Saturday, January 25
Kalamazoo, Mich.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
8-11,4-4MAC
81
at
70
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Western Michigan
8-10,5-3MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Central Mich.
22
18
21
20
81
Western Mich.
16
18
16
20
70
Photo by: Madison Davidson '25 - @_mld.jpeg
Women’s Basketball Overpowers Western Michigan, 81-70
1/25/2025 5:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Chippewas bully Broncos on the boards, shoot over 50 percent from the field; Morson, Darrington combine for 44 points, 15 rebounds and a 59.2 percent shooting clip
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Central Michigan Women's Basketball took down arch-rival Western Michigan, 81-70, to even it's Mid-American Conference record (8-11; 4-4 MAC), and mark back-to-back seasons defeating both in-state rivals under the direction of Head Coach Kristin Haynie.
"We finally grew up today and put a full 40 minutes together," Haynie said. "That was really good to see because we've been struggling with one quarter in the first half or the second half this season."
Freshmen Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) combined for 44 points, 25 and 19 respectively. Morson marked her third game of 20-plus this season while Darrington matched her career high in scoring, added 10 rebounds for her second double-double.
Darrington erupted in the second half, scoring 15 points and notching eight rebounds and did not see a foul charged against her until the final 90 seconds of the game, despite playing a career-high 38 minutes—a surprise to Haynie.
"She continues to get better. We talked at halftime about getting Anna the ball more. Our players are very coachable: they listened, they got Anna the ball and look what happened. Just proud of our players feeding the hot hand and playing well together."
The duo shot 16-for-27 (.592) from the field as the Chippewas marked their first game shooting over 50 percent as a unit since Jan. 4, 2023, logging the most points scored in a regulation win since Feb. 15, 2023 in the process. CMU also tallied a season-high for assists as a team (17).
"We did a really good job of finding the open player. It was really nice to see in the fourth quarter, there was a possession where the ball was touched by everyone with the shot clock winding down and we found Lisa [Tesson] in the corner. They did a great job playing for each other and playing with each other."
Central Michigan dominated in rebounding, 42-20, a predictable outcome on paper going into the game as the Chippewas are second in the MAC in total rebounding, Western Michigan in last by nearly a full rebound per game.
"We scored 21 of our 81 points on second chance opportunities. That's just heart and effort. We have to continue to be consistent on the boards like that, proud of how relentless they were on the glass."
Senior guard Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) showed her versatility as the game wore on. She was CMU's leading rebounder in the first quarter, leading scorer in the second and leading facilitator in the fourth. She finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, six assists before her night was cut short due to foul trouble.
"Jess is just a stat sheet stuffer," Haynie chuckled. "She gets rebounds, she gets assists, she gets deflections, she gets her hands on the ball. She's doing a better job of creating for her teammates; she's really developed her facilitating part of her game. Her effort is always there, she's been very consistent being a rebounding guard for us."
Fellow senior Lisa Tesson (Montreal, Quebec / Royal Crown) set a new career high of eight assists to go with eight points, 2-of-3 on crucial three-pointers in the contest. Tesson, Morson and Lawson combined to shoot 7-of-10 from beyond the arc, a trio none of which would be labelled a 'three-point shooter' as their primary scoring option.
"We're just staying with the process. We're shooting more in practice; they're shooting more on their own. Our players play well together, they know where their spots are. We're doing a really good job of feeding them when they're open.
"Confidence comes from preparation. These players continue to prepare, I'm proud of them for finding each other and know they know where other players are going to be."
Central Michigan Women's Basketball stays on the road to battle Northern Illinois Wednesday (7 p.m. ET) before returning to McGuirk Arena Feb. 1 (1 p.m. ET) to host Bowling Green for the first of a CMU-BGSU doubleheader, as the Chippewa Men host the Falcons later that evening (7 p.m. ET).
"We finally grew up today and put a full 40 minutes together," Haynie said. "That was really good to see because we've been struggling with one quarter in the first half or the second half this season."
Freshmen Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) combined for 44 points, 25 and 19 respectively. Morson marked her third game of 20-plus this season while Darrington matched her career high in scoring, added 10 rebounds for her second double-double.
Darrington erupted in the second half, scoring 15 points and notching eight rebounds and did not see a foul charged against her until the final 90 seconds of the game, despite playing a career-high 38 minutes—a surprise to Haynie.
"She continues to get better. We talked at halftime about getting Anna the ball more. Our players are very coachable: they listened, they got Anna the ball and look what happened. Just proud of our players feeding the hot hand and playing well together."
The duo shot 16-for-27 (.592) from the field as the Chippewas marked their first game shooting over 50 percent as a unit since Jan. 4, 2023, logging the most points scored in a regulation win since Feb. 15, 2023 in the process. CMU also tallied a season-high for assists as a team (17).
"We did a really good job of finding the open player. It was really nice to see in the fourth quarter, there was a possession where the ball was touched by everyone with the shot clock winding down and we found Lisa [Tesson] in the corner. They did a great job playing for each other and playing with each other."
Central Michigan dominated in rebounding, 42-20, a predictable outcome on paper going into the game as the Chippewas are second in the MAC in total rebounding, Western Michigan in last by nearly a full rebound per game.
"We scored 21 of our 81 points on second chance opportunities. That's just heart and effort. We have to continue to be consistent on the boards like that, proud of how relentless they were on the glass."
Senior guard Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) showed her versatility as the game wore on. She was CMU's leading rebounder in the first quarter, leading scorer in the second and leading facilitator in the fourth. She finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, six assists before her night was cut short due to foul trouble.
"Jess is just a stat sheet stuffer," Haynie chuckled. "She gets rebounds, she gets assists, she gets deflections, she gets her hands on the ball. She's doing a better job of creating for her teammates; she's really developed her facilitating part of her game. Her effort is always there, she's been very consistent being a rebounding guard for us."
Fellow senior Lisa Tesson (Montreal, Quebec / Royal Crown) set a new career high of eight assists to go with eight points, 2-of-3 on crucial three-pointers in the contest. Tesson, Morson and Lawson combined to shoot 7-of-10 from beyond the arc, a trio none of which would be labelled a 'three-point shooter' as their primary scoring option.
"We're just staying with the process. We're shooting more in practice; they're shooting more on their own. Our players play well together, they know where their spots are. We're doing a really good job of feeding them when they're open.
"Confidence comes from preparation. These players continue to prepare, I'm proud of them for finding each other and know they know where other players are going to be."
Central Michigan Women's Basketball stays on the road to battle Northern Illinois Wednesday (7 p.m. ET) before returning to McGuirk Arena Feb. 1 (1 p.m. ET) to host Bowling Green for the first of a CMU-BGSU doubleheader, as the Chippewa Men host the Falcons later that evening (7 p.m. ET).
Team Stats
CMU
WMU
FG%
.542
.418
3FG%
.583
.304
FT%
.688
.708
RB
42
20
TO
19
9
STL
5
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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