Central Michigan University
2-12,1-4MAC
Ball State
15-2,5-0MAC
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CMU women fall to Ball State 79-47 in Hoops for Hunger Game
1/17/2024 2:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Hoops for Hunger game yields season’s highest home attendance; Chippewas strong start keeps pace with MAC-leading Cardinals in impressive first half
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Hosting its annual Hoops for Hunger game, Central Michigan Women's Basketball fell to Ball State 79-47 on Wednesday.
The contest, played in front of elementary students from both the Mount Pleasant community and other surrounding communities, featured around 3,000 students, who provided a raucous atmosphere at McGuirk Arena.
"It was loud," head coach Kristin Haynie said. "But we want that environment as a team. The kids loved it, they got to get out of school. We just wish we could give them a better performance."
The Chippewas had some impressive individual performances, but ultimately struggled to shoot the ball efficiently. As a team, they shot 34.6% (18-for-52) from the field with a second-half shooting percentage of 20.8%.
Efficient shooting has been one of CMU's key points of improvement throughout the season. At times, the Chippewas' numbers are being dragged down by shooting to start the third quarter.
"The past few games our third quarter wasn't very good," Haynie said. "We have to make some adjustments on how we come back out at halftime. We pretty much played three quarters out of the four. It's usually the third quarter that we're not consistent in. So we can't do that against one of the teams that's undefeated in the MAC. We just have to do a better job of coming in with urgency out of the third quarter."
Despite the struggles in the second half, CMU played much more competitively during the first half. The Chippewas outshot the Cardinals - who clung to just a four-point halftime lead - as the teams headed into the locker room.
Junior forward Tiana Timpe (Stockton, Ill. / Stockton) did some damage from behind the three-point line, hitting three long-distance jumpers including a buzzer beater at half. She accounted for three of CMU's five 3-point baskets on the day.
Also playing well throughout the contest was graduate center Rochelle Norris (Stafford, Va. / New Hope), who narrowly missed a double-double, logging nine points and 11 rebounds while accumulating three blocks. Junior guard Karrington Gordon (Detroit / Lincoln Park) led the Chippewas in assists with a season-high five.
While the Chippewas handled it well in the first half, Ball State increased its pressure and made life difficult for CMU with its full-court pressure defense.
"In practice, we prepared for it," Haynie said of the pressure. "We even ran six players in our press so that we could go against five in-game and hopefully take care of the ball. We just got to stay under control and keep it simple. I feel like we had some turnovers that were uncharacteristic and we just shot ourselves in the foot with unforced turnovers. So we have to do a better job when teams press us. We got to be able to handle them with poise and composure."
The Chippewas kept both their paint scoring and points off of turnovers on par with the Cardinals' for most of the contest, capitalizing on high-percentage points. However, CMU surrendered points to Ball State via the free throw line, as the Chippewas committed 20 fouls and Cardinals hit 17-for-20 from the stripe.
Meanwhile, CMU shot 6-for-14 on its freebies. The Chippewas own a 66.8% free throw percentage as a team on the season.
"Today we didn't hit our free throws like we have in MAC play," Haynie said.
CMU is back at it on Saturday, as the Chippewas travel to Illinois for a two-game road trip. First, they have a MAC head-to-head against Northern Illinois (Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. ET). On Sunday (Jan. 21), CMU will head to Chicago to take on Chicago State at 3 p.m. ET.
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