Chippewa Women Welcome Ball State On Wednesday

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan women's basketball team will look to extend its win streak and remain in the thick of the Mid-American Conference race on Wednesday when the Chippewas entertain Ball State in a MAC game.

CMU defeated Buffalo, 66-62, on Saturday for its third-straight win. The four-time defending MAC-champion Chippewas are 10-5, 8-3 MAC, one game behind Bowling Green, which is 9-2 in league play.

Kent State is 4-0 in conference play, but the Golden Flashes have had seven conference games postponed, including their last five consecutively.

Ball State is 8-5 and is among three MAC teams that are 6-3 in conference play.

Last Time Out
Micaela Kelly scored 19 points and hit the go-ahead bucket with just over a minute remaining as the Chippewas wrestled away a four-point win at McGuirk Arena from Buffalo.

CMU's Jahari Smith hauled down a career-high 13 rebounds and senior guard Maddy Watters hit four of her seven 3-point attempts in scoring 14 points. Her point and 3-point totals were her highest since she had five triples and 21 points six games prior, a 79-63 victory at Buffalo.

CMU sophomore guard Molly Davis scored 18 points – the first time in four games she hasn't had at least 20 – on 8-of-15 shooting. Davis has made 44 of her 73 field goal attempts (60.2 percent) in her last five games.

Where They Stand
Kelly remains among the top players in the MAC and the nation, averaging 22.5 points per game. She ranks third in the league and 14^th in the country. Davis is averaging 19.3 points per game, ranking seventh in the conference and 42^nd nationally.

Smith ranks eighth in the conference with 7.0 rebounds per game and is averaging 9.6 boards over her past five games.

Davis is making 50.5 percent of her field goal attempts and is averaging 4.2 assists per game. She ranks third in the league in field goal percentage and fifth in assists. Chippewa senior Kyra Bussell is averaging a block per game and is tied for fourth in the conference.

The Chippewas rank first in the conference in field goal percentage (.455), free throw percentage (.793) and 3-pointers per game (10.3). They are second in scoring (77.7 points per game) and are third in 3-point field goal percentage (.359).

The Chippewas are ranked 19^th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. CMU is one of four MAC teams in the poll. Buffalo is 13^th, Ohio is 14^th and Bowling Green is 20^th.

Scouting
The Cardinals have won four-consecutive games, the fourth of which came at Western Michigan on Saturday, 78-71. Those four wins have come by three (twice), four and seven points.

Five Cardinals average double figures in scoring, led by 6-foot-1 senior Oshlynn Brown at 16.7 per game. Brown was a First Team All-MAC selection a year ago and was named to the All-MAC Preseason First Team.

Brown, who also averages 11.6 rebounds per game, missed Ball State's first four games, during which the Cardinals went 1-3. They are 7-2 with her in the lineup.

Next
The Chippewas' next two games are on the road: Saturday at Western Michigan and Wednesday, Feb. 10, at Miami (Ohio).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kyra Bussell

Molly Davis

Micaela Kelly

Jahari Smith

Maddy Watters