Saturday, February 17
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
5-17,3-8MAC
54
vs
77
Kent State
15-7,9-2MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Kent St.
17
18
20
22
77
Central Mich.
13
12
22
7
54
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Shooting woes sink women’s basketball against Kent State, 77-54
2/17/2024 4:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Chippewas compete defensively, struggle offensively; Ortiz returns to the lineup
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan Women's Basketball competed hard against Kent State but fell victim to poor shooting late, allowing the Golden Flashes to pull away for a 77-54 loss.
The Chippewas shot 2-for-10 from the field in the fourth, scoring seven points in the final period of the contest against a Kent State team that ranks third in MAC standings.
"We competed for 30 minutes," head coach Kristin Haynie said. "We want to be able to close games. I don't care what place they're in. We had an opportunity too. We were down eight going into the fourth. Let's start the fourth quarter how we started the third quarter and now we're only down two."
As Haynie mentioned, CMU attacked Kent State out of the break at half. The Chippewas began the quarter on a 6-0 run and scored 22 points - nine points more than any other quarter.
However, despite the hot third-quarter shooting, efficiency remained an issue for the rest of the contest. The Chippewas shot 37.5% from the floor for the game, compared to 42.5% from the Golden Flashes.
From behind the three-point line, the teams shot a combined 5-for-36 (18.9%). Heading into halftime, that number was 2-for-23 (8.7%).
While the offense had a rough go of things, Haynie liked the way her team competed defensively and held Kent State to low shooting numbers.
"(Giving up) 77 points was a little too much, but I felt like we locked in (defensively)," she said. "We could tell, our personnel - we knew who we were guarding. It was a good defensive effort to know our personnel, it's just our offense that we got to get there."
In addition to the hot shooting to start the second quarter, CMU started the game off strong as well. Through nearly five minutes, the Chippewas held an 11-3 advantage - five of which came via Karrington Gordon. But the Golden Flashes went on a run of their own to erase the advantage.
CMU welcomed freshman guard Tamara Ortiz back to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 25 in the Chippewas' game against Milwaukee. Ortiz played 26 minutes in her return, registering 10 points and a pair of assists.
"It was great," Haynie said of Ortiz's return. "She's been practicing for about a week or so. She's been looking good. Now, the game is different than practice. Everyone's going to come off a little rusty being gone for a few months of playing. Kudos to her playing 26 minutes. She wasn't going to get that many minutes but due to game flow and fouls we had to play her. And we went on a run when she and Lisa Tesson were in there so we decided to keep them in."
Tesson's contributions were felt in a number of ways, swiping three steals while also grabbing six rebounds and providing three assists in a team-high 32 minutes. A senior guard, Tesson provided her usual stability with her ball-handling chops as well.
Leading the way in scoring for CMU was junior guard Karrington Gordon, who chipped in 13 points and also led the team in assists with six.
The Chippewas return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 21 as CMU hits the road to face Ball State in Muncie. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
The Chippewas shot 2-for-10 from the field in the fourth, scoring seven points in the final period of the contest against a Kent State team that ranks third in MAC standings.
"We competed for 30 minutes," head coach Kristin Haynie said. "We want to be able to close games. I don't care what place they're in. We had an opportunity too. We were down eight going into the fourth. Let's start the fourth quarter how we started the third quarter and now we're only down two."
As Haynie mentioned, CMU attacked Kent State out of the break at half. The Chippewas began the quarter on a 6-0 run and scored 22 points - nine points more than any other quarter.
However, despite the hot third-quarter shooting, efficiency remained an issue for the rest of the contest. The Chippewas shot 37.5% from the floor for the game, compared to 42.5% from the Golden Flashes.
From behind the three-point line, the teams shot a combined 5-for-36 (18.9%). Heading into halftime, that number was 2-for-23 (8.7%).
While the offense had a rough go of things, Haynie liked the way her team competed defensively and held Kent State to low shooting numbers.
"(Giving up) 77 points was a little too much, but I felt like we locked in (defensively)," she said. "We could tell, our personnel - we knew who we were guarding. It was a good defensive effort to know our personnel, it's just our offense that we got to get there."
In addition to the hot shooting to start the second quarter, CMU started the game off strong as well. Through nearly five minutes, the Chippewas held an 11-3 advantage - five of which came via Karrington Gordon. But the Golden Flashes went on a run of their own to erase the advantage.
CMU welcomed freshman guard Tamara Ortiz back to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 25 in the Chippewas' game against Milwaukee. Ortiz played 26 minutes in her return, registering 10 points and a pair of assists.
"It was great," Haynie said of Ortiz's return. "She's been practicing for about a week or so. She's been looking good. Now, the game is different than practice. Everyone's going to come off a little rusty being gone for a few months of playing. Kudos to her playing 26 minutes. She wasn't going to get that many minutes but due to game flow and fouls we had to play her. And we went on a run when she and Lisa Tesson were in there so we decided to keep them in."
Tesson's contributions were felt in a number of ways, swiping three steals while also grabbing six rebounds and providing three assists in a team-high 32 minutes. A senior guard, Tesson provided her usual stability with her ball-handling chops as well.
Leading the way in scoring for CMU was junior guard Karrington Gordon, who chipped in 13 points and also led the team in assists with six.
The Chippewas return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 21 as CMU hits the road to face Ball State in Muncie. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
Team Stats
KentSt
CMU
FG%
.425
.375
3FG%
.158
.118
FT%
.800
.769
RB
42
37
TO
7
19
STL
9
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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