Chippewa Women Entertain Kent State On Wednesday

Wednesday, February 19

Mount Pleasant, MI

7:00 p.m.

Central Michigan University

Kent State

Tickets

Photo by: Allissa Rusco

2/18/2020 6:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Central Michigan Game Notes Kent State Game Notes

CMU eyes 13th-consecutive win

By: Jake Polack, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan women's basketball team will attempt to win its 13^th consecutive game as it hosts Kent State on Wednesday (7 p.m.) in a Mid-American Conference game at McGuirk Arena.

The Chippewas, 19-4, 12-0 MAC, have won 19 of their last 20 games and have a three-game lead in the overall MAC standings over Ohio and Ball State, both of whom sport 9-3 conference records.

The Golden Flashes are 14-9, 7-5 MAC. They sit in second place in the MAC East, two games behind Ohio.

Last Week
The Chippewas played just one game last week, benefiting from extra recovery time with no game on Wednesday. They defeated Bowling Green on Saturday, 82-75, to maintain their spotless conference record.

Kyra Bussell led CMU with 23 points and Micaela Kelly came within two assists of her second triple-double of the season in the Chippewas' win against the last-place Falcons. Kelly had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Bussell has emerged as a go-to scoring option for the Chippewas, averaging 21 points over her last five games. Kelly has displayed her versatility as a distributor and on the boards as of late. She's averaging nine rebounds per over her last seven games, along with an average of nine assists per game over her last five.

Rankings
The Mid-Major top 25 on CollegeInsider.com has CMU holding tight at the No. 6 spot. South Dakota is No. 1, followed by Princeton, Gonzaga, Florida Gulf Coast and Missouri State. Ohio is the only other MAC team to appear on the rankings at 13.

The Chippewas hold a 17 RPI 17^th in the nation in RPI. They have the best RPI among MAC teams. Ohio (45) and Ball State (58) are the only other MAC schools with an RPI under 100. Kent State has an RPI of 104.

Leaders
Kelly leads the MAC and ranks fourth in the nation in scoring at 22.3 points per game. Buffalo's Dyaisha Fair is second in the MAC and fifth in the nation at 21.2.

Kelly also leads the MAC in assists with 4.9 per game.

Bussell has jumped ahead of teammate Molly Davis on the MAC scoring leaders, averaging 14.1 points per game, good for 13^th in the conference. Davis is 14^th, averaging 14.0.

Davis is second in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage, knocking down just over 41 percent of her long-range tries. She's also fifth in the conference in assists with 4.3 per game, the highest mark among MAC freshmen.

Scouting
The Golden Flashes rank in the middle of the conference in both scoring and defense. They are fourth in the league defensively, allowing 66.3 points per game.

Freshman Nila Blackford and sophomore Asiah Dingle are Kent State's leading scorers. The duo ranks 15^th and 16^th, respectively. Blackford averages 13.4 points per game, while Dingle averages 13.2. Blackford is fifth in the conference with 7.6 rebounds per game while Dingle is 10^th in the conference in assists.

Kent State sophomore forward Lindsey Thall leads the MAC with two blocks per game and is shooting 37.9 percent on 3-pointers, good for fourth in the conference.

Kent State defeated Toledo, 87-68, on Saturday and has won three of its last four starts.

Next
The Chippewas will travel to Dekalb, Ill. on Saturday (2 p.m.) for a rematch with Northern Illinois. CMU narrowly defeated the Huskies, 66-60, in the first matchup on Feb. 5 at McGuirk arena.