Wednesday, January 8
Athens, OH
7:00 p.m.
Central Michigan University
at
Ohio
Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Chippewa Women Face Early Showdown At Ohio
1/7/2020 4:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CMU, Ohio expected to be cream of the crop in MAC in 2019-20
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Way too early for a biggie?
Hardly. The Central Michigan women's basketball team heads to Ohio on Wednesday in a game that likely will carry long-term implications in the Mid-American Conference race. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Chippewas and Bobcats are both 8-4, 1-0 MAC. CMU, the three-time defending MAC regular-season champion, was picked to finish first in the West Division in the preseason poll of league coaches. Ohio was picked to win the East, the overall regular-season title, and the MAC Tournament.
CMU is 14th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25; Ohio is 12th. CMU carries an RPI of 41, which is best among MAC teams. The Bobcats are 105th.
The Chippewas
CMU outlasted an inspired Akron team, 77-72, in Akron on Saturday in its MAC opener, bouncing back from a 64-58 loss at Central Florida the previous Monday.
Now a dozen games into Heather Oesterle's first year in charge of the program, several storylines – some of them unexpected – have emerged, including the inspiring and consistent play of the bench, led by senior captains Gabrielle Bird and MacKenna Kelly.
Their contributions, along with those from the likes of Kalle Martinez, have been critical.
The Chippewas have also improved their rebounding, a strong suit in the program's recent past, so much so that they are now either winning the battle of the boards or playing opponents even in that category.
The overriding storyline entering the season was the adjustment to Oesterle as she took over the head coaching position from Sue Guevara, and how the Chippewas would adjust to losing to graduation two of the very best to have ever played at CMU, Presley Hudson and Reyna Frost.
Kelly Crushin' It
Junior guard Micaela Kelly has become the Chippewas' star after biding her time and playing her role alongside Hudson and Frost for two years.
Kelly, a quick, athletic and speedy junior guard who possesses great basketball instincts and a strong motor, leads the MAC and ranks No. 2 in the nation in scoring at 24.3 points per game.
On Tuesday, she was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week for the fourth-consecutive time. She scored 31 points in CMU's win at Akron, and had 26 in the loss at Central Florida, one of the nation's top defensive teams.
Kelly has scored at least 30 points in three of CMU's last five games. Over that span, she is averaging 29.6 points per game and has made an astounding 66 percent of her 3-point attempts and 59.4 percent of her field goal tries overall.
Also on Tuesday, Kelly was named to the Her Hoop Stats Mid-Major Player of the Year Mid-Season Watch List. The award goes to the nation's best player from a mid-major school. It is the first such award in women's collegiate basketball. The list comprises 15 players from across the nation.
Scouting
The Bobcats have most certainly had Thursday's game circled on their schedule, which is not unlike most of the Chippewas' MAC brethren.
Long among the league's top programs, Ohio won the MAC East a year ago and then advanced to the league-tournament title game where it lost to Buffalo. The Bobcats returned several key personnel from a team that finished 30-6 and went to the WNIT quarterfinals a year ago.
Two of those key players are Cece Hooks and Erica Johnson. Hooks, a junior, was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year last season and is averaging 14.5 points per game. She is on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List. The award goes to the top point guard in women's college basketball.
Johnson a 5-foot-11 sophomore guard, last season won the MAC Freshman of the Year and MAC Sixth Player of the Year awards. She is averaging 13.8 points and leads the Bobcats in both rebounds (7.4) and assists (5.1) per game.
Another key returnee is senior Amani Burke, who leads Ohio in scoring at 15 points per game.
The Bobcats opened MAC play on Saturday with an 87-67 win at Northern Illinois.
Like CMU, Ohio plays a rugged nonconference schedule. Two of the Bobcats' four losses came during a pre-Christmas road trip to Texas, where they lost to TCU, 79-72, and to Texas, 73-60. Johnson did not play in either game.
TCU is now 10-2 with an RPI of 20, while Texas is 9-5 with an RPI of 67. The Bobcats have also lost to Syracuse, which has an RPI of 54.
Next
The Chippewas entertain Miami (Ohio) in a MAC game on Saturday, Jan. 11 (1 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena. The RedHawks are 7-6, 0-1 after dropping their MAC opener at home to Buffalo, 86-72.
Hardly. The Central Michigan women's basketball team heads to Ohio on Wednesday in a game that likely will carry long-term implications in the Mid-American Conference race. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Chippewas and Bobcats are both 8-4, 1-0 MAC. CMU, the three-time defending MAC regular-season champion, was picked to finish first in the West Division in the preseason poll of league coaches. Ohio was picked to win the East, the overall regular-season title, and the MAC Tournament.
CMU is 14th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25; Ohio is 12th. CMU carries an RPI of 41, which is best among MAC teams. The Bobcats are 105th.
The Chippewas
CMU outlasted an inspired Akron team, 77-72, in Akron on Saturday in its MAC opener, bouncing back from a 64-58 loss at Central Florida the previous Monday.
Now a dozen games into Heather Oesterle's first year in charge of the program, several storylines – some of them unexpected – have emerged, including the inspiring and consistent play of the bench, led by senior captains Gabrielle Bird and MacKenna Kelly.
Their contributions, along with those from the likes of Kalle Martinez, have been critical.
The Chippewas have also improved their rebounding, a strong suit in the program's recent past, so much so that they are now either winning the battle of the boards or playing opponents even in that category.
The overriding storyline entering the season was the adjustment to Oesterle as she took over the head coaching position from Sue Guevara, and how the Chippewas would adjust to losing to graduation two of the very best to have ever played at CMU, Presley Hudson and Reyna Frost.
Kelly Crushin' It
Junior guard Micaela Kelly has become the Chippewas' star after biding her time and playing her role alongside Hudson and Frost for two years.
Kelly, a quick, athletic and speedy junior guard who possesses great basketball instincts and a strong motor, leads the MAC and ranks No. 2 in the nation in scoring at 24.3 points per game.
On Tuesday, she was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week for the fourth-consecutive time. She scored 31 points in CMU's win at Akron, and had 26 in the loss at Central Florida, one of the nation's top defensive teams.
Kelly has scored at least 30 points in three of CMU's last five games. Over that span, she is averaging 29.6 points per game and has made an astounding 66 percent of her 3-point attempts and 59.4 percent of her field goal tries overall.
Also on Tuesday, Kelly was named to the Her Hoop Stats Mid-Major Player of the Year Mid-Season Watch List. The award goes to the nation's best player from a mid-major school. It is the first such award in women's collegiate basketball. The list comprises 15 players from across the nation.
Scouting
The Bobcats have most certainly had Thursday's game circled on their schedule, which is not unlike most of the Chippewas' MAC brethren.
Long among the league's top programs, Ohio won the MAC East a year ago and then advanced to the league-tournament title game where it lost to Buffalo. The Bobcats returned several key personnel from a team that finished 30-6 and went to the WNIT quarterfinals a year ago.
Two of those key players are Cece Hooks and Erica Johnson. Hooks, a junior, was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year last season and is averaging 14.5 points per game. She is on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List. The award goes to the top point guard in women's college basketball.
Johnson a 5-foot-11 sophomore guard, last season won the MAC Freshman of the Year and MAC Sixth Player of the Year awards. She is averaging 13.8 points and leads the Bobcats in both rebounds (7.4) and assists (5.1) per game.
Another key returnee is senior Amani Burke, who leads Ohio in scoring at 15 points per game.
The Bobcats opened MAC play on Saturday with an 87-67 win at Northern Illinois.
Like CMU, Ohio plays a rugged nonconference schedule. Two of the Bobcats' four losses came during a pre-Christmas road trip to Texas, where they lost to TCU, 79-72, and to Texas, 73-60. Johnson did not play in either game.
TCU is now 10-2 with an RPI of 20, while Texas is 9-5 with an RPI of 67. The Bobcats have also lost to Syracuse, which has an RPI of 54.
Next
The Chippewas entertain Miami (Ohio) in a MAC game on Saturday, Jan. 11 (1 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena. The RedHawks are 7-6, 0-1 after dropping their MAC opener at home to Buffalo, 86-72.
Players Mentioned
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