CMU Women Look To Remain Unbeaten In MAC

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan women's basketball team begins the second half of the Mid-American Conference schedule on Wednesday when it entertains Northern Illinois at McGuirk Arena.

The Chippewas are 16-4, 9-0 MAC. They have won 16 of their last 17 games and lead the MAC West by three games over Ball State and also hold a three-game lead in the overall league standings. The Cardinals and East-leading Ohio are three games back.

Last Week
The Chippewas emerged from what shaped up to be a rugged week with a pair of overtime victories, the first a 98-93 win at Buffalo, and the second a 92-90 triumph over Ohio at home.

The win over Buffalo was the latest chapter in what has unfolded as a hotly contested rivalry between two of the league's premier programs. The win over Ohio was CMU's second over the Bobcats this season.

Ohio was picked to win the MAC East, the overall league regular-season title, and the MAC Tournament in the preseason coaches poll. The Chippewas, the three-time defending regular-season champions, were picked to win their fifth-straight West crown.

Rankings
CMU is seventh in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, while Ohio is 14^th and Buffalo is 18^th. ESPNW.com women's basketball writer Graham Hays ranks the Chippewas fifth in his mid-major top 10.

CMU has an RPI of 17, the best among MAC teams, while Ohio is the next MAC team in the RPI at 68. Buffalo has an RPI of 91. Ball State (76) is the only other MAC team with an RPI in the top 100.

Accolades
The individual honors continue to roll in for the Chippewas.

Freshman guard Molly Davis earned the MAC West Player of the Week Award on Tuesday for her performances in the Chippewas' wins over Buffalo and Ohio. She averaged 25.5 points and made a combined 20 of her 29 field goal attempts in the two wins. She tied her career-high with 28 points and made six of her nine 3-point attempts in the victory at Buffalo.

It marked the eighth time this season -- in 13 weeks -- that a Chippewa has been named the MAC West Player of the Week. Micaela Kelly has earned the honor five times, and junior forward Kyra Bussell has done it twice.

Kelly on Tuesday was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award. ESPNW.com's Hays has Kelly as one of his three front-runners for the mid-major player of the year award.

Leaders
Kelly leads the MAC and ranks third nationally in scoring at 22.8 points per game. Davis is 10^th in the MAC at 14.5 points per game.

Davis is averaging 21 points per game in her last six and has made 45 of her 78 field goal attempts (57.6 percent) over that span.

Davis has made 53 percent of her field goal tries on the season and ranks second in the MAC in that category. She is knocking down 42.3 percent of her 3-point field goal attempts, which is good for third in the league.

Bussell, who is third on the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game, ranks fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (.498) and in rebounds per game (7.7). She scored a career-high 33 points in the win over Ohio and had a double-double – 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds – in the win over Buffalo. She is averaging 11.6 rebounds in her last three games, and 10.4 in her last five.

Kelly is third in the MAC with 4.5 assists per game, while Davis is fourth (4.2).

The Chippewas are scoring 77.6 points per game, which is tops in the MAC and 17^th nationally.

Dramatics
With their two OT victories last week, the Chippewas improved to 3-1 in extra-time games this season. They lost in double OT to Green Bay in their season opener, and then defeated Dayton in overtime.

Of the Chippewas' nine league victories, seven have been decided by seven points or less. They have trailed in the fourth quarter in six of those wins, including the last five in a row.

Scouting
Northern Illinois is 6-13, 2-6, and coming off a 64-63 home win over Buffalo on Saturday. Ally May's layup with 4.9 seconds remaining lifted the Huskies, who trailed 51-43 entering the fourth quarter.

Courtney Woods, at 17.7 points per game, is the lone Huskie who is scoring in double figures. She is the league's fourth-leading scorer. She leads the MAC in free throw percentage (.875).

NIU is averaging a league-worst 64.4 points per game and allowing 71.2 per. They rank 11^th in the 12-team league in that category.

Next
The Chippewas go on the road on Saturday to face Miami (Ohio), which is 10-11, 3-6. The RedHawks have won two straight games and are scheduled to play host to Toledo on Wednesday. CMU defeated Miami, 76-70, on Jan. 11 in Mount Pleasant.

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Players Mentioned

Kyra Bussell

Molly Davis

Micaela Kelly