Saturday, December 2
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
1-5,0-0MAC
65
vs
73
Indiana State
3-4,0-0MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Indiana St.
10
20
23
20
73
Central Mich.
12
24
17
12
65
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Women’s Basketball Outlasted in Return to McGuirk, 73-65
12/2/2023 5:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
With just seven active players Saturday afternoon, the Chippewas stood toe-to-toe with Indiana State from wire-to-wire before succumbing to the numbers disadvantage
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Central Michigan Women's Basketball battled hard but fell at home to Indiana State on Saturday, losing 73-65 in the Chippewas' second game at McGuirk Arena this season.
With just seven players available for the game, CMU entered Saturday's contest light-handed. Head Coach Kristin Haynie expressed that, despite the shrunken roster, there were some hard fought moments and others that she would have liked to see more.
"(In some) moments, we fought. Maybe 20 minutes," Haynie said. "I felt like we started out the game pretty well. And then (in the) second quarter we had our lapses and then definitely (in) the fourth quarter, maybe we put 20 minutes together. That's been our biggest emphasis is just being consistent with our effort."
As Haynie mentioned, the Chippewas started the game off strong and controlled the momentum early on and used defense as a catalyst. CMU stifled ISU's offense in the first half, holding its field goal percentage to a meager 21.4%. This effort allowed the Chippewas to hold the first-half advantage for all but 2:20, with the Sycamores only leading 2-0.
The defensive effort was reflected between the end portion of the first quarter into the second quarter. Between 1:27 in the first quarter and 6:21 in the second quarter, CMU put together a 9-0 scoring run, while holding ISU to 0-for-11 shooting in the same span.
For the game, the Chippewas held the Sycamores below 30% from the field (29.7%).
"Yeah, you look at those percentages, you think you'd win a game keeping a team under 30%," Haynie said. "We just gave up way too many offensive rebounds as well. They got 24 offensive rebounds, which gives them extra extra possessions and offense, we just had too many empty possessions. And yeah, we just got to do a better job of finishing, of playing team basketball."
CMU did a better job making plays through its passing in the second quarter than in any other, logging five of its eight assists in the frame. Leading the way in this regard was junior guard Lisa Tesson (Montréal, Québec / Royal Crown), who registered a career-high six assists as the Chippewas' primary point guard.
Also registering career highs was sophomore guard Taylor Anderson (South Lyon, Mich. / East), tying her top mark with 13 rebounds and setting her career high with three blocks.
The Chippewas were led in scoring by graduate forward Nadège Jean (Richton Park, Ill. / Rich South), who scored a career-high 17 on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting night.
While CMU made its mark defensively, it struggled with consistency at the free throw line. The Chippewas shot 14-for-32 from the line.
"Free throws are mental," Haynie said. "I mean, last game we were 17 for 20 right like we've been shooting the ball 58% at the free throw line for most of the season. We've been spending more time on it in practice. I thought we were getting better. And then shooting 43.8% is just terrible. You're not gonna win many games shooting that. Getting to the free throw line shooting 32 was a positive, because that was an emphasis today was attacking and getting to the foul line. But we definitely got to do a better job of locking in on free throws."
CMU returns to action next Saturday (Dec. 9) when the Chippewas travel to Athletics Center O'Rena to face off against Oakland. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
With just seven players available for the game, CMU entered Saturday's contest light-handed. Head Coach Kristin Haynie expressed that, despite the shrunken roster, there were some hard fought moments and others that she would have liked to see more.
"(In some) moments, we fought. Maybe 20 minutes," Haynie said. "I felt like we started out the game pretty well. And then (in the) second quarter we had our lapses and then definitely (in) the fourth quarter, maybe we put 20 minutes together. That's been our biggest emphasis is just being consistent with our effort."
As Haynie mentioned, the Chippewas started the game off strong and controlled the momentum early on and used defense as a catalyst. CMU stifled ISU's offense in the first half, holding its field goal percentage to a meager 21.4%. This effort allowed the Chippewas to hold the first-half advantage for all but 2:20, with the Sycamores only leading 2-0.
The defensive effort was reflected between the end portion of the first quarter into the second quarter. Between 1:27 in the first quarter and 6:21 in the second quarter, CMU put together a 9-0 scoring run, while holding ISU to 0-for-11 shooting in the same span.
For the game, the Chippewas held the Sycamores below 30% from the field (29.7%).
"Yeah, you look at those percentages, you think you'd win a game keeping a team under 30%," Haynie said. "We just gave up way too many offensive rebounds as well. They got 24 offensive rebounds, which gives them extra extra possessions and offense, we just had too many empty possessions. And yeah, we just got to do a better job of finishing, of playing team basketball."
CMU did a better job making plays through its passing in the second quarter than in any other, logging five of its eight assists in the frame. Leading the way in this regard was junior guard Lisa Tesson (Montréal, Québec / Royal Crown), who registered a career-high six assists as the Chippewas' primary point guard.
Also registering career highs was sophomore guard Taylor Anderson (South Lyon, Mich. / East), tying her top mark with 13 rebounds and setting her career high with three blocks.
The Chippewas were led in scoring by graduate forward Nadège Jean (Richton Park, Ill. / Rich South), who scored a career-high 17 on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting night.
While CMU made its mark defensively, it struggled with consistency at the free throw line. The Chippewas shot 14-for-32 from the line.
"Free throws are mental," Haynie said. "I mean, last game we were 17 for 20 right like we've been shooting the ball 58% at the free throw line for most of the season. We've been spending more time on it in practice. I thought we were getting better. And then shooting 43.8% is just terrible. You're not gonna win many games shooting that. Getting to the free throw line shooting 32 was a positive, because that was an emphasis today was attacking and getting to the foul line. But we definitely got to do a better job of locking in on free throws."
CMU returns to action next Saturday (Dec. 9) when the Chippewas travel to Athletics Center O'Rena to face off against Oakland. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
Team Stats
INS
CMU
FG%
.297
.434
3FG%
.400
.313
FT%
.760
.438
RB
50
43
TO
10
19
STL
8
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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