Wednesday, February 15
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
6-18,4-9MAC
83
vs
80
Miami (Ohio)
9-17,4-9MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Miami (OH)
14
22
14
30
80
Central Mich.
18
17
18
30
83
CMU freshman guard Bridget Utberg drives to the basket on Wednesday in an 83-80 win over Miami (Ohio) at McGuirk Arena.
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Women's Basketball Makes it Two Straight
2/15/2023 10:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Harris, Utberg combine for 43 points as Chippewas down Miami (Ohio).
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Sydney Harris bounced back with a vengeance, Mikala Hall continued to provide a spark, and the Central Michigan women's basketball team continued its late-season turnaround.
Harris scored 24 points, Bridget Utberg added 19, and Hall was tremendous in all facets on Wednesday as the Chippewas topped Miami (Ohio), 83-80, in a Mid-American Conference game at McGuirk Arena.
It was a season high point total for the Chippewas who won their second straight game – the first time they've won back-to-back games since Jan. 4 – in improving to 6-18, 4-9 MAC.
"I think it all comes down to the energy, really," said CMU coach Heather Oesterle, whose team committed just nine turnovers, a season low. "It's big for us to take care of two games at home. We've got to stay locked in."
The Chippewas, who go to Ohio on Saturday, are tied for ninth place in the conference with five to play. The top eight teams earn a berth in the league tournament in Cleveland.
Hall, a grad transfer, drew her third consecutive start and finished with nine points, a career-high eight assists against just two turnovers, and six rebounds in 38-plus minutes.
"Inserting Mikala Hall into the lineup is instant energy, and that's contagious," Oesterle said. "Mikala has been awesome for us. She's the older guard out there for us. She huddles them and gets everybody on the same page."
Hall's veteran presence has loosened things up for Harris and Utberg as the freshman duo showed once again on Wednesday what they are truly capable of.
Harris, who scored just five points on 2-of-10 shooting in the Chippewas' win over Buffalo on Saturday, hit four of her eight 3-point attempts and made all six of her free throw tries on Wednesday.
"I was in the gym since that game, practicing, just trying to see the ball go in," Harris said. "I wasn't very productive (against Buffalo). In order to help my team win I've got to do something; that's what I was trying to do."
Utberg finished 8-of-13 from the field against the RedHawks (9-17, 4-9) just three days after scoring 20 points against Buffalo. With Hall on the floor, the pressure is off Utberg to run the point.
"It's that time of the season where we know it's now or never," Harris said. "We're all coming hungry every game. We've had really good starts the last few games and we've play consistently throughout the games.
"(Hall has) been stepping up huge. … Having her on the court with us, she's always yapping. I get down, Bridget gets down, she's like, 'You got the next one.' And that's helps everybody."
Much like CMU's game with Buffalo on Saturday, Wednesday's game was a nip-and-tuck battle between two teams battling to get to Cleveland.
The game featured 12 ties, and Harris delivered the biggest shot of the night with 2:15 remaining when she drilled a top-of-the-key 3-pointer to up CMU's lead to 72-67. Utberg drew the assist on Harris' big bucket.
"I feel like Bridget and I have both gotten better at knowing the time of the game, knowing situations and stuff like that," Harris said. "I think we have very good chemistry for only playing with each other this season. She's either hitting me (with passes) or she's very capable of scoring. I think that's hard for other teams to guard."
Utberg scored the Chippewas' next four points, both on left-side drives where she drew heavy contact but managed to get the ball to fall. Her second bucket made it 76-69 with 49 seconds left.
The Chippewas then held the RedHawks at bay by making seven of eight free throws over the final 32 seconds. Harris and Karrington Gordon made two free throws apiece and Nadége Jean hit three of four.
Jean, who did not play in CMU's past two games because of injury, finished with a career-high tying 10 points along with five rebounds in 16 minutes.
"I'm most proud of the fact that we had some people in foul trouble who usually play a lot of minutes for us and we had people step up," Oesterle said, mentioning Gordon and Jean specifically. "They went to the line at the end of the game with composure. I thought that was huge for our team. It gives me trust in our bench down the stretch."
Harris scored 24 points, Bridget Utberg added 19, and Hall was tremendous in all facets on Wednesday as the Chippewas topped Miami (Ohio), 83-80, in a Mid-American Conference game at McGuirk Arena.
It was a season high point total for the Chippewas who won their second straight game – the first time they've won back-to-back games since Jan. 4 – in improving to 6-18, 4-9 MAC.
"I think it all comes down to the energy, really," said CMU coach Heather Oesterle, whose team committed just nine turnovers, a season low. "It's big for us to take care of two games at home. We've got to stay locked in."
The Chippewas, who go to Ohio on Saturday, are tied for ninth place in the conference with five to play. The top eight teams earn a berth in the league tournament in Cleveland.
Hall, a grad transfer, drew her third consecutive start and finished with nine points, a career-high eight assists against just two turnovers, and six rebounds in 38-plus minutes.
"Inserting Mikala Hall into the lineup is instant energy, and that's contagious," Oesterle said. "Mikala has been awesome for us. She's the older guard out there for us. She huddles them and gets everybody on the same page."
Hall's veteran presence has loosened things up for Harris and Utberg as the freshman duo showed once again on Wednesday what they are truly capable of.
Harris, who scored just five points on 2-of-10 shooting in the Chippewas' win over Buffalo on Saturday, hit four of her eight 3-point attempts and made all six of her free throw tries on Wednesday.
"I was in the gym since that game, practicing, just trying to see the ball go in," Harris said. "I wasn't very productive (against Buffalo). In order to help my team win I've got to do something; that's what I was trying to do."
Utberg finished 8-of-13 from the field against the RedHawks (9-17, 4-9) just three days after scoring 20 points against Buffalo. With Hall on the floor, the pressure is off Utberg to run the point.
"It's that time of the season where we know it's now or never," Harris said. "We're all coming hungry every game. We've had really good starts the last few games and we've play consistently throughout the games.
"(Hall has) been stepping up huge. … Having her on the court with us, she's always yapping. I get down, Bridget gets down, she's like, 'You got the next one.' And that's helps everybody."
Much like CMU's game with Buffalo on Saturday, Wednesday's game was a nip-and-tuck battle between two teams battling to get to Cleveland.
The game featured 12 ties, and Harris delivered the biggest shot of the night with 2:15 remaining when she drilled a top-of-the-key 3-pointer to up CMU's lead to 72-67. Utberg drew the assist on Harris' big bucket.
"I feel like Bridget and I have both gotten better at knowing the time of the game, knowing situations and stuff like that," Harris said. "I think we have very good chemistry for only playing with each other this season. She's either hitting me (with passes) or she's very capable of scoring. I think that's hard for other teams to guard."
Utberg scored the Chippewas' next four points, both on left-side drives where she drew heavy contact but managed to get the ball to fall. Her second bucket made it 76-69 with 49 seconds left.
The Chippewas then held the RedHawks at bay by making seven of eight free throws over the final 32 seconds. Harris and Karrington Gordon made two free throws apiece and Nadége Jean hit three of four.
Jean, who did not play in CMU's past two games because of injury, finished with a career-high tying 10 points along with five rebounds in 16 minutes.
"I'm most proud of the fact that we had some people in foul trouble who usually play a lot of minutes for us and we had people step up," Oesterle said, mentioning Gordon and Jean specifically. "They went to the line at the end of the game with composure. I thought that was huge for our team. It gives me trust in our bench down the stretch."
Team Stats
Miami
CMU
FG%
.450
.462
3FG%
.292
.467
FT%
.905
.800
RB
37
32
TO
15
9
STL
3
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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