Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, January 4
Muncie, Ind.
1 p.m.
Central Michigan University
4-9,0-2MAC
61
at
72
Ball State
10-4,2-0MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Central Mich.
4
18
15
24
61
Ball St.
16
11
24
21
72
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Women’s Basketball Logs Strong Showing at League-Favorite Ball State, 72-61
1/4/2025 4:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Morson tallies 18, Darrington 12 and seven rebounds; Chippewas done-in by season-high in turnovers
MUNCIE, Ind. — Central Michigan Women's Basketball recovered from it longest trip in league play to take preseason Mid-American Conference favorite Ball State to the wire, 72-61, on the road Saturday afternoon.
Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) returned to the forefront of the Chippewas' offense with 18 points, supported by a season-high 12 points and seven rebounds from Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass)—her fifth double-digit scoring game from the bench this season.
CMU faced an early deficit as the Cardinals rattled off a 12-0 run to end the first quarter, recovered well with an 18-11 second frame for just a 27-22 margin at intermission. The Chippewas endured 18 of their 31 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Morson broke into double figures to get Central Michigan within a bucket, 31-28, two minutes into the third, went on to score nine of her 18 points in the period. The pace of the game slowed down after halftime as the number of fouls called in the contest doubled in the third and carried into the fourth.
After staring down a 19-point deficit early in the fourth, the Chippewas roared back again with a 12-4 run and clawed back to within single digits with two minutes to play. Satori Griffin (Mount Pleasant, Mich. / Mount Pleasant) was a catalyst to the rally with two contested three-pointers to match Darrington's team-high six points in the quarter, en route to a season-high nine points.
Central Michigan Women's Basketball returns to McGuirk Arena Wednesday (Jan. 8, 6:30 p.m.) to host Miami (OH) for the start of a two-game homestand that features Toledo (Jan. 11, 1 p.m.).
Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) returned to the forefront of the Chippewas' offense with 18 points, supported by a season-high 12 points and seven rebounds from Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass)—her fifth double-digit scoring game from the bench this season.
CMU faced an early deficit as the Cardinals rattled off a 12-0 run to end the first quarter, recovered well with an 18-11 second frame for just a 27-22 margin at intermission. The Chippewas endured 18 of their 31 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Morson broke into double figures to get Central Michigan within a bucket, 31-28, two minutes into the third, went on to score nine of her 18 points in the period. The pace of the game slowed down after halftime as the number of fouls called in the contest doubled in the third and carried into the fourth.
After staring down a 19-point deficit early in the fourth, the Chippewas roared back again with a 12-4 run and clawed back to within single digits with two minutes to play. Satori Griffin (Mount Pleasant, Mich. / Mount Pleasant) was a catalyst to the rally with two contested three-pointers to match Darrington's team-high six points in the quarter, en route to a season-high nine points.
Central Michigan Women's Basketball returns to McGuirk Arena Wednesday (Jan. 8, 6:30 p.m.) to host Miami (OH) for the start of a two-game homestand that features Toledo (Jan. 11, 1 p.m.).
Team Stats
CMU
BSU
FG%
.389
.404
3FG%
.200
.318
FT%
.800
.633
RB
43
32
TO
31
18
STL
9
15
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
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