Chippewas Look To Gain Momentum With Trip To Toledo

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – No looking back, for better or for worse.

Pushed into a corner, the Central Michigan women's basketball team responded. Now, it's time to keep things rolling as the Chippewas hit the midpoint of the Mid-American Conference schedule when they go to Toledo on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.).

CMU is 8-5, 6-3 and coming off a dominant 92-69 win at Akron on Saturday. That victory snapped a three-game losing streak as the four-time defending MAC champions shook off what most ailed them during the skid: slow starts.

The Chippewas scored 32 points in the first quarter against Akron in racing to a 20-point lead. The 32 points matched their season high for a single quarter this season and the 92 points was also a season high.

The elixir? A change in practice schedule, coach Heather Oesterle said. Oesterle shortened practices to 60 minutes but upped the temperature in the gym.

"It's very, very efficient and it's very high energy," she said, adding that getting back in the win column meant getting back to what the Chippewas have always done to be successful: share the load.

What "was hurting us in those three games that we lost is we weren't playing as a team," she said. "We have the most unselfish team, and we weren't being selfish, but we were trying to do it all ourselves.

"We had to get back to playing our type of basketball, with balance, where we don't rely on just two people to score.

"I was really proud of our players because even when we lost, there was never a negativity. It was always like, 'We've got this; we just have to figure it out.' And I think a lot of that has to do with (us being) a veteran team and our leaders.

"I was really proud of the way we handled the adversity, and I also think that it brought us closer together. You either fall apart or you come together, and I think we really came together."

At 6-3, the Chippewas are tied for fourth place in the MAC and well within striking distance of the top spot in the league, and there is plenty of season remaining. They are scheduled to play host to Buffalo on Saturday, Jan. 30 (1 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena. After that, the Chippewas' next three games are against teams that sit behind CMU in the league standings. Buffalo is one-half game ahead of the Chippewas.

Chippewa Trends
• CMU senior guard Micaela Kelly continues to make her case as the MAC's top player – she is the reigning league player of the year – as she is third in the conference in scoring at 23.2 points per game and she ranks in the top 10 in the league in field goal percentage, assists per game and steals per game.

• Sophomore guard Molly Davis scored a career-high 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting in the win over Akron. She had 20 points in each of the Chippewas' previous two games and now ranks eighth in the league in scoring at 18.8 points per game. She is also third in the conference in field goal percentage and free throw percentage and is fourth in assists per game.

• Sophomore guard Anika Weekes had 11 points and 10 rebounds – both career highs – in posting her first career double-double in the win over Akron.

Scouting
The Rockets are 8-5, 4-5 and coming off a 74-65 loss at Buffalo. Toledo is holding opponents to an average of 67.8 point per game, ranking third in the league defensively; the Chippewas are the second-highest scoring team in the MAC (78.2).

Soleil Barnes played her first game of the season for Toledo in its loss at Buffalo. Barnes, who came back from a knee injury, scored 19 points to lead the Rockets.

Barnes is one of three sophomore guards who are Toledo's top threats. Quinesha Lockett averages 17.8 points per game while Sophia Wiard averages 14.5 points and is third in the MAC with 4.7 assists per game.

Toledo's top rebounder (7.7 per game) is 5-foot-10 freshman Sammi Mikonowicz.

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Players Mentioned

Molly Davis

Micaela Kelly

Anika Weekes

Central Michigan University Athletics