CMU Women Fall To Loyola-Chicago

Saturday, December 11

Mount Pleasant, MI

1 p.m.

Central Michigan University

2-6,0-0MAC

Loyola-Chicago

7-3,0-0MVC

Loyola Chicago

Central Mich.

CMU senior Jahari Smith posted her third triple-double of the season on Saturday at McGuirk Arena.

Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22

12/11/2021 5:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Katherine Schultz, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Loyola-Chicago used a 9-0 run in building a double-digit lead early in the second half on Saturday in defeating Central Michigan, 69-48, in a nonconference women's basketball game at McGuirk Arena.

The Chippewas (2-6) go to Green Bay (4-4) on Dec. 20 (8 p.m.) for their final nonconference game of the season. They open Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at Buffalo.

It was CMU's second straight 21-point loss. The Chippewas fell at home on Tuesday, 79-58, to Oakland.

"I was actually really encouraged after this game," CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "Frustrated but encouraged. I've been harping on (my players) bout being more urgent and being more competitive.

"Coming out of the Oakland game – I thought Oakland bullied us a little bit, taking the ball, especially from our freshmen — and I thought they responded well."

Loyola (7-3) built a 33-20 lead early in the third quarter. Freshman guard Tiana Timpe hit back-to-back three-pointers early in the third as CMU closed the gap to seven, 33-26.

Loyola responded with a 10-2 run to extend its lead to 15, 43-28, and the Chippewas never got their deficit under 10 points the rest of the way.

Timpe, a true freshman, hit a career-high five 3-pointers (on six attempts) to lead the Chippewas with 15 points.

"Now, we're getting into the swing of it," said Timpe, one of four freshmen who average at least 16 minutes per game. "We're learning how each other plays. … I think we're working a lot better together as a team."

CMU senior forward Jahari Smith posted third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Molly Davis added 10 points and made the 148^th 3-pointer of her career, putting her in the top 10 in program history.

"I thought for the most part, we put in a couple different offensive sets for this game just because our ball screens weren't working very well," Oesterle said. "I thought we did a good job executing some of the stuff; we just have to get better."