Saturday, January 14
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
3-12,1-3MAC
60
vs
71
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Western Michigan
7-8,2-2MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Western Mich.
17
24
16
14
71
Central Mich.
8
20
13
19
60
Freshman guard Bridget Utberg matched her season high with 21 points on Saturday in CMU's 71-60 loss to Western Michigan at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Slow Start, Turnovers Doom CMU Women in Loss to Western Michigan
1/14/2023 4:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan women's basketball team fell behind early and never got on track on Saturday in dropping a 71-60 Mid-American Conference decision to Western Michigan at McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas (3-12, 1-3 MAC) go to Akron on Wednesday, Jan. 18 (7 p.m.) for a league game.
CMU committed 24 turnovers, two shy of its season high. Western scored 20 of its points off turnovers.
That, combined with a poor shooting, spelled doom for the Chippewas.
"Carelessness with the ball," CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "We just weren't sharp. The turnovers, that (number) was unacceptable."
Freshmen guard Bridget Utberg matched her season high with 21 points to lead the Chippewas, while Taylor Anderson, another freshman guard, finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Both numbers were season highs.
The Chippewas were cold from the start, missing 14 of their first 18 field goal attempts as Western crept away to a double-digit lead late in the first half.
Hannah Spitzley, who entered the game averaging 6.4 points, scored 15 in the first half in helping the Broncos to a 41-28 halftime advantage as CMU struggled to find consistency on offense against the Broncos' zone defense.
"Right now, we're pretty good against a man-to-man (defense), but we've really got to figure out how to play basketball against a zone," Oesterle said. "We can call a million plays, but at the end of the day, it's (about) finding where the gap is and going to the gap. We're just not there yet against a zone in being able to find gaps."
CMU never fully recovered from its slow start and never got closer than 11 points in the final two quarters.
"We talked about our energy in the locker room and coming out to the game," Anderson said. "It was great in the locker room; it was great earlier (during) shootaround. I guess we just didn't carry that energy out to the game. I think that's what we need to work on a little bit more, keeping our same energy all day, all week."
The Chippewas (3-12, 1-3 MAC) go to Akron on Wednesday, Jan. 18 (7 p.m.) for a league game.
CMU committed 24 turnovers, two shy of its season high. Western scored 20 of its points off turnovers.
That, combined with a poor shooting, spelled doom for the Chippewas.
"Carelessness with the ball," CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "We just weren't sharp. The turnovers, that (number) was unacceptable."
Freshmen guard Bridget Utberg matched her season high with 21 points to lead the Chippewas, while Taylor Anderson, another freshman guard, finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Both numbers were season highs.
The Chippewas were cold from the start, missing 14 of their first 18 field goal attempts as Western crept away to a double-digit lead late in the first half.
Hannah Spitzley, who entered the game averaging 6.4 points, scored 15 in the first half in helping the Broncos to a 41-28 halftime advantage as CMU struggled to find consistency on offense against the Broncos' zone defense.
"Right now, we're pretty good against a man-to-man (defense), but we've really got to figure out how to play basketball against a zone," Oesterle said. "We can call a million plays, but at the end of the day, it's (about) finding where the gap is and going to the gap. We're just not there yet against a zone in being able to find gaps."
CMU never fully recovered from its slow start and never got closer than 11 points in the final two quarters.
"We talked about our energy in the locker room and coming out to the game," Anderson said. "It was great in the locker room; it was great earlier (during) shootaround. I guess we just didn't carry that energy out to the game. I think that's what we need to work on a little bit more, keeping our same energy all day, all week."
Team Stats
WMU
CMU
FG%
.388
.400
3FG%
.226
.250
FT%
.632
.688
RB
36
47
TO
10
24
STL
11
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballWBB Annual Golf Outing
Friday, September 12
WBB Practice
Friday, July 04
MAC WBB Tournament Press Conference
Wednesday, March 12
Video Podcast: Amy Folan Connection-Women's Basketball March Madness and the Growth of the Game
Wednesday, March 12