Saturday, January 18
Kalamazoo, MI
2:00 p.m.
Central Michigan University
12-4,5-0MAC
80
at
70
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Western Michigan
10-6,3-2MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Central Mich.
18
14
17
31
80
Western Mich.
19
14
22
15
70
Micaela Kelly scored 31 points on Saturday as the Central Michigan women came back from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to beat Western Michigan.
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Fourth-Quarter Surge Lifts CMU Women Past Western
1/18/2020 5:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Chippewas remain unbeaten in MAC
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Micaela Kelly scored 31 points and Molly Davis scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half on Saturday as the Central Michigan women's basketball team used a huge fourth quarter in defeating Western Michigan, 80-70, in a Mid-American Conference game at the Broncos' University Arena.
It was the fifth-consecutive win for CMU, which improved to 12-4, 5-0 MAC. The Chippewas are the only undefeated team in the conference and they lead the MAC West by one game over Toledo, which is 4-1 MAC. CMU entertains the Rockets on Saturday, Jan. 25.
"We just beat a good Western team on the road and it's tough to win on the road in the MAC," CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "I'm just proud of the way we came back in the second half."
The Broncos are 11-5, 3-2.
How It Happened
CMU trailed by 11 points, 55-44, late in the third quarter and then went on a 25-4 tear to seize a 10-point lead, 69-59, with under four minutes to play in the game.
Sophia Karasinski hit a jumper and Davis beat the third-quarter buzzer with a floating 3-pointer to draw the Chippewas to 55-49 entering the fourth. Then CMU turned on the jets, outscoring the Broncos 20-4 over the first 6:17 of the final stanza.
Davis, a freshman, led the fourth-quarter charge, and the Chippewas got a major contribution from Gabrielle Bird off the bench.
Davis scored 12 of her points in the quarter, and Bird hit two 3-pointers and finished the quarter with eight points. She hit three triples and finished with 13 in the game.
Western Michigan crept within five points, 73-68, with 47 seconds remaining, but the Chippewas made seven of their eight free-throw attempts over the final 43 seconds to ice it.
When the dust settled, the Chippewas had outscored the Broncos, 31-15, in the fourth quarter. The 31 points was a season high for a quarter for CMU.
"Molly Davis came alive in the second half," Oesterle said. "The first half she missed a couple (shots) and then she got hesitant. I told her during a timeout, 'I don't have time for you to be a freshman; there's no time,' and she goes, 'I got you.' So then she hit that (third-quarter) buzzer-beater and it was over. She's such a good, special player."
Leaders
Kelly bounced back from her 11-point outlier against Ball State on Wednesday, grabbing seven rebounds while posting her fourth 30-point game of the season. She scored 20 points in the first half.
"She's so fast," Oesterle said of Kelly. "When she's hitting her 3 ball she is impossible to guard, because you've got to come up and respect the fact that she hit four 3's in the first half, so now you've got to play her a little tighter and she's got that turbo speed.
"I'm not sure anybody can match that speed in the conference. She's just a special player, I'm glad she bounced back after the game she had against Ball State."
Kyra Bussell led CMU with 11 rebounds.
Next
The Chippewas go to Eastern Michigan for a MAC game on Wednesday, Jan. 22 (7 p.m.). The Eagles are 8-8, 3-2 after a 66-63 loss at Buffalo on Saturday.
It was the fifth-consecutive win for CMU, which improved to 12-4, 5-0 MAC. The Chippewas are the only undefeated team in the conference and they lead the MAC West by one game over Toledo, which is 4-1 MAC. CMU entertains the Rockets on Saturday, Jan. 25.
"We just beat a good Western team on the road and it's tough to win on the road in the MAC," CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "I'm just proud of the way we came back in the second half."
The Broncos are 11-5, 3-2.
How It Happened
CMU trailed by 11 points, 55-44, late in the third quarter and then went on a 25-4 tear to seize a 10-point lead, 69-59, with under four minutes to play in the game.
Sophia Karasinski hit a jumper and Davis beat the third-quarter buzzer with a floating 3-pointer to draw the Chippewas to 55-49 entering the fourth. Then CMU turned on the jets, outscoring the Broncos 20-4 over the first 6:17 of the final stanza.
Davis, a freshman, led the fourth-quarter charge, and the Chippewas got a major contribution from Gabrielle Bird off the bench.
Davis scored 12 of her points in the quarter, and Bird hit two 3-pointers and finished the quarter with eight points. She hit three triples and finished with 13 in the game.
Western Michigan crept within five points, 73-68, with 47 seconds remaining, but the Chippewas made seven of their eight free-throw attempts over the final 43 seconds to ice it.
When the dust settled, the Chippewas had outscored the Broncos, 31-15, in the fourth quarter. The 31 points was a season high for a quarter for CMU.
"Molly Davis came alive in the second half," Oesterle said. "The first half she missed a couple (shots) and then she got hesitant. I told her during a timeout, 'I don't have time for you to be a freshman; there's no time,' and she goes, 'I got you.' So then she hit that (third-quarter) buzzer-beater and it was over. She's such a good, special player."
Leaders
Kelly bounced back from her 11-point outlier against Ball State on Wednesday, grabbing seven rebounds while posting her fourth 30-point game of the season. She scored 20 points in the first half.
"She's so fast," Oesterle said of Kelly. "When she's hitting her 3 ball she is impossible to guard, because you've got to come up and respect the fact that she hit four 3's in the first half, so now you've got to play her a little tighter and she's got that turbo speed.
"I'm not sure anybody can match that speed in the conference. She's just a special player, I'm glad she bounced back after the game she had against Ball State."
Kyra Bussell led CMU with 11 rebounds.
Next
The Chippewas go to Eastern Michigan for a MAC game on Wednesday, Jan. 22 (7 p.m.). The Eagles are 8-8, 3-2 after a 66-63 loss at Buffalo on Saturday.
Team Stats
CMU
WMU
FG%
.424
.406
3FG%
.333
.280
FT%
.750
.583
RB
38
36
TO
11
12
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
31
FGM
11
3FGM
4
FTM
5
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballG
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