Wednesday, March 10
Cleveland, Ohio
4:00 P.M.
Central Michigan University
16-8,13-6MAC
83
vs
69
Northern Illinois
12-12,10-8MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Northern Ill.
14
14
14
27
69
Central Mich.
16
21
18
28
83
Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Solid And Composed, Chippewas Advance In MAC Tournament
3/10/2021 7:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND – A fast start, a big mid-game run, a rock-solid finish.
And the Chippewas are moving on.
Molly Davis scored 24 points and Micaela Kelly had 23 on Wednesday as the Central Michigan women's basketball team downed Northern Illinois, 83-69, in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
It was the third-straight victory for the Chippewas (16-8), who will play third-seeded Ohio on Friday in a semifinal game. Tipoff is set for approximately 12:30 p.m.
How It Happened
The Chippewas raced to an 11-2 lead to start the game, then used a 16-7 spurt spanning much of the second quarter and the start of the third in building a 41-28 lead.
CMU's lead reached as many as 16 points early in the fourth quarter before NIU drew to within six point three times, the last at 75-69 with 1:27 to play. Davis made eight of her 10 free throw attempts over the final 1:40 and the Chippewas held the Huskies scoreless over the final 1:28 to pull away.
It was, CMU coach Heather Oesterle said, the first time – perhaps all season – that the Chippewas had played four solid quarters.
"We talked a lot about throwing out the scouting report at this point in the season," she said. "We all know each other it's just who wants it more and who's going to be the aggressive team coming out."
Said Kelly: "Basically we knew we had to come out throwing the first punch because they did that to us the last two games we played them."
Distant Memory
The Chippewas defeated the Huskies, 74-68, on Saturday in the regular-season finale, overcoming a 19-point deficit. CMU lost at NIU, 104-73, on Jan. 13. It was one of the worst losses in recent memory for the Chippewas, who went 8-5 after that loss. All five of those losses were by single digits.
"Yes, we got punched in the mouth when we went to Northern," said Oesterle, whose team is playing with just eight healthy players. "We talked to our team the other day that, 'Look, this is the growth we've had since that game happened.'
"I just see a little bit more grit out of us these past few games and I see these eight players that we have really coming together and playing for each other."
Poise and Experience
The Chippewas held their composure down the stretch when NIU, the MAC's best 3-point shooting team percentage wise, kept lapping at their heels.
"We've been here, we've played on this court, our seniors have won a championship here (2018)," said Oesterle, who is in her second year in charge of the program after nine years as an assistant under Sue Guevara. "Back when coach Guevarra was coaching we always called it our home away from home. Give Northern a lot of credit; that's a team that's never out of a ball game because they can shoot the ball so well."
The Chippewas put the ball in the hands of Davis, a sophomore who plays like a senior and who came in making 85.5 percent of her free throw attempts on the season. She finished 12-for-14 from the line.
"She's got, we call it a little bit of swag," Oesterle said. "She (showed) a lot of composure down the stretch."
Big Shots
Senior Maddy Watters and junior Kalle Martinez went a combined 6-for-7 from 3-point range and the Chippewas hit 41.9 percent of their triple tries (13-for-31).
Martinez, one of three reserves who have stepped into higher-profile roles since the Chippewas have lost one-third of their roster to COVID protocols, hit two of her 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep NIU at bay.
Her three triples tied her career high and she logged 21 minutes, matching her season high. Martinez has made seven triples in 11 attempts in CMU's last four games.
"The thing about her 3 ball is she hits those all the time in practice," Oesterle said. "She can really fill it up. I always talk to her about her confidence, throwing her shoulders back and being aggressive and confident when she goes into games and I think she's come a long ways, especially this year.
"We need her, and she's taken on a huge role for us off the bench."
Defense
The Chippewas held NIU to 6-for-24 shooting from behind the 3-point line. In the first two meetings between the two teams, the Huskies made 15 and 10 triples, respectively.
"We wanted to be more aggressive with a team that shoots so well and I we did a good job of running them off the 3-point line most of the game," Oesterle said.
And the Chippewas are moving on.
Molly Davis scored 24 points and Micaela Kelly had 23 on Wednesday as the Central Michigan women's basketball team downed Northern Illinois, 83-69, in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
It was the third-straight victory for the Chippewas (16-8), who will play third-seeded Ohio on Friday in a semifinal game. Tipoff is set for approximately 12:30 p.m.
How It Happened
The Chippewas raced to an 11-2 lead to start the game, then used a 16-7 spurt spanning much of the second quarter and the start of the third in building a 41-28 lead.
CMU's lead reached as many as 16 points early in the fourth quarter before NIU drew to within six point three times, the last at 75-69 with 1:27 to play. Davis made eight of her 10 free throw attempts over the final 1:40 and the Chippewas held the Huskies scoreless over the final 1:28 to pull away.
It was, CMU coach Heather Oesterle said, the first time – perhaps all season – that the Chippewas had played four solid quarters.
"We talked a lot about throwing out the scouting report at this point in the season," she said. "We all know each other it's just who wants it more and who's going to be the aggressive team coming out."
Said Kelly: "Basically we knew we had to come out throwing the first punch because they did that to us the last two games we played them."
Distant Memory
The Chippewas defeated the Huskies, 74-68, on Saturday in the regular-season finale, overcoming a 19-point deficit. CMU lost at NIU, 104-73, on Jan. 13. It was one of the worst losses in recent memory for the Chippewas, who went 8-5 after that loss. All five of those losses were by single digits.
"Yes, we got punched in the mouth when we went to Northern," said Oesterle, whose team is playing with just eight healthy players. "We talked to our team the other day that, 'Look, this is the growth we've had since that game happened.'
"I just see a little bit more grit out of us these past few games and I see these eight players that we have really coming together and playing for each other."
Poise and Experience
The Chippewas held their composure down the stretch when NIU, the MAC's best 3-point shooting team percentage wise, kept lapping at their heels.
"We've been here, we've played on this court, our seniors have won a championship here (2018)," said Oesterle, who is in her second year in charge of the program after nine years as an assistant under Sue Guevara. "Back when coach Guevarra was coaching we always called it our home away from home. Give Northern a lot of credit; that's a team that's never out of a ball game because they can shoot the ball so well."
The Chippewas put the ball in the hands of Davis, a sophomore who plays like a senior and who came in making 85.5 percent of her free throw attempts on the season. She finished 12-for-14 from the line.
"She's got, we call it a little bit of swag," Oesterle said. "She (showed) a lot of composure down the stretch."
Big Shots
Senior Maddy Watters and junior Kalle Martinez went a combined 6-for-7 from 3-point range and the Chippewas hit 41.9 percent of their triple tries (13-for-31).
Martinez, one of three reserves who have stepped into higher-profile roles since the Chippewas have lost one-third of their roster to COVID protocols, hit two of her 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep NIU at bay.
Her three triples tied her career high and she logged 21 minutes, matching her season high. Martinez has made seven triples in 11 attempts in CMU's last four games.
"The thing about her 3 ball is she hits those all the time in practice," Oesterle said. "She can really fill it up. I always talk to her about her confidence, throwing her shoulders back and being aggressive and confident when she goes into games and I think she's come a long ways, especially this year.
"We need her, and she's taken on a huge role for us off the bench."
Defense
The Chippewas held NIU to 6-for-24 shooting from behind the 3-point line. In the first two meetings between the two teams, the Huskies made 15 and 10 triples, respectively.
"We wanted to be more aggressive with a team that shoots so well and I we did a good job of running them off the 3-point line most of the game," Oesterle said.
Team Stats
NIU
CMU
FG%
.433
.475
3FG%
.250
.419
FT%
.786
.875
RB
34
31
TO
15
14
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
12
Pts
23
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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