Friday, November 29
Reno, Nev. / Lawlor Events Center
4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT
Central Michigan University
1-4,0-0MAC
60
at
57
Nevada
3-4,0-0Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Central Mich.
11
15
21
13
60
Nevada
13
8
17
19
57
Photo by: Franchesca Carrera, Nevada Athletic Communications
Chippewas Knock Off Tournament Host Nevada, 60-57, with Lawson Double-Double
11/29/2024 8:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Nevada-native Jess Lawson took over the contest with a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double and hit multiple free throws down the stretch to ice CMU’s first victory of 2024-25
RENO, Nev. — Central Michigan Women's Basketball took down Nevada, 60-57, to open the Wolfpack's Nugget Classic Friday afternoon in the Lawlor Events Center.
"We were talking about urgency, grit and toughness," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said, "we just needed to sustain that for 40 minutes. We went with more of a defensive starting lineup to see if we could start out faster. We finally played a 40-minute game of toughness and grit."
Nevada-native Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) stole the show in the Chippewas' first victory of the season with a dominant 19-point, 14-rebound double-double—both totals led the contest for either side.
"Fourteen rebounds is just grit. You can't teach that. We love when our guards get rebounds because we get to run in transition."
The transfer senior marked nine of her rebounds in the first half, 15 of her points in the second—many of which were recorded on a 9-for-10 second-half tally from the free throw line as CMU finished out its weekend host.
Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) joined Lawson in double-figures with 10 points, eight in the second half.
The Chippewas earned their 27 attempts from the free throw line through a strong presence in the paint: a 28-14 margin in paint scoring along with an 18-13 margin in second-chance buckets fueled by 17 offensive rebounds.
"Their bigs lead their team and we kept them at their average or below which was really good to see. Overall, we were locked in on the gameplan and the scouting report, which was good to see because we haven't put a consistent effort into executing the gameplan until today."
An 8-for-15 third quarter from the field pushed Central Michigan to its largest lead of the night (11 points), and the season, 32-21 with 8:19 in the period then again at 47-36 with 1:18 to go. Lawson marked the first on a lay-in after one of Nevada's 15 turnovers while Darrington marked the other from the free throw line.
The fourth quarter saw the well run dry from the field as the Chippewas went 0-for-6 in live play. The CMU defense stepped in to force six Nevada turnovers and pushed the Wolfpack to finish at just 27.7 percent shooting from the field for the game. The Chippewas collected 13 points from the free throw line in the fourth, including 7-of-8 from Lawson.
"That was huge for her to knock down those free throws down the stretch. I'm really proud of her overall and glad she got to do it in front of her family."
Central Michigan Women's Basketball turns around to battle undefeated Portland at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT Saturday afternoon, followed by Southern Utah Sunday (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT) to conclude the Nugget Classic. Eleven Chippewas hit the floor Friday, eight of which played between 12 and 22 minutes.
"Our depth is our advantage. It's not like our starters have to play 35-38 minutes so we can continue to rotate in and out and wear down our opponents."
The Chippewas return to McGuirk Arena Wednesday to host Concordia (MI) (6:30 p.m. ET).
"We were talking about urgency, grit and toughness," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said, "we just needed to sustain that for 40 minutes. We went with more of a defensive starting lineup to see if we could start out faster. We finally played a 40-minute game of toughness and grit."
Nevada-native Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) stole the show in the Chippewas' first victory of the season with a dominant 19-point, 14-rebound double-double—both totals led the contest for either side.
"Fourteen rebounds is just grit. You can't teach that. We love when our guards get rebounds because we get to run in transition."
The transfer senior marked nine of her rebounds in the first half, 15 of her points in the second—many of which were recorded on a 9-for-10 second-half tally from the free throw line as CMU finished out its weekend host.
Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) joined Lawson in double-figures with 10 points, eight in the second half.
The Chippewas earned their 27 attempts from the free throw line through a strong presence in the paint: a 28-14 margin in paint scoring along with an 18-13 margin in second-chance buckets fueled by 17 offensive rebounds.
"Their bigs lead their team and we kept them at their average or below which was really good to see. Overall, we were locked in on the gameplan and the scouting report, which was good to see because we haven't put a consistent effort into executing the gameplan until today."
An 8-for-15 third quarter from the field pushed Central Michigan to its largest lead of the night (11 points), and the season, 32-21 with 8:19 in the period then again at 47-36 with 1:18 to go. Lawson marked the first on a lay-in after one of Nevada's 15 turnovers while Darrington marked the other from the free throw line.
The fourth quarter saw the well run dry from the field as the Chippewas went 0-for-6 in live play. The CMU defense stepped in to force six Nevada turnovers and pushed the Wolfpack to finish at just 27.7 percent shooting from the field for the game. The Chippewas collected 13 points from the free throw line in the fourth, including 7-of-8 from Lawson.
"That was huge for her to knock down those free throws down the stretch. I'm really proud of her overall and glad she got to do it in front of her family."
Central Michigan Women's Basketball turns around to battle undefeated Portland at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT Saturday afternoon, followed by Southern Utah Sunday (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT) to conclude the Nugget Classic. Eleven Chippewas hit the floor Friday, eight of which played between 12 and 22 minutes.
"Our depth is our advantage. It's not like our starters have to play 35-38 minutes so we can continue to rotate in and out and wear down our opponents."
The Chippewas return to McGuirk Arena Wednesday to host Concordia (MI) (6:30 p.m. ET).
Team Stats
CMU
Nevada
FG%
.364
.277
3FG%
.167
.280
FT%
.667
.824
RB
51
38
TO
24
15
STL
10
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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