Wednesday, January 6
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
2 p.m.
Central Michigan University
6-2,4-0MAC
83
vs
58
Akron
3-4,0-4MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Akron
20
13
13
12
58
Central Mich.
19
13
28
23
83
CMU senior Maddy Watters drives the lane Wednesday in the Chippewas' MAC victory over Akron.
Photo by: Andy Sneddon
Chippewa Women Surge Past Akron
1/6/2021 5:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CMU remains unbeaten in MAC; big road trip to Buffalo looms
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – It's not about how you start, but how you finish.
Central Michigan outscored Akron, 51-25, in the second half on Wednesday as the Chippewas remained unbeaten in Mid-American Conference play with an 83-58 women's basketball victory at McGuirk Arena.
CMU improved to 6-2, 4-0 MAC as it seeks its fifth-consecutive league championship. It was the fourth-straight loss for the Zips, 3-4, 0-4.
How It Happened
The Chippewas trailed 33-32 at halftime and then went on an 11-0 run over the final 3:20 of the third quarter for a 60-48 lead. CMU bumped the lead to 17, 65-48, on a Micaela Kelly 3-pointer and an Anika Weekes jumper in the first 92 seconds of the fourth quarter and won going away.
"We just came out with urgency," said CMU senior guard Maddy Watters of the Chippewas' second-half surge. "That's what coach (Heather Oesterle) emphasized in the locker room at halftime. We just wanted to come out and do the little things, get rebounds, get 50-50 balls, push in transition. That's what changed."
Said Oesterle, whose team is ranked seventh in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25: "We didn't think that in the first half we played as hard as we possibly could. There's no excuse for not really playing hard and I was proud of them for responding in the second half.
"Hopefully we learned from this game as far as (the importance) of coming out a little bit more aggressive and with a sense of urgency. Give Akron a lot of credit for their game plan coming in. I thought they did a nice job defending us … (and) being physical with our posts inside and we didn't really get those looks and they keyed in on some of our (top scorers)."
Leaders
Micaela Kelly, named to the Midseason Watch List for the Becky Hammon (top mid-major player) Award earlier on Wednesday, scored 22 points to lead four Chippewas in double figures.
Kyra Bussell, back in the lineup after missing last Saturday's 90-87 win at Ohio, had 15 points; Molly Davis had 13; and Watters added 11.
Key Numbers
The Chippewas outrebounded the Zips, 40-26, and held Akron to just eight field goals (on 25 attempts) in the second half.
The Chippewa bench outscored that of the Zips, 26-12. CMU was led in that category by Anika Weekes, a redshirt sophomore who continues to take an ascendant role after missing the 2019-20 season with an injury.
Weekes had six points and a career-high seven rebounds in 25 minutes.
"She had to sit and watch all year last year and (she has) the hunger to play and she's so versatile," Oesterle said of Weekes, who can play any of four positions from shooting guard to center. "If she gets at any point to knocking down that 3-point shot, she's going to be pretty dangerous because she's so long and she can get to the basket. … She's doing a really good job for us."
Next
The Chippewas are scheduled to play at Buffalo in a MAC game on Saturday, Jan. 9 (1 p.m.). Buffalo, which has been among the MAC's elite teams along with CMU and the likes of Ohio over the past half decade, is 6-2, 3-0 and scheduled to play at Eastern Michigan tonight.
Central Michigan outscored Akron, 51-25, in the second half on Wednesday as the Chippewas remained unbeaten in Mid-American Conference play with an 83-58 women's basketball victory at McGuirk Arena.
CMU improved to 6-2, 4-0 MAC as it seeks its fifth-consecutive league championship. It was the fourth-straight loss for the Zips, 3-4, 0-4.
How It Happened
The Chippewas trailed 33-32 at halftime and then went on an 11-0 run over the final 3:20 of the third quarter for a 60-48 lead. CMU bumped the lead to 17, 65-48, on a Micaela Kelly 3-pointer and an Anika Weekes jumper in the first 92 seconds of the fourth quarter and won going away.
"We just came out with urgency," said CMU senior guard Maddy Watters of the Chippewas' second-half surge. "That's what coach (Heather Oesterle) emphasized in the locker room at halftime. We just wanted to come out and do the little things, get rebounds, get 50-50 balls, push in transition. That's what changed."
Said Oesterle, whose team is ranked seventh in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25: "We didn't think that in the first half we played as hard as we possibly could. There's no excuse for not really playing hard and I was proud of them for responding in the second half.
"Hopefully we learned from this game as far as (the importance) of coming out a little bit more aggressive and with a sense of urgency. Give Akron a lot of credit for their game plan coming in. I thought they did a nice job defending us … (and) being physical with our posts inside and we didn't really get those looks and they keyed in on some of our (top scorers)."
Leaders
Micaela Kelly, named to the Midseason Watch List for the Becky Hammon (top mid-major player) Award earlier on Wednesday, scored 22 points to lead four Chippewas in double figures.
Kyra Bussell, back in the lineup after missing last Saturday's 90-87 win at Ohio, had 15 points; Molly Davis had 13; and Watters added 11.
Key Numbers
The Chippewas outrebounded the Zips, 40-26, and held Akron to just eight field goals (on 25 attempts) in the second half.
The Chippewa bench outscored that of the Zips, 26-12. CMU was led in that category by Anika Weekes, a redshirt sophomore who continues to take an ascendant role after missing the 2019-20 season with an injury.
Weekes had six points and a career-high seven rebounds in 25 minutes.
"She had to sit and watch all year last year and (she has) the hunger to play and she's so versatile," Oesterle said of Weekes, who can play any of four positions from shooting guard to center. "If she gets at any point to knocking down that 3-point shot, she's going to be pretty dangerous because she's so long and she can get to the basket. … She's doing a really good job for us."
Next
The Chippewas are scheduled to play at Buffalo in a MAC game on Saturday, Jan. 9 (1 p.m.). Buffalo, which has been among the MAC's elite teams along with CMU and the likes of Ohio over the past half decade, is 6-2, 3-0 and scheduled to play at Eastern Michigan tonight.
Team Stats
UA
CMU
FG%
.393
.469
3FG%
.316
.423
FT%
.889
.923
RB
26
40
TO
20
14
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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