Wednesday, January 29
Buffalo, NY
7:00 p.m.
Central Michigan University
15-4,8-0MAC
98
at
93
Buffalo
13-6,4-4MAC
1
2
3
4
OT 1
OT 2
F
Central Mich.
23
16
27
15
5
12
98
Buffalo
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21
28
20
5
7
93
Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Another Thriller, Another Win
1/29/2020 11:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Chippewas dig deep for double-OT win at Buffalo
BUFFALO, NY – They did it again.
Molly Davis tied her career high with 28 points and Micaela Kelly recorded her first-career triple-double as the Central Michigan women's basketball team defeated Buffalo in double overtime, 98-93, in a Mid-American Conference thriller on Wednesday at the Bulls' Alumni Arena.
The Chippewas, 15-4, 8-0, narrowly maintained their spotless conference record an improved to 2-1 in overtime games this season. They sport a three-game lead in the MAC West following losses by Ball State and Toledo on Wednesday. The Chippewas hold a two-game lead over East-leading Ohio in the overall MAC standings.
The Bobcats, 13-6, 6-2, and Chippewas meet on Saturday (1 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena.
The win over Buffalo marked the fourth-consecutive time that the Chippewas won after trailing in the fourth quarter.
"That was a really good college basketball game," said CMU coach Heather Oesterle. "Those are two good teams going at it."
How It Happened
Disaster struck early in the first overtime for the Chippewas as Kelly, the nation's second-leading scorer, was called for a charge less than a minute into the period, giving her five fouls and forcing her to the bench for the remainder of the game.
Kelly was replaced by sophomore Kalle Martinez, who scored a career-high seven points, all which came in overtime. Martinez, who went five for six from the free throw line, also helped to lock down Buffalo freshman Dyaisha Fair down the stretch. Fair scored 29 points, but did not score in either overtime period.
"I was just proud of the way our team responded when (Kelly) fouled out," Oesterle said. "We had some people step up. Kalle Martinez? She defended their best player (and) down the other end … she hits two big free throws, she gets a steal, a layup. People are stepping up at key moments."
Davis took over in the second overtime for CMU, drilling her career-high-tying fifth 3-pointer of the game with 2:38 to give the Chippewas the lead, 90-89.
Her layup with 1:26 left up the CMU lead to 94-91, and she sank two free throws with 1 second remaining to make it 96-93. Martinez then added two more charity tosses. Davis' 25-point effort came four days after she scored a career-high 28 in a victory over Toledo.
"I'll put our guards with anybody in the country," Oesterle said. "Between (Kelly) and (Davis), the composure they have, their ability to read the defense … it's big time."
The Chippewas drilled 12 3-pointers, including a half-court shot by Davis to beat the third-quarter buzzer.
Leaders
Kelly had a tough night offensively before exiting the game just a minute into the first overtime period. She scored 14 points on five of 17 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-9 clip from 3-point range.
Still, she made a major impact, dishing out a career-high 10 assists and grabbing 10 rebounds.
CMU's Kyra Bussell was an absolute force on the boards, demolishing her previous career-high of 11 rebounds with 17. She scored 15 points for her third double-double of the season.
Maddie Watters and Gabrielle Bird scored 16 and 13 points, respectively, for CMU.
Molly Davis tied her career high with 28 points and Micaela Kelly recorded her first-career triple-double as the Central Michigan women's basketball team defeated Buffalo in double overtime, 98-93, in a Mid-American Conference thriller on Wednesday at the Bulls' Alumni Arena.
The Chippewas, 15-4, 8-0, narrowly maintained their spotless conference record an improved to 2-1 in overtime games this season. They sport a three-game lead in the MAC West following losses by Ball State and Toledo on Wednesday. The Chippewas hold a two-game lead over East-leading Ohio in the overall MAC standings.
The Bobcats, 13-6, 6-2, and Chippewas meet on Saturday (1 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena.
The win over Buffalo marked the fourth-consecutive time that the Chippewas won after trailing in the fourth quarter.
"That was a really good college basketball game," said CMU coach Heather Oesterle. "Those are two good teams going at it."
How It Happened
Disaster struck early in the first overtime for the Chippewas as Kelly, the nation's second-leading scorer, was called for a charge less than a minute into the period, giving her five fouls and forcing her to the bench for the remainder of the game.
Kelly was replaced by sophomore Kalle Martinez, who scored a career-high seven points, all which came in overtime. Martinez, who went five for six from the free throw line, also helped to lock down Buffalo freshman Dyaisha Fair down the stretch. Fair scored 29 points, but did not score in either overtime period.
"I was just proud of the way our team responded when (Kelly) fouled out," Oesterle said. "We had some people step up. Kalle Martinez? She defended their best player (and) down the other end … she hits two big free throws, she gets a steal, a layup. People are stepping up at key moments."
Davis took over in the second overtime for CMU, drilling her career-high-tying fifth 3-pointer of the game with 2:38 to give the Chippewas the lead, 90-89.
Her layup with 1:26 left up the CMU lead to 94-91, and she sank two free throws with 1 second remaining to make it 96-93. Martinez then added two more charity tosses. Davis' 25-point effort came four days after she scored a career-high 28 in a victory over Toledo.
"I'll put our guards with anybody in the country," Oesterle said. "Between (Kelly) and (Davis), the composure they have, their ability to read the defense … it's big time."
The Chippewas drilled 12 3-pointers, including a half-court shot by Davis to beat the third-quarter buzzer.
Leaders
Kelly had a tough night offensively before exiting the game just a minute into the first overtime period. She scored 14 points on five of 17 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-9 clip from 3-point range.
Still, she made a major impact, dishing out a career-high 10 assists and grabbing 10 rebounds.
CMU's Kyra Bussell was an absolute force on the boards, demolishing her previous career-high of 11 rebounds with 17. She scored 15 points for her third double-double of the season.
Maddie Watters and Gabrielle Bird scored 16 and 13 points, respectively, for CMU.
Team Stats
CMU
UB
FG%
.449
.395
3FG%
.308
.240
FT%
.842
.679
RB
51
50
TO
24
16
STL
8
16
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
10
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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