked 12^th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. They are now 14^th.

As expected, Micaela Kelly has established herself as CMU's top scoring threat after the graduation of Presley Hudson and Reyna Frost. Kelly, a junior guard, is averaging 20.4 points per game, which ranks second in the MAC and 14^th nationally. She also leads CMU and ranks fourth in the MAC with 4.1 assists per game.

Kyra Bussell, a 6-foot-1 junior, ranks second in scoring on the team at 15.3 points per game and is leading CMU in rebounding at 6.7 per game. Freshman point guard Molly Davis is the third Chippewa who averages double figures in scoring at 10.6.

Junior guard Maddy Watters has established herself as a legitimate 3-point threat, knocking down 17 of her 33 attempts (51.5 percent). She ranks second in the MAC and seventh in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage.

As a team, CMU is averaging 76.1 points per game, which is second in the league and 43^rd nationally. CMU is making 78.4 percent of its free throw tries, which is 16^th in the nation. Last season, the Chippewas made 77.4 percent of their charity tosses, ranking 11^th nationally.

South Dakota State
South Dakota State, a perennial mid-major power, has won the Summit League regular-season or tournament championship or both in 10 of the last 11 years. Last season, the Jackrabbits won two games in the NCAA Tournament to reach the Sweet Sixteen before bowing to No. 2 Oregon.

They are 6-4 and ranked 12^th in the mid-major poll. Their four losses have come to Florida Gulf Coast, Creighton, Drake and Oregon, a foursome that is a combined 30-6. Oregon is ranked third by the Associated Press. Florida Gulf Coast (fifth) and Drake (sixth) are both in the top 10 in the mid-major poll.

The Jackrabbits have defeated Notre Dame and No. 20-ranked South Florida this season.

South Dakota State features a balanced attack, led by Myah Selland, a 6-foot-1 junior, and Paiton Burckhard, a 6-foot sophomore. Selland leads the Jackrabbits in scoring at 13.8 points per game; Burckhard averages 13.5 is making 56.2 percent of her field goal attempts. She leads the Summit League and ranks in the top 50 in the nation in that category.

Selland and Burckhard are among four Jackrabbits -- Tagyn Larson and Tylee Irwin are the others -- who average 5.0 or more rebounds per game.

"They really move the ball well, inside-outside," Oesterle said. "They're very good passers. Everybody's pretty much a threat from the perimeter and they get good post play inside."

History
This is the third meeting between CMU and the Jackrabbits. South Dakota State defeated the Chippewas, 80-71, in Mount Pleasant last season.

Next
The South Dakota State game is the first of six consecutive on the road for the Chippewas. They play a nonconference game at Oakland on Wednesday, Dec. 18, and then heads to Florida to play Bethune-Cookman (Dec. 28) and Central Florida (Dec. 30).

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Players Mentioned

Kyra Bussell

Molly Davis

Reyna Frost

Presley Hudson

Micaela Kelly

Maddy Watters