Chippewa Women Fall, Await NCAA Tournament Fate

Friday, March 15

Cleveland, Ohio

11 a.m.

Central Michigan University

25-7 (15-3MAC)

Buffalo

22-9 (12-6MAC)

Buffalo

Central Michigan

Photo by: Allissa Rusco

3/15/2019 2:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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CMU's MAC Tourney run ends with semifinal loss to Buffalo

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Central Michigan's dreams of a second-consecutive Mid-American Conference Tournament title were dashed on Friday at Quicken Loans Arena.

The top-seeded Chippewas fell to fourth-seeded Buffalo, 82-77, leaving CMU to watch and hope on Monday night when the NCAA makes its selections for the women's tournament.

"It's very disappointing," CMU senior guard Presley Hudson said. "No team wants to (just) get here, they all want to get to the finals, win a championship. But we're not done. Hopefully we'll get to the NCAA Tournament and then be successful from there."

If the Chippewas don't get an NCAA bid, they will go to the WNIT as the MAC regular-season champion.

"I don't know if we're a lock (for an NCAA berth)," CMU coach Sue Guevara said. "I think the only team in the MAC that knows they're a lock is if they win the tournament.

"We won the regular-season (title) and that's a grind, and we've played really well. RPI of 27, strength of schedule of 65. Our nonconference (schedule), the wins that we got and got on the road and then winning the games here in our conference, do I think we deserve to be in? Absolutely. Do I think we're a lock? I'm not on the committee, but I know this team is one of the best teams in the country."

Cierra Dillard, the runner-up to CMU's Reyna Frost for the MAC Player of the Year Award, scored 10 of her 30 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Bulls on Friday. Summer Hemphill added 24 points for Buffalo, which dropped both regular-season meetings to CMU and will play either Ohio or Miami (Ohio) in Saturday's 11 a.m. title game.

Frost scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and sophomore guard Micaela Kelly also scored 21 points for CMU. Maddy Watters added 15 points while Presley Hudson had 10, less than half of her 20.5 per-game average.

"It was a good defensive effort, but I had open shots, I just didn't make them," said Hudson, who made just three of her 15 field goal attempts. "There were some times where I had no one around me and I just couldn't make open shots."

A Dillard three-point play put Buffalo in front for good, 74-73, with 2:16 to play. After a CMU miss, Hanna Hall drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing to extend Buffalo's lead to 77-73. The Bulls made just four of their 19 3-point attempts and were 0-for-10 from long range in the first half.

"I thought we could have been a little bit better defensively, but give credit to Buffalo because they're a good team," Guevara said. "Sometimes, you know, players make big plays and they did."

The Chippewas trimmed their deficit back to two points, 77-75, with under a minute remaining, but Dillard scored on a layup with 34 seconds remaining to re-up the lead to four, 79-75.

CMU's last good opportunity ended in a turnover with 12 seconds remaining.

It was a physical, nip-and-tuck battle and another in a series of close games between two of the MAC's top programs. CMU defeated the Bulls in last season's tournament championship game. In 2016, Buffalo won in overtime in the tourney final.

"Yeah, it was a good battle," Frost said. "We were just struggling down in the post on our end. We were fighting for the boards. We lost the rebounding battle, so that's a big important part of it, too. But credit to Buffalo for that."

It was the final MAC Tournament game for both Frost and Hudson, two of the very best to have ever played at CMU. Hudson is the program's career scoring leader; Frost is the MAC's all-time top rebounder.

Frost is a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award, which goes to the nation's top power forward, and Hudson is a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which goes to its top point guard. Hudson is also scheduled to participate in the national 3-point contest at the men's Final Four in Minneapolis.

CMU is a combined 100-32 over the past four years.

"These two have been in the (MAC Tournament) semifinals or the championship game three out of the last four years," Guevara said. "I don't know how many other teams can say that. These two have led us to that. I think they are tremendous role models.

"If you look at how they have developed their games from when they were freshmen to where they are right now and how hard they work in the classroom. Both of them have been invited to the WNBA Combine.

"They've done a great job of putting their mark on this program, leaving their legacy, and they're not done. I think you're looking at two young women that are going to be future (CMU) Hall of Famers. ... They've made me a really good coach the last four years."