Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, January 18
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
7-10,3-3MAC
73
vs
64
Eastern Michigan
1-15,0-6MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Mich.
17
15
20
12
64
Central Mich.
21
30
7
15
73
Photo by: Madison Davidson '25 - @_mld.jpeg
Women’s Basketball Rides First Half Eruption to MAC Win over Eastern, 73-64
1/18/2025 5:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The most points in a half (51) and in a single quarter (30) in the Haynie Era lead the Chippewas to back-to-back league wins
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Central Michigan Women's Basketball picked up its second straight Mid-American Conference victory Saturday afternoon, 73-64, over Eastern Michigan in its return to McGuirk Arena.
The Chippewas tallied 30 points in the second quarter to reach 51 at the intermission, both high marks under the direction of second-year Head Coach Kristin Haynie, who returned to the bench after missing Wednesday's 75-55 victory at Akron.
"This team," Haynie began, "they continue to grow … For us to start the game off like that, to just see the ball go in, these players have been in the gym working. It's not luck that we're making shots. We just have to continue to stay with the process."
Four CMU players finished in double figures for the first time since Nov. 14: freshmen Madi Morson (Salem, Mich. / Canton), Jayda Mosley (Cincinnati, Ohio / Purcell Marian) and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) scored 16, 14 and 12 points, respectively, with senior Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) matching Darrington's 12.
Darrington and Mosley both reached double-digits by halftime, combining for 22 of CMU's 51 points at the break on an 8-for-12 shooting clip from the field. Mosley's three field goals all came from beyond the arc, her second marking the final lead change of the game, 16-13, with 2:44 left in the first quarter. Darrington scored eight points over the course of the second quarter.
Central Michigan shot 61.3 percent (19-for-31) from the field in the first half including a 58.3 percent clip (7-for-12) in three-point shooting, both season-bests.
Lawson opened the contest responsible for five of the first six field goals as she scored on the first two possessions, tallied three assists over CMU's next four buckets. She was also responsible for the first double-digit lead of the game, 27-17, with 7:12 to go in the second.
Satori Griffin (Mount Pleasant, Mich. / Mount Pleasant) and Riley Smith (Miamisburg, Ohio / Archbishop Alter) combined for an 11-0 run to end the half, with all three field goals assisted by Lawson. The Las Vegas-native walked into the locker room with eight points, eight assists and five rebounds.
The game's script flipped during intermission as Eastern Michigan logged runs of 8-0 and 9-0 in the third quarter, separated by a 90-second window that featured Mosley's third three-pointer and a pair of Morson free throws.
A key emphasis defensively for CMU was stopping Eastern's Sisi Eleko, the only player in the MAC other than Morson to log a 30-point game this season. Eleko mustered just six points on 3-of-10 shooting and five rebounds.
"Our fives, we're big. We were trying to dig on her a little bit and smother her and make it crowded in the paint. Kudos to our defense on her, [but] we lost their shooters."
The Eagles shot 6-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second half, a pivotal 5-for-5 in the third quarter rally after just a 5-for-14 first half.
"They made 11 threes, that's too just many. Especially on our home floor, we lost some focus on the defensive end. On a positive note, we found a way to win, they made their run, but we found a way to stop the bleeding."
After a 19-point lead going into the half, CMU was up just four points after the Eagles' first possession in the fourth quarter. A shooting foul drawn in the lane by Lisa Tesson (Montreal, Quebec / Royal Academy), followed by a technical foul called on the EMU bench, started an 8-0 run for the Chippewas, which featured the senior's lone made field goal, a three-pointer.
The Eagles returned fire again with a 10-1 run over six of the final seven minutes, drawing within a possession, 67-64, for the first time since the 2:44 mark in the first. Morson and Lawson combined for 6-for-6 in late-game fouling to ice the game and finish up an 18-for-22 afternoon from the charity stripe for the Chippewas.
"We found a way to win. We won the fourth quarter with our defense. We just have to continue to try to be consistent and play a full 40 minutes."
CMU have shot 75 percent or better from the free throw line in three of six MAC games (EMU, Toledo, at Ball State), the other three combined for an average of 59.4 percent (at Akron, Miami (OH), at Buffalo).
"We have to be consistent. We have some games where we are 80%, 75% from the free throw line and then other games where we're at 56. This team, we're young, there's a lot of new players but it's time to grow up. We've had a few games under our belt with the conference, so we have got to figure out how to be consistent."
Central Michigan Women's Basketball remains in Mount Pleasant to host Kent State Wednesday (11 a.m.) for the program's annual Hoops for Hunger game, carrying a .500 league record into the seventh game of the MAC season for the first time since 2021.
The Chippewas tallied 30 points in the second quarter to reach 51 at the intermission, both high marks under the direction of second-year Head Coach Kristin Haynie, who returned to the bench after missing Wednesday's 75-55 victory at Akron.
"This team," Haynie began, "they continue to grow … For us to start the game off like that, to just see the ball go in, these players have been in the gym working. It's not luck that we're making shots. We just have to continue to stay with the process."
Four CMU players finished in double figures for the first time since Nov. 14: freshmen Madi Morson (Salem, Mich. / Canton), Jayda Mosley (Cincinnati, Ohio / Purcell Marian) and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) scored 16, 14 and 12 points, respectively, with senior Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) matching Darrington's 12.
Darrington and Mosley both reached double-digits by halftime, combining for 22 of CMU's 51 points at the break on an 8-for-12 shooting clip from the field. Mosley's three field goals all came from beyond the arc, her second marking the final lead change of the game, 16-13, with 2:44 left in the first quarter. Darrington scored eight points over the course of the second quarter.
Central Michigan shot 61.3 percent (19-for-31) from the field in the first half including a 58.3 percent clip (7-for-12) in three-point shooting, both season-bests.
Lawson opened the contest responsible for five of the first six field goals as she scored on the first two possessions, tallied three assists over CMU's next four buckets. She was also responsible for the first double-digit lead of the game, 27-17, with 7:12 to go in the second.
Satori Griffin (Mount Pleasant, Mich. / Mount Pleasant) and Riley Smith (Miamisburg, Ohio / Archbishop Alter) combined for an 11-0 run to end the half, with all three field goals assisted by Lawson. The Las Vegas-native walked into the locker room with eight points, eight assists and five rebounds.
The game's script flipped during intermission as Eastern Michigan logged runs of 8-0 and 9-0 in the third quarter, separated by a 90-second window that featured Mosley's third three-pointer and a pair of Morson free throws.
A key emphasis defensively for CMU was stopping Eastern's Sisi Eleko, the only player in the MAC other than Morson to log a 30-point game this season. Eleko mustered just six points on 3-of-10 shooting and five rebounds.
"Our fives, we're big. We were trying to dig on her a little bit and smother her and make it crowded in the paint. Kudos to our defense on her, [but] we lost their shooters."
The Eagles shot 6-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second half, a pivotal 5-for-5 in the third quarter rally after just a 5-for-14 first half.
"They made 11 threes, that's too just many. Especially on our home floor, we lost some focus on the defensive end. On a positive note, we found a way to win, they made their run, but we found a way to stop the bleeding."
After a 19-point lead going into the half, CMU was up just four points after the Eagles' first possession in the fourth quarter. A shooting foul drawn in the lane by Lisa Tesson (Montreal, Quebec / Royal Academy), followed by a technical foul called on the EMU bench, started an 8-0 run for the Chippewas, which featured the senior's lone made field goal, a three-pointer.
The Eagles returned fire again with a 10-1 run over six of the final seven minutes, drawing within a possession, 67-64, for the first time since the 2:44 mark in the first. Morson and Lawson combined for 6-for-6 in late-game fouling to ice the game and finish up an 18-for-22 afternoon from the charity stripe for the Chippewas.
"We found a way to win. We won the fourth quarter with our defense. We just have to continue to try to be consistent and play a full 40 minutes."
CMU have shot 75 percent or better from the free throw line in three of six MAC games (EMU, Toledo, at Ball State), the other three combined for an average of 59.4 percent (at Akron, Miami (OH), at Buffalo).
"We have to be consistent. We have some games where we are 80%, 75% from the free throw line and then other games where we're at 56. This team, we're young, there's a lot of new players but it's time to grow up. We've had a few games under our belt with the conference, so we have got to figure out how to be consistent."
Central Michigan Women's Basketball remains in Mount Pleasant to host Kent State Wednesday (11 a.m.) for the program's annual Hoops for Hunger game, carrying a .500 league record into the seventh game of the MAC season for the first time since 2021.
Team Stats
EMU
CMU
FG%
.468
.411
3FG%
.500
.563
FT%
.750
.818
RB
18
38
TO
11
13
STL
3
2
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
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