Early Turnovers Cost Women's Basketball in Home Loss to Eastern

Saturday, February 4

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

1 p.m.

Central Michigan University

Eastern Michigan

CMU sophomore Tiana Timpe drives the lane Saturday in the Chippewas' loss to Eastern Michigan.

Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography

Early Turnovers Cost Women's Basketball in Home Loss to Eastern

2/4/2023 4:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan played give-away in the first quarter on Saturday and never could climb out of the hole it dug itself in falling, 68-54, to Eastern Michigan in a Mid-American Conference women's basketball game at McGuirk Arena.

The Chippewas committed 13 first-quarter turnovers en route to a season-high 29 in falling to 4-17, 2-8 MAC.

CMU has nine games remaining and must find a way to string together some wins if it hopes to finish among the top eight in the standings and earn its way into the league tournament in Cleveland.

"There's still a lot of season left, but we have got to start out games better than we showed (today)," CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "To start a game with that many turnovers, it was like we couldn't even catch the ball."

The Chippewas played without injured point guard Bridget Utberg for the second consecutive game. They missed their first eight field goal attempts and were down, 15-2, late in the first quarter.

CMU hung in and several times throughout the second half crept to within a possession or two, but could never get over the hump. They benefited from the return of senior post player Jahari Smith, who logged 13-plus minutes in her first game since late November.

But the absence of Utberg was glaring as the Chippewas struggled to find a consistent rhythm.

"We need her back, we absolutely need her back," Oesterle said. "The entire season she's been running the show. Bridget is our one who creates for others. And you miss a 3-point shooter; Bridget's our second-best 3-point shooter. Teams have been packing it in and (her presence) helps space the floor."

Lachelle Austin scored 21 points to lead Eastern (12-9, 4-6), which scored 29 of its points off CMU turnovers and made 23 of its 30 free throw attempts. The Chippewas attempted just seven free throws and made five.

Freshman Sydney Harris scored 18 points and Tiana Timpe added 11 for the Chippewas, who trailed by eight, 30-22, at halftime and were down 10, 49-39, heading into the fourth quarter.

The Chippewas crept to within six, 55-49, on a Timpe 3-pointer with 6:15 remaining. That prompted an Eagle timeout, after which Eastern scored seven consecutive points to re-take command, 62-49, with under 3:00 to play.

The Chippewas are scheduled to play at Kent State on Wednesday, Feb. 8, and then return home to entertain Buffalo on Saturday, Feb. 11.

The return of Smith, a solid rebounder and veteran presence, is encouraging, and getting Utberg healthy and back in the lineup is critical if the Chippewas hope to make a late-season push.

"You go a whole season and you get better and better with your core group, and then take (Utberg) out of the lineup … people are playing out of position," Oesterle said. "Jahari's got a ton of experience; we missed her experience.

"We have to keep our heads up and we have to fix the mistakes. Looking forward to when I can put in some different combinations that we haven't seen in a couple months."