Chippewa Women Pull Out Dramatic Win At Western

Saturday, February 6

Kalamazoo, MI

2 P.M.

Central Michigan University

11-6,9-4MAC

Western Michigan

2-12,1-11MAC

Central Mich.

Western Mich.

Jahari Smith's clutch bucket with 32 seconds remaining put CMU in front for good as the Chippewas defeated Western Michigan in Kalamazoo on Saturday.

Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22

2/6/2021 5:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Jahari Smith scored the go-ahead bucket and Molly Davis hit two clutch free throws in the final 32 seconds on Saturday as the Central Michigan women's basketball team white-knuckled a 74-71 Mid-American Conference come-from-behind victory over Western Michigan at the Broncos' Read Fieldhouse.

CMU improved to 11-6, 9-4 MAC, and has won eight straight over the Broncos. CMU extended its win streak in Kalamazoo to six games. Western is 2-12, 1-11.

Leaders
Davis scored 27 points, Micaela Kelly had 20, and Smith finished 10 for the Chippewas, who were playing without starter Kyra Bussell. Sophomore Anika Weekes started in place of Bussell and paced CMU with nine rebounds, while Smith added eight.

How It Happened
It was a typical Central-Western slugfest as the Broncos gave the short-handed Chippewas everything they wanted and appeared poised to pull off the upset.

Central Michigan trailed for all but a handful of seconds of the first three quarters, was down as many as 11 points in the third quarter and seized its first lead on a Kelly layup with 52 seconds left in the third quarter.

Two Sydney Shafer free throws with 1:23 left put Western up, 71-67, but Davis drilled a 3-pointer with 1:04 left to draw CMU to 71-70. It was Davis' second 3-pointer of the fourth quarter. She scored eight points in the stanza, which featured five lead changes and two ties.

"Molly, she's clutch, she's a gamer," CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "She's the most-competitive kid I've ever been around. She wasn't going to back down at all."

Weekes rebounded a Western miss and Smith converted from in close to put CMU in front, 72-71, with 32 seconds to play. Maddy Watters rebounded another Bronco miss and Davis hit two charity tosses with 17 seconds to play for the final margin.

"I was proud of the way we battled back," Oesterle said. "It wasn't pretty and give Western a lot of credit; their kids hit some big shots down the stretch."

Next
The Chippewas go to Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday, Feb. 10. The RedHawks are 2-15, 1-12 after dropping a 71-69 decision at Kent State on Saturday.