Saturday, January 11
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
5-10,1-3MAC
66
vs
71
Toledo
11-3,3-1MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Toledo
13
27
17
14
71
Central Mich.
16
17
16
17
66
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Toledo Slips Away from Women’s Basketball, 71-66; Darrington Muscles in Career-High 19 points
1/11/2025 4:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Chippewas kept the Rockets within arm’s reach throughout the contest, held late leads; freshman duo of Darrington, Morson combine for 38 points
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Central Michigan Women's Basketball narrowly missed out on back-to-back Mid-American Conference victories Saturday afternoon, falling to Toledo, 71-66.
Freshman Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) took advantage of her nod toward the starting lineup early with three straight makes in the lane in the first quarter, setting the tone for her career-high 19 points on 9-for-11 from the field.
"Fearless," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said of the former Kentucky Miss Basketball Finalist. "We have to figure out more ways to get her the ball."
Fellow rookie Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) matched Darrington's 19 points as the duo combined for 13 in the fourth quarter, 21 in the second half.
"Morson with 19 as well so, those freshmen, they're coming. We have to help them out though… we have to take advantage when they're open and set them up in successful positions."
The Chippewas rallied with an 11-2 run in the fourth quarter, capped by a clean pair by Morson at the free throw line to regain the lead, 60-59, with 5:36 to go. The freshman pair accounted for nine points during the run.
Toledo returned fire with a 9-0 run to end the contest, with five points tallied from the charity stripe. A two-second steal-and-score by Morson from a Rocket inbound led to the final score.
"Frustrating finish. Against good teams, we have little margin for error, and we just have to continue to lock in every possession."
The Chippewas led at the end of the first quarter, 16-13, for the first time since Dec. 15 (at Dayton) and just the third time this season, turning the ball over just three times while shooting 7-of-15 from the floor and committing just two fouls.
Toledo put together a 17-3 start to the second quarter for its largest lead of the contest, 30-19, with 4:22 to go before halftime. CMU struck back with a 12-3 run in just over two minutes to get back within four before the 40-33 margin at intermission.
"Frustrating second quarter too. We have to take care of the ball and not dig ourselves a hole in one of the quarters. We did a good job of executing to start of the game. We've been starting out slow; started the game out, had the lead in the first quarter. Then in the second quarter our defense got away from us and our rebounding."
Central Michigan faced a steep disadvantage in free throw attempts Saturday (35 for Toledo, 13 for CMU), though Coach Haynie was quick to rebuke thoughts of inconsistent officiating:
"Toledo was getting downhill. We were just bailing them out at the end of shots. We've talked about limiting free throws because that's been a weakness for us this year. We have to stop being so handsy."
Senior Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) joined the freshmen in double figures with 11 points, seven in the second half, to mark the first time since Dec. 8 (at Iowa State) that three Chippewas finished in double digits.
Central Michigan Women's Basketball heads to Akron (9-7; 3-1 MAC) Wednesday (6 p.m.) before returning to McGuirk Arena for Eastern Michigan (Jan. 18; 1 p.m.), followed by the annual Hoops for Hunger contest against Kent State (Jan. 22; 11 a.m.).
Freshman Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) took advantage of her nod toward the starting lineup early with three straight makes in the lane in the first quarter, setting the tone for her career-high 19 points on 9-for-11 from the field.
"Fearless," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said of the former Kentucky Miss Basketball Finalist. "We have to figure out more ways to get her the ball."
Fellow rookie Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) matched Darrington's 19 points as the duo combined for 13 in the fourth quarter, 21 in the second half.
"Morson with 19 as well so, those freshmen, they're coming. We have to help them out though… we have to take advantage when they're open and set them up in successful positions."
The Chippewas rallied with an 11-2 run in the fourth quarter, capped by a clean pair by Morson at the free throw line to regain the lead, 60-59, with 5:36 to go. The freshman pair accounted for nine points during the run.
Toledo returned fire with a 9-0 run to end the contest, with five points tallied from the charity stripe. A two-second steal-and-score by Morson from a Rocket inbound led to the final score.
"Frustrating finish. Against good teams, we have little margin for error, and we just have to continue to lock in every possession."
The Chippewas led at the end of the first quarter, 16-13, for the first time since Dec. 15 (at Dayton) and just the third time this season, turning the ball over just three times while shooting 7-of-15 from the floor and committing just two fouls.
Toledo put together a 17-3 start to the second quarter for its largest lead of the contest, 30-19, with 4:22 to go before halftime. CMU struck back with a 12-3 run in just over two minutes to get back within four before the 40-33 margin at intermission.
"Frustrating second quarter too. We have to take care of the ball and not dig ourselves a hole in one of the quarters. We did a good job of executing to start of the game. We've been starting out slow; started the game out, had the lead in the first quarter. Then in the second quarter our defense got away from us and our rebounding."
Central Michigan faced a steep disadvantage in free throw attempts Saturday (35 for Toledo, 13 for CMU), though Coach Haynie was quick to rebuke thoughts of inconsistent officiating:
"Toledo was getting downhill. We were just bailing them out at the end of shots. We've talked about limiting free throws because that's been a weakness for us this year. We have to stop being so handsy."
Senior Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) joined the freshmen in double figures with 11 points, seven in the second half, to mark the first time since Dec. 8 (at Iowa State) that three Chippewas finished in double digits.
Central Michigan Women's Basketball heads to Akron (9-7; 3-1 MAC) Wednesday (6 p.m.) before returning to McGuirk Arena for Eastern Michigan (Jan. 18; 1 p.m.), followed by the annual Hoops for Hunger contest against Kent State (Jan. 22; 11 a.m.).
Team Stats
UT
CMU
FG%
.426
.443
3FG%
.200
.250
FT%
.629
.769
RB
35
35
TO
10
17
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
19
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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