Wednesday, February 28
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
6-19,4-10MAC
76
vs
73
Miami (OH)
8-18,5-10MAC
1
2
3
4
OT 1
OT 2
F
Miami (OH)
13
13
13
25
7
2
73
Central Mich.
12
20
16
16
7
5
76
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Women’s Basketball outlasts Miami (OH) in double OT thriller, 76-73
2/28/2024 10:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Chippewas shoot nearly 50% from three; Brown walks away with a pair of career highs
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – With just three seconds left on the clock, an errant three-point shot was collected by Capria Brown, who dropped in a reverse layup in stride - as if it were a pass - to force an overtime period.
Brown and the Chippewas fought hard through regulation and two overtimes and were rewarded with a win on Wednesday night as CMU Women's Basketball defeated Miami (OH) 76-73 at McGuirk Arena.
Head coach Kristin Haynie had a clear message for her team ahead of overtime: go get it.
"It's ours," Haynie said. "We said it's our game to win. In the fourth quarter, they beat us by nine points. We were up 13-14, and let them get back in and take the lead. We showed growth. We didn't fold. We stayed together as a team, which was really good to see."
Brown ended with a career-high 22 points, shooting 8-for-14 overall and 5-for-8 from three. She also led the Chippewas in assists with a career-high five.
"She's been hitting shots," Haynie said. "We've been shooting a lot in practice, so it's really good to see the ball go in tonight (for her)."
Drawing a start for the first time since late November, freshman guard Tamara Ortiz finished just behind Brown in scoring. Her 21 points were also a career high.
Haynie made another adjustment to the starting lineup, opting to go with sophomore guard Alina Anderson for her first start of the season.
"Coach's decision, and we've had some people not practice due to illness," Haynie said of changing up her starters. "So we went with three guards. We had a little bit of a slow start but Alina stepped up and (made) that three point shot (by) being confident out there. She does all the right things. She plays defense, she talks, she hustles."
Neither team got out to a particularly hot start in the first quarter, after which Miami (OH) clung to a one-point lead. However, as the first half progressed, the Chippewas relied on hot shooting from behind the 3-point line to build up their early lead.
Heading into halftime, CMU led 32-26. In the last seven minutes of the second half, the Chippewas outscored the RedHawks 20-11. During the second quarter, CMU hit four of its six 3-point attempts - moving its first-half tally to 6-for-10 from range.
Sophomore forward Madisen Wardell was a catalyst for the Chippewas' hot shooting. Coming off the bench, Wardell closed out the half scoring 13 points in the second quarter, with 11 points during the final three minutes. She went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from 3-point range during that span.
Both teams were eager to pull from range, as the teams combined for 20 3-point shots made. Fourteen of those 20 were from CMU, which shot a blistering 48.3% from three for the game. Miami converted on 6-of-19 (31.6%) of its own threes.
"It was huge," Haynie said. "If we continue to make threes, it's going to open up the inside for our bigs. They're getting double and triple teamed every night. So it's been awesome to see our guards step up and shoot the three. Hopefully it will stretch the floor and give us more opportunity to get downhill and to get our inside game going."
In addition to the new career highs from Brown and Ortiz, a few other Chippewas tied career highs in various statistics. Wardell and junior guard Karrington Gordon each did so in rebounds, with 10 and 11, respectively.
Additionally, junior guard Lisa Tesson tied her career high in steals with 3, while freshman center Desrae Kyles tied her career high blocks with two.
Looking ahead, the Chippewas will head to Athens, Ohio to take on the Bobcats on Saturday (Mar. 2) for a 1 p.m. ET contest.
Brown and the Chippewas fought hard through regulation and two overtimes and were rewarded with a win on Wednesday night as CMU Women's Basketball defeated Miami (OH) 76-73 at McGuirk Arena.
Head coach Kristin Haynie had a clear message for her team ahead of overtime: go get it.
"It's ours," Haynie said. "We said it's our game to win. In the fourth quarter, they beat us by nine points. We were up 13-14, and let them get back in and take the lead. We showed growth. We didn't fold. We stayed together as a team, which was really good to see."
Brown ended with a career-high 22 points, shooting 8-for-14 overall and 5-for-8 from three. She also led the Chippewas in assists with a career-high five.
"She's been hitting shots," Haynie said. "We've been shooting a lot in practice, so it's really good to see the ball go in tonight (for her)."
Drawing a start for the first time since late November, freshman guard Tamara Ortiz finished just behind Brown in scoring. Her 21 points were also a career high.
Haynie made another adjustment to the starting lineup, opting to go with sophomore guard Alina Anderson for her first start of the season.
"Coach's decision, and we've had some people not practice due to illness," Haynie said of changing up her starters. "So we went with three guards. We had a little bit of a slow start but Alina stepped up and (made) that three point shot (by) being confident out there. She does all the right things. She plays defense, she talks, she hustles."
Neither team got out to a particularly hot start in the first quarter, after which Miami (OH) clung to a one-point lead. However, as the first half progressed, the Chippewas relied on hot shooting from behind the 3-point line to build up their early lead.
Heading into halftime, CMU led 32-26. In the last seven minutes of the second half, the Chippewas outscored the RedHawks 20-11. During the second quarter, CMU hit four of its six 3-point attempts - moving its first-half tally to 6-for-10 from range.
Sophomore forward Madisen Wardell was a catalyst for the Chippewas' hot shooting. Coming off the bench, Wardell closed out the half scoring 13 points in the second quarter, with 11 points during the final three minutes. She went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from 3-point range during that span.
Both teams were eager to pull from range, as the teams combined for 20 3-point shots made. Fourteen of those 20 were from CMU, which shot a blistering 48.3% from three for the game. Miami converted on 6-of-19 (31.6%) of its own threes.
"It was huge," Haynie said. "If we continue to make threes, it's going to open up the inside for our bigs. They're getting double and triple teamed every night. So it's been awesome to see our guards step up and shoot the three. Hopefully it will stretch the floor and give us more opportunity to get downhill and to get our inside game going."
In addition to the new career highs from Brown and Ortiz, a few other Chippewas tied career highs in various statistics. Wardell and junior guard Karrington Gordon each did so in rebounds, with 10 and 11, respectively.
Additionally, junior guard Lisa Tesson tied her career high in steals with 3, while freshman center Desrae Kyles tied her career high blocks with two.
Looking ahead, the Chippewas will head to Athens, Ohio to take on the Bobcats on Saturday (Mar. 2) for a 1 p.m. ET contest.
Team Stats
Miami
CMU
FG%
.345
.384
3FG%
.316
.483
FT%
.700
.429
RB
49
56
TO
13
21
STL
12
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
1
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
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