Women's Basketball Preview: Personnel Evolves, High Expectations Remain

Fifth-year senior Kalle Martinez (22) is among the veteran leaders of the CMU women's basketball team.

Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22

Women's Basketball Preview: Personnel Evolves, High Expectations Remain

11/3/2021 3:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball

CMU opens at home on Thursday vs. Saginaw Valley State

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The book on top of Heather Oesterle's stack is "Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success," by former NBA coach Phil Jackson.

The gist of the book: Embrace the journey and don't obsess about results.

The results for Central Michigan women's basketball have been pretty darned good since Oesterle became involved in the program more than a decade ago.

The journey? It promises to be interesting in 2021-22 as the Mid-American Conference's premier program adapts to the inevitable in college athletics: A major shift in personnel.

"This team, they like to get better," said Oesterle, who is in her third year as the Chippewas' head coach and her 12^th in the program. "They like the break-down drills. They don't just want to go out, throw the ball out there and hoop. They are kind of obsessed with the idea of getting better. It's been really, really good energy with this group and I like their chemistry. I'm having fun coaching them."

The Chippewas are coming off a MAC Tournament championship and their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. But gone from that team are three starters, led by guard Micaela Kelly, one of the very best to ever play at CMU who in April was drafted by the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA draft.

Also gone are Maddy Watters and Kyra Bussell, who combined to play 245 games and made 142 starts during their respective CMU careers. Kelly, Watters and Bussell accounted for 50 percent of CMU's scoring last season.

But don't feel sorry for Oesterle and her team. There is plenty of returning talent and experience, and more, as usual, waiting in the wings.

Junior guard Molly Davis has established herself as one of the very best in the MAC in her first two years at CMU. Last season, she averaged 20.8 points per game, ranking sixth in the conference and 23^rd in the nation.

Also back is 6-foot-1 senior Jahari Smith, who enters her fourth season as a starter and a year ago finished with a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game, ranking sixth in the MAC. She averaged 7.4 points per game in 2020-21.

"If she has confidence and Molly has confidence, the younger ones are going to come right along faster," Oesterle said. "I've really been impressed with (Smith). This year she's taken another step."

Kalle Martinez, a scrappy fifth-year senior guard, and junior Anika Weekes also return and figure prominently into the mix.

The remainder of the roster comprises freshmen and sophomores, though the group is not all green. Sydney Graber and Rachel Loobie, both 6-1 forwards, saw more than mop-up duty last season and Oesterle has brought in a strong five-member freshman class that includes a trio of guards, Tiana Timpe, Lisa Tesson and Hanna Knoll.

Those three should help immediately in taking the pressure off of Davis in the backcourt.

The Chippewas open on Thursday (7 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena against Saginaw Valley State and then jump into their customary rugged nonconference slate on Tuesday, Nov. 9, when they welcome 17^th-ranked Georgia Tech to Mount Pleasant.

The Chippewas' nonleague slate also features a home game (Nov. 20) with No. 11 Michigan. CMU is 14^th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 preseason poll.

"That's the kind of kid we recruit -- the kid who wants to play Georgia Tech and Michigan and wants to be challenged every single game," Oesterle said. "This schedule's going to challenge us."

But it isn't so much about the opponent, Oesterle added, but about the Chippewas themselves as she looks to blend the veterans, led by Davis and Smith, with the newcomers as the cast evolves but the expectation of continued success remains.

"It's just about us getting better every day," said Oesterle, who is 41-16 as a head coach and has helped lead the Chippewas to a 245-118 mark (.675 win percentage) since she joined the staff as an assistant in 2010-11. "I do think we could have a really special year. If we continue to focus on each and every day and on not wasting a day.

"Yes, freshmen are going to make freshman mistakes and we're going to have to live with those and move on. I think there's a different energy about our program right now and I think we've got all the right pieces in place."