Central Michigan University Athletics
Thursday, November 4
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
69
vs
67
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Saginaw Valley State (EX.)
New-Look Women's Basketball Team Wins Exhibition
11/4/2021 10:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan women's basketball team kicked off the season on Thursday, hanging on for a 69-67 exhibition victory over Saginaw Valley State at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas are scheduled to open the season at home against 17th-ranked Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Nov 8. (6 p.m.).
While CMU made enough plays down the stretch to come out on top, coach Heather Oesterle said her team needs to put more emphasis on offense.
"We worked on the offense in practice, and I don't think it really carried over to the game," said Oesterle, who is beginning her third year at the helm of the program. "I got our freshmen a lot of experience, but we need to play with a bit more urgency."
CMU led 41-28 at halftime and 61-50 after three quarters. The Cardinals outscored CMU, 17-8, in the fourth quarter and briefly took the lead with under a minute to play.
But thanks to solid pressure from veterans Kalle Martinez, Anika Weekes, Molly Davis and Jahari Smith, the Chippewas managed to pull it out.
Weekes scored 17 points and Smith had 11 with 10 rebounds.
"I thought it was ugly, but we played through it," said Smith, one of two seniors on CMU's roster. "There's obviously a lot of things we need to clean up on: Turnovers, guarding somebody, containing somebody on the defensive end."
Oesterle stated the importance of getting her newcomers some court experience to start building cohesion. Her roster includes five freshmen including Tiana Timpe and Hanna Knoll, both of whom started. Those two, along with fellow freshman Lisa Tesson, each logged more than 20 minutes on Thursday.
"It's going to take a minute for them to feel comfortable," Oesterle said. "We're blending the newcomers with the veterans. It's like a new team."
The Chippewas are scheduled to open the season at home against 17th-ranked Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Nov 8. (6 p.m.).
While CMU made enough plays down the stretch to come out on top, coach Heather Oesterle said her team needs to put more emphasis on offense.
"We worked on the offense in practice, and I don't think it really carried over to the game," said Oesterle, who is beginning her third year at the helm of the program. "I got our freshmen a lot of experience, but we need to play with a bit more urgency."
CMU led 41-28 at halftime and 61-50 after three quarters. The Cardinals outscored CMU, 17-8, in the fourth quarter and briefly took the lead with under a minute to play.
But thanks to solid pressure from veterans Kalle Martinez, Anika Weekes, Molly Davis and Jahari Smith, the Chippewas managed to pull it out.
Weekes scored 17 points and Smith had 11 with 10 rebounds.
"I thought it was ugly, but we played through it," said Smith, one of two seniors on CMU's roster. "There's obviously a lot of things we need to clean up on: Turnovers, guarding somebody, containing somebody on the defensive end."
Oesterle stated the importance of getting her newcomers some court experience to start building cohesion. Her roster includes five freshmen including Tiana Timpe and Hanna Knoll, both of whom started. Those two, along with fellow freshman Lisa Tesson, each logged more than 20 minutes on Thursday.
"It's going to take a minute for them to feel comfortable," Oesterle said. "We're blending the newcomers with the veterans. It's like a new team."
Players Mentioned
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