Wednesday, March 13
Cleveland, Ohio
12 p.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
Eastern Michigan
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Chippewas Begin Tournament Title Defense On Wednesday
3/12/2019 10:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CMU opens with Eastern Michigan
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Central Michigan women's basketball team begins its quest for the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship on Wednesday (noon) against Eastern Michigan in a quarterfinal game at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Chippewas are the defending tourney champions and the No. 1 seed, fresh off their third-consecutive MAC regular-season title.
CMU, 24-6, will have its work cut out for it in the tournament. A potential second-round matchup looms with No. 4 seed Buffalo on Friday (11 a.m.). The Bulls open the tournament on Wednesday against fifth-seeded Kent State. CMU defeated Kent State, 82-75, on Jan. 19 in Kent, Ohio.
The Chippewas and Bulls have developed a strong rivalry in the recent past, with the Bulls defeating the Chippewas in overtime in the 2016 tournament championship game, and CMU winning last year, 96-91, in a monumental battle in the title game. CMU swept both regular-season games from the Bulls, 76-65, in Mount Pleasant, and 100-95 in Buffalo.
The other side of the bracket features the No. 2 seed, Ohio, and third-seeded Miami (Ohio). Ohio and CMU split their two regular-season meetings with each winning on the road. Miami defeated the Chippewas in Mount Pleasant earlier this season.
The championship game is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16. The winner earns the MAC's NCAA Tournament bid and any of the top four seeds in the tournament – CMU, Buffalo, Ohio and Miami – can make a legitimate case for an at-large NCAA bid.
THE PLAYERS
The Chippewas, as expected, cleaned up on Tuesday when the MAC released its all-conference teams and individual award winners.
CMU senior Reyna Frost was named the MAC Player of the Year, becoming the second Chippewa in as many years to be so honored. Tinara Moore earned the award last season.
Frost and senior guard Presley Hudson – the common denominators in CMU's unprecedented four-year run of success – were named to the All-MAC First Team, while sophomore guard Micaela Kelly was named to the third team.
Frost earned a berth on the all-defensive team, and CMU coach Sue Guevara was named the MAC Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive season.
Frost ranks second in the MAC in scoring at 21.7 points per game and is second in the nation with 13.6 rebounds per game; Hudson ranks third in the MAC in scoring (20.5 points per game) and shares the league lead with 5.7 assists per game. Frost ranks 14th nationally in scoring, while Hudson is 21st. Kelly ranks 12th in the MAC in scoring at 14.0 points per game and is eighth in assists (3.9).
SCOUTING
The Chippewas swept the regular-season series from Eastern Michigan, winning 71-61 in Mount Pleasant in late January, and 87-60 in Ypsilanti two weeks ago.
Eastern's Danielle Minott ranks 15th in the MAC in scoring at 13.6 points per game.
Eastern ranks 11th in the MAC in scoring at 62.1 points per game, and is the league's fourth-best defensive team, allowing 64.4 points per game. The Chippewas are the MAC's highest-scoring team at 80.2 points per game and is fifth in the league defensively (64.6 per).
The Chippewas are outscoring opponents by a league-best 15.6 per game.
RANKINGS
The Chippewas finished the regular season ranked seventh in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Ohio is 15th, Buffalo is 19th and Miami is 23rd.
The Chippewas are the defending tourney champions and the No. 1 seed, fresh off their third-consecutive MAC regular-season title.
CMU, 24-6, will have its work cut out for it in the tournament. A potential second-round matchup looms with No. 4 seed Buffalo on Friday (11 a.m.). The Bulls open the tournament on Wednesday against fifth-seeded Kent State. CMU defeated Kent State, 82-75, on Jan. 19 in Kent, Ohio.
The Chippewas and Bulls have developed a strong rivalry in the recent past, with the Bulls defeating the Chippewas in overtime in the 2016 tournament championship game, and CMU winning last year, 96-91, in a monumental battle in the title game. CMU swept both regular-season games from the Bulls, 76-65, in Mount Pleasant, and 100-95 in Buffalo.
The other side of the bracket features the No. 2 seed, Ohio, and third-seeded Miami (Ohio). Ohio and CMU split their two regular-season meetings with each winning on the road. Miami defeated the Chippewas in Mount Pleasant earlier this season.
The championship game is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16. The winner earns the MAC's NCAA Tournament bid and any of the top four seeds in the tournament – CMU, Buffalo, Ohio and Miami – can make a legitimate case for an at-large NCAA bid.
THE PLAYERS
The Chippewas, as expected, cleaned up on Tuesday when the MAC released its all-conference teams and individual award winners.
CMU senior Reyna Frost was named the MAC Player of the Year, becoming the second Chippewa in as many years to be so honored. Tinara Moore earned the award last season.
Frost and senior guard Presley Hudson – the common denominators in CMU's unprecedented four-year run of success – were named to the All-MAC First Team, while sophomore guard Micaela Kelly was named to the third team.
Frost earned a berth on the all-defensive team, and CMU coach Sue Guevara was named the MAC Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive season.
Frost ranks second in the MAC in scoring at 21.7 points per game and is second in the nation with 13.6 rebounds per game; Hudson ranks third in the MAC in scoring (20.5 points per game) and shares the league lead with 5.7 assists per game. Frost ranks 14th nationally in scoring, while Hudson is 21st. Kelly ranks 12th in the MAC in scoring at 14.0 points per game and is eighth in assists (3.9).
SCOUTING
The Chippewas swept the regular-season series from Eastern Michigan, winning 71-61 in Mount Pleasant in late January, and 87-60 in Ypsilanti two weeks ago.
Eastern's Danielle Minott ranks 15th in the MAC in scoring at 13.6 points per game.
Eastern ranks 11th in the MAC in scoring at 62.1 points per game, and is the league's fourth-best defensive team, allowing 64.4 points per game. The Chippewas are the MAC's highest-scoring team at 80.2 points per game and is fifth in the league defensively (64.6 per).
The Chippewas are outscoring opponents by a league-best 15.6 per game.
RANKINGS
The Chippewas finished the regular season ranked seventh in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Ohio is 15th, Buffalo is 19th and Miami is 23rd.
Players Mentioned
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