Chippewas Eye 12-0 Start In MAC

Saturday, February 15

Mount Pleasant, MI

1:00 p.m.

Central Michigan University

Bowling Green

Tickets

Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf

2/14/2020 4:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball

CMU women entertain Bowling Green on Saturday

By: Jake Polack, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan women's basketball team will return to the court on Saturday (1 p.m.) when it plays host to Bowling Green in a Mid-American Conference game at McGuirk Arena.

CMU is 18-4, 11-0 MAC, good for first in the MAC West with a three-game lead over Ball State. The Chippewas hold a three-game lead over Ball State and Ohio in the overall MAC standings.

The Chippewas did not have a midweek game for the first time since the start of the MAC schedule on Jan. 4. CMU defeated Miami (Ohio), 99-87, last Saturday.

"The whole goal is to be playing our best basketball come March," CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "I thought we took some steps in the Miami game as far as our offensive execution, but we have to keep getting better in certain areas."

Bowling Green is last in the MAC East and in the overall conference standings at 8-15, 1-10, making it a matchup of teams at the top and bottom of the MAC standings.

The 12-point win over Miami marked CMU's largest margin of victory since Jan. 15, when it defeated Ball State by 27 points. Just three of the Chippewas' 11 conference victories have come by double digits.

Rankings
CMU is ranked sixth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Ohio is the only other MAC team in the rankings (13^th). The Chippewas hold an RPI of 17 of the 351 women's Division I teams. The next-best RPI among MAC teams if Ohio's 48. Ball State (64) is the only other MAC team with an RPI in the top 100.

Leaders
CMU junior guard Micaela Kelly looked like her usual self against Miami after a stretch of games during which she was held below her scoring average. She dropped 24 points and recorded nine assists in the win over Miami. Kelly shares the MAC lead with Buffalo's Dyaisha Fair in scoring at 22.4 points per game, good for fourth in the nation.

Kelly has been more than a scorer for the Chippewas as of late. She's found her groove as a facilitator, averaging just over nine assists across her last four games. Kelly is tied for first in the MAC in assists per game, averaging 4.7 per.

Kyra Bussell has turned into a go-to option in the paint over the last few games for the Chippewas. She is averaging 17.2 points over her last five games and ranks 14^th in the MAC at 13.7 points a game. Chippewa freshman guard Molly Davis is 13^th in the conference at 13.9 points a game and is fifth with 4.3 assists per game.

CMU senior Gabrielle Bird has been one of the MAC's top bench players this season. She went for a career-high 24 points and six 3-pointers in the win over Miami. She's averaging 9.7 points and five rebounds per game.

Scouting
Despite its 1-10 record in conference play, Bowling Green is second in the MAC in scoring at 72.9 points per game. The Chippewas (78.0) are first.

Angela Perry, a 6-foot-2 junior center, leads the Flacons in scoring at 14.1 points per game. She ranks 11^th in the MAC in that category and is first in the conference in field goal percentage (.605). She is fourth in the conference in blocks, averaging 1.2 per contest.

Junior guard Madisen Parker leads the MAC in both 3-pointers per game (3.3) and 3-point field goal percentage (.460). Her 75 3-pointers is 13 more than the next highest total among league players. She is averaging 12.5 points per game.

Next
CMU has a pair of games on its docket next week. The Chippewas will play host to Kent State on Wednesday (7 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena, and then they will travel to Dekalb, Ill. to take on Northern Illinois on Saturday (1 p.m.) at the Huskies' Convocation Center.