CMU Women Head To Oakland

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan women's basketball team heads to Oakland on Wednesday for a nonconference game with the Golden Grizzlies.

CMU is riding a five-game win streak and is coming off a 79-74 victory at South Dakota State, a strong program that was ranked 12^th last week in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.

The Chippewas were ranked 14^th at the time of the game, and are 10th in this week's poll, which was released today. South Dakota State is 13^th.

Last Time Out
Micaela Kelly scored a career-high 38 points in the Chippewas' win over South Dakota State. The junior guard from Detroit was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week on Tuesday.

The victory was important on several levels, not the least of which was the fact that it came on the road against a team, like CMU, that ranks among the best mid-majors in the nation.

CMU's path to victory was encouraging, too, coach Heather Oesterle said. The Chippewas led for all but 21 seconds of the second half. Kelly hit a 3-pointer with 2:02 to play to put CMU back in front, 71-69, and never trailed again.

"I was so proud of the fact that when South Dakota State made their run and took the lead, that we kept our composure," Oesterle said. "There was zero panic in our huddle and that shows me how mature this team is."

Double Trouble
Kelly and fellow guard Molly Davis, a freshman, are evolving into a strong one-two punch for the Chippewas.

Kelly ranks second in the Mid-American Conference in scoring at 22.6 points per game, while Davis is CMU's third-leading scorer at 11.8 per game.

Davis has scored a combined 32 points in the Chippewas' last two games.

Against South Dakota State, Kelly (7) and Davis (4) both set career highs in 3-pointers.

"With Molly and (Kelly), people have been switching to take our 3-point shooters," Oesterle said. "When you switch a big (player) onto Molly or (Kelly), they're doing a good job of reading what's open. You have to play both of them for the drive and the shot."

Bench Help
The Chippewas have gotten a solid contribution from their bench. In their three games leading up to the South Dakota State contest, the Chippewa reserves outscored their counterparts by an average of 13-plus points per game.

South Dakota State's bench outscored CMU's, 25-10. But it isn't just about scoring, Oesterle said.

"Just the way the bench is coming along and giving us good minutes," she said. "They didn't score a whole lot (against South Dakota State), but we got good defense, rebounding.

"We're definitely farther ahead than I thought we would be just because of how our bench has come along."

Scouting
The Golden Grizzlies (4-5) are playing their first home game since Nov. 11, when they defeated Concordia, 76-42. They have played their last seven games on the road, capped by an 80-66 loss at St. Bonaventure.

Included in Oakland's 3-4 stretch of road games were losses to Michigan State, 76-56, and to Michigan, 79-64.

Jalisah Terry, a junior guard, leads the Grizzlies in scoring at 12.6 points per game, while Kayla Luchenbach and Kahlaijah Dean both average 10.2 points per game. Luchenbach is a 6-foot sophomore, while Dean is a sophomore guard.

Terry is making 91.2 percent of her free throw attempts, ranking 12^th nationally in that category.

Chloe Guingrich, a 5-11 junior guard, leads Oakland in rebounding at 7.4 per game.

Next
The Chippewas head to Florida for two games between Christmas and New Year's.

CMU will take on Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach on Saturday, Dec. 28 (2 p.m.), and then will play Central Florida in Orlando on Monday, Dec. 30 (6 p.m.).

Bethune-Cookman (6-3) is the defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion and last year earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. UCF is 4-4.

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Players Mentioned

Molly Davis

Micaela Kelly

Central Michigan University Athletics