Wednesday, March 5
Oxford, Ohio
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
13-16,8-9MAC
69
at
66
Miami (OH)
18-10,10-7MAC
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
Central Mich.
13
14
17
16
9
69
Miami (OH)
15
14
21
10
6
66
Tournament Bound: Women’s Basketball Rallies for OT Win at Miami (OH), 69-66
3/5/2025 11:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Central Michigan returns to the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2021; Tesson plays hero with five of team’s nine points in overtime
OXFORD, Ohio — "Having such a young team, they showed tremendous mental and physical toughness. They've been down, came back and finished out some close games and we did that again tonight."
Central Michigan Women's Basketball punched its ticket into the 2025 Mid-American Conference Championship tournament Wednesday night with an overtime victory, 69-66, at Miami (OH).
"All year long, the team has played with a chip on their shoulder and have been resilient," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said. "It's an amazing feeling and I'm very proud of our players and staff."
Senior Lisa Tesson (Montreal, Quebec / Royal Crown) scored 13 points—all in the second half—to match her career high set in her freshman season, five of which were scored in overtime. The performance marked the first MAC tournament berth of her career.
"I told the team after the game, 'that's staying with the process.' Lisa has put the time in outside of practice, getting up extra shots. I'm proud of her having the confidence to step up. She deserves to get to Cleveland because she has bought in, trusted the process, and is very coachable."
She pushed the Chippewas to a two-possession lead with her third three-pointer of the night less than two minutes into the extra period, then iced the win at the free throw line with 11 seconds left.
"Confidence comes from preparation, and Lisa has been preparing for those moments since day one. It's no surprise that she was confident to step up and knock down big shots for us."
CMU set the stage for the finale with a 15-0 run to rally from a 54-45 deficit in the fourth quarter as its defense held the RedHawks off the board for over six minutes of game time.
"I was proud of the way our defense dictated down the stretch. We told them, 'we are going to win this game with our defense and rebounding.' They did a great job late in the fourth quarter, locking in on the game plan and making it tough for them to make shots."
The effort flowed into overtime as the RedHawks did everything they could to score just six points in those five minutes.
"I loved the last possession in overtime when Miami had to get a three up and we were locked in defending the three-point line until they had to rush up a shot at the buzzer."
The Chippewas had proved capable of such a run already as they mustered an 11-0 run to recover from an early 13-2 margin in the heart of the first quarter, the opposite script from their 11-4 start at Toledo on Saturday.
CMU's freshman duo, Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass), settled into their respective primary roles: Morson led the scoring with 16 points, Darrington led the game with 16 rebounds.
Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) provided an all-around supporting performance with 12 rebounds, nine points, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Lawson and Darrington combined to push CMU to its seventh game of the season with a rebounding margin of 20 or more as it dominated the glass, 53-33.
Demetria Prewitt (Madison, Wis. / La Follette) and Taylor Anderson (South Lyon, Mich. / East) each did their part as the game unfolded. Prewitt recorded her third double-digit scoring game from the bench in MAC play (11); Anderson tallied seven rebounds to go with six points in the first 13 minutes as the Chippewas looked to settle back in from their slow start.
"It's very important for us to get scoring from that position. They're doing a great job of moving without the ball and having confidence in attacking off the bounce and finishing. Not just their scoring, but their defense and rebounding has been huge for us."
Central Michigan Women's Basketball will host Akron Saturday (1 p.m. ET) for Senior Day festivities, recognizing the career and efforts of Tesson. The game itself will be handled the same as the 29 before it.
"We would still prepare for Akron just how we prepare every game, whether the tournament is on the line or not. Our players have done a great job of staying in the moment and not worrying about anything but us getting better on that day."
CMU will see a recent opponent regardless of Saturday's results. A victory over the Zips, or a Western Michigan loss at Buffalo (Sat., 2 p.m. ET), will put the Chippewas in the seventh seed: Toledo has secured the second seed in next Wednesday's third game from Rocket Arena in Cleveland. If CMU falls to the eighth spot, it gets a rematch with regular season champion Ball State in the tournament's opener (March 12; 11 a.m. ET).
Central Michigan Women's Basketball punched its ticket into the 2025 Mid-American Conference Championship tournament Wednesday night with an overtime victory, 69-66, at Miami (OH).
"All year long, the team has played with a chip on their shoulder and have been resilient," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said. "It's an amazing feeling and I'm very proud of our players and staff."
Senior Lisa Tesson (Montreal, Quebec / Royal Crown) scored 13 points—all in the second half—to match her career high set in her freshman season, five of which were scored in overtime. The performance marked the first MAC tournament berth of her career.
"I told the team after the game, 'that's staying with the process.' Lisa has put the time in outside of practice, getting up extra shots. I'm proud of her having the confidence to step up. She deserves to get to Cleveland because she has bought in, trusted the process, and is very coachable."
She pushed the Chippewas to a two-possession lead with her third three-pointer of the night less than two minutes into the extra period, then iced the win at the free throw line with 11 seconds left.
"Confidence comes from preparation, and Lisa has been preparing for those moments since day one. It's no surprise that she was confident to step up and knock down big shots for us."
CMU set the stage for the finale with a 15-0 run to rally from a 54-45 deficit in the fourth quarter as its defense held the RedHawks off the board for over six minutes of game time.
"I was proud of the way our defense dictated down the stretch. We told them, 'we are going to win this game with our defense and rebounding.' They did a great job late in the fourth quarter, locking in on the game plan and making it tough for them to make shots."
The effort flowed into overtime as the RedHawks did everything they could to score just six points in those five minutes.
"I loved the last possession in overtime when Miami had to get a three up and we were locked in defending the three-point line until they had to rush up a shot at the buzzer."
The Chippewas had proved capable of such a run already as they mustered an 11-0 run to recover from an early 13-2 margin in the heart of the first quarter, the opposite script from their 11-4 start at Toledo on Saturday.
CMU's freshman duo, Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass), settled into their respective primary roles: Morson led the scoring with 16 points, Darrington led the game with 16 rebounds.
Jess Lawson (Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy) provided an all-around supporting performance with 12 rebounds, nine points, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Lawson and Darrington combined to push CMU to its seventh game of the season with a rebounding margin of 20 or more as it dominated the glass, 53-33.
Demetria Prewitt (Madison, Wis. / La Follette) and Taylor Anderson (South Lyon, Mich. / East) each did their part as the game unfolded. Prewitt recorded her third double-digit scoring game from the bench in MAC play (11); Anderson tallied seven rebounds to go with six points in the first 13 minutes as the Chippewas looked to settle back in from their slow start.
"It's very important for us to get scoring from that position. They're doing a great job of moving without the ball and having confidence in attacking off the bounce and finishing. Not just their scoring, but their defense and rebounding has been huge for us."
Central Michigan Women's Basketball will host Akron Saturday (1 p.m. ET) for Senior Day festivities, recognizing the career and efforts of Tesson. The game itself will be handled the same as the 29 before it.
"We would still prepare for Akron just how we prepare every game, whether the tournament is on the line or not. Our players have done a great job of staying in the moment and not worrying about anything but us getting better on that day."
CMU will see a recent opponent regardless of Saturday's results. A victory over the Zips, or a Western Michigan loss at Buffalo (Sat., 2 p.m. ET), will put the Chippewas in the seventh seed: Toledo has secured the second seed in next Wednesday's third game from Rocket Arena in Cleveland. If CMU falls to the eighth spot, it gets a rematch with regular season champion Ball State in the tournament's opener (March 12; 11 a.m. ET).
Team Stats
CMU
Miami
FG%
.368
.406
3FG%
.313
.321
FT%
.700
.556
RB
53
33
TO
18
16
STL
9
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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