Wednesday, February 26
Mount Pleasant, MI
7:00 p.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
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Western Michigan
First-year CMU coach Heather Oesterle and her Chippewas entertain rival Western Michigan on Wednesday.
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Chippewa Women Eye Outright Overall, West Titles
2/25/2020 5:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CMU entertains Western Michigan on Wednesday
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A chance at two outright championships and a step toward history.
The Central Michigan women's basketball team can wrap up the outright Mid-American Conference regular-season and MAC West titles on Wednesday (7 p.m.) when the Chippewas entertain rival Western Michigan at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas, 21-4, 14-0 MAC, clinched a share of both crowns with their 70-66 win on Saturday at Northern Illinois. They have won five-consecutive MAC West championships and four-straight overall regular season titles.
CMU holds a four-game lead – with four games to play – over Ball State and East-leading Ohio, the team that was picked to win the East, the overall crown and the MAC Tournament.
A win on Wednesday would give the Chippewas the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament.
CMU is attempting to become the first team since Bowling Green in 2005-06 to go through the MAC regular season unbeaten. The others who have accomplished the rare feat: Kent State, 1997-98; Bowling Green, 1988-89 and 1986-87; and CMU, 1983-84.
Last Week
Molly Davis scored 26 points – two shy of her career high – in CMU's 71-56 win a week ago over Kent State. Kyra Bussell posted her fourth double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds in the victory over Northern Illinois.
Bussell on Tuesday was named the MAC West Player of the Week. It marked the third time this season she has been so honored.
CMU has won 21 of its last 22 games.
Rankings
The Chippewas are ranked sixth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. No 11 Ohio is the only other MAC team to appear in the rankings.
CMU has an RPI of 18 among 351 Division I teams. The Chippewas have the third-best RPI among mid-majors. Western Michigan has an RPI of 150.
Leaders
Junior guard Micaela Kelly is enjoying a terrific all-around season, appearing in the top 10 in multiple MAC statistical categories. She leads the conference in scoring at 21.7 points per game, good for fourth in the nation.
Additionally, she leads the conference with 4.8 assists per game and continues to rise among the conference leaders in rebounds with her excellent work on the boards as of late. She is averaging 8.7 rebounds over her last nine games and stands at 6.2 boards per game on the season, good for 15th in the league.
Bussell and Davis have been efficient all season alongside Kelly. Bussell is averaging 14.5 points per game, while Davis, a freshman, checks in at 14.3. Bussell is 11th in the league while Davis is 12th.
The duo is among in the top five of conference leaders in field goal percentage as well. Davis is third at .522, while Bussell is fifth at .493.
Davis is among the top five in 3-point percentage, as is CMU junior Maddy Watters. Davis is fourth, knocking down 41.2 percent of her triple tries, while Watters is fifth at 40.9 percent.
Scouting
The Broncos, 15-10, 8-6 MAC, are tied for third in the MAC West with Eastern Michigan.
The Chippewas defeated the Broncos, 80-70, on Jan. 18 in Kalamazoo. Kelly had 31 points that day as the Chippewas rallied from an 11-point third-quarter deficit.
The Broncos will roll out one of the MAC's premier rebounders in Breanna Mobley. Mobley leads the MAC in rebounding as the only player to average double-digit rebounds with 11 per game. She pulled down 16 boards in the first matchup versus the Chippewas.
Jordan Walker is the leading scorer for WMU, checking in at eighth in the league with 15.3 points per game. Mobley is second on the team and 13th in the MAC in scoring with 14.3 points per. Walker and Mobley combined to score just 16 points in the first matchup between the two teams.
Next
The Chippewas are scheduled to go to Ball State on Saturday (1 p.m.). The Cardinals are 18-8, 10-4 and are in second place in the West behind the Chippewas.
Ball State saw its five-game win streak end on Saturday with a 61-58 loss to Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals are scheduled to entertain Toledo on Wednesday.
The Central Michigan women's basketball team can wrap up the outright Mid-American Conference regular-season and MAC West titles on Wednesday (7 p.m.) when the Chippewas entertain rival Western Michigan at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas, 21-4, 14-0 MAC, clinched a share of both crowns with their 70-66 win on Saturday at Northern Illinois. They have won five-consecutive MAC West championships and four-straight overall regular season titles.
CMU holds a four-game lead – with four games to play – over Ball State and East-leading Ohio, the team that was picked to win the East, the overall crown and the MAC Tournament.
A win on Wednesday would give the Chippewas the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament.
CMU is attempting to become the first team since Bowling Green in 2005-06 to go through the MAC regular season unbeaten. The others who have accomplished the rare feat: Kent State, 1997-98; Bowling Green, 1988-89 and 1986-87; and CMU, 1983-84.
Last Week
Molly Davis scored 26 points – two shy of her career high – in CMU's 71-56 win a week ago over Kent State. Kyra Bussell posted her fourth double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds in the victory over Northern Illinois.
Bussell on Tuesday was named the MAC West Player of the Week. It marked the third time this season she has been so honored.
CMU has won 21 of its last 22 games.
Rankings
The Chippewas are ranked sixth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. No 11 Ohio is the only other MAC team to appear in the rankings.
CMU has an RPI of 18 among 351 Division I teams. The Chippewas have the third-best RPI among mid-majors. Western Michigan has an RPI of 150.
Leaders
Junior guard Micaela Kelly is enjoying a terrific all-around season, appearing in the top 10 in multiple MAC statistical categories. She leads the conference in scoring at 21.7 points per game, good for fourth in the nation.
Additionally, she leads the conference with 4.8 assists per game and continues to rise among the conference leaders in rebounds with her excellent work on the boards as of late. She is averaging 8.7 rebounds over her last nine games and stands at 6.2 boards per game on the season, good for 15th in the league.
Bussell and Davis have been efficient all season alongside Kelly. Bussell is averaging 14.5 points per game, while Davis, a freshman, checks in at 14.3. Bussell is 11th in the league while Davis is 12th.
The duo is among in the top five of conference leaders in field goal percentage as well. Davis is third at .522, while Bussell is fifth at .493.
Davis is among the top five in 3-point percentage, as is CMU junior Maddy Watters. Davis is fourth, knocking down 41.2 percent of her triple tries, while Watters is fifth at 40.9 percent.
Scouting
The Broncos, 15-10, 8-6 MAC, are tied for third in the MAC West with Eastern Michigan.
The Chippewas defeated the Broncos, 80-70, on Jan. 18 in Kalamazoo. Kelly had 31 points that day as the Chippewas rallied from an 11-point third-quarter deficit.
The Broncos will roll out one of the MAC's premier rebounders in Breanna Mobley. Mobley leads the MAC in rebounding as the only player to average double-digit rebounds with 11 per game. She pulled down 16 boards in the first matchup versus the Chippewas.
Jordan Walker is the leading scorer for WMU, checking in at eighth in the league with 15.3 points per game. Mobley is second on the team and 13th in the MAC in scoring with 14.3 points per. Walker and Mobley combined to score just 16 points in the first matchup between the two teams.
Next
The Chippewas are scheduled to go to Ball State on Saturday (1 p.m.). The Cardinals are 18-8, 10-4 and are in second place in the West behind the Chippewas.
Ball State saw its five-game win streak end on Saturday with a 61-58 loss to Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals are scheduled to entertain Toledo on Wednesday.
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Players Mentioned
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