Morson’s First Double-Double, Shorthanded Chippewas Take Down Eastern Michigan

Saturday, January 17

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

1 p.m.

Central Michigan University

10-6,4-2MAC

Eastern Michigan

7-9,1-5MAC

Eastern Mich.

Central Mich.

Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography

Morson’s First Double-Double, Shorthanded Chippewas Take Down Eastern Michigan

1/17/2026 4:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Morson hits double-digit rebounds for the first time, Turnbull career-high 14 points; Haynie remains undefeated against EMU as Head Coach

By: Harrison LaLone

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — The shorthanded Central Michigan women's basketball team outworked Eastern Michigan, 77-64, in McGuirk Arena.

"We were locked in for 40 minutes and that was really encouraging to see because we haven't been doing that lately," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said. "It was a fun game to coach. I'm proud that we didn't have a quarter where we just didn't score or didn't play defense."

Just eight Chippewas were active for the rotation Saturday, though the Wednesday off from Mid-American Conference play provided some extra time with the available players to get their reps.

"Proud of the eight players we had to come out and leave everything they had out there today. We practiced with that group most of the week with the bye, so we were used to having who we had."

Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem) led the charge again on the offensive end with 24 points—her seventh 20-pointer of the season—but, more notably, her first career double-double via 10 rebounds.

"A lot of times, on the offensive end, she's back for safety. We made a tweak this week and said, 'let's get you rebounding, get you crashing.' It paid off, now she's set the bar high."

A 26-point third quarter for CMU that featured an 11-of-17 mark from the field made the difference on the ledger, adding eight points to a three-point halftime lead.

"Coming out of halftime having that domination mentality is great. You could tell on both the offensive and defensive end. They played really well together."

Morson produced 11 of her points (five-of-seven field goals) in the third frame.

Freshman point guard Lilah Turnbull (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Western Reserve) produced a season-high 14 points, scoring at all three levels, to go along with four assists—three of which came in the third quarter breakaway.

"It's no surprise that her confidence is up and that we're seeing the results. She works her butt off, she listens, she's a sponge. To get that consistent third scorer would be great from that position."

Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) posted a more rounded effort down low. Though she finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, she did so on 62.5 percent shooting to go with three steals, three assists and five crucial fouls drawn.

"Ana's a beast down there: we give her the ball, she gets four or six hands on her. For her to stay strong down there game in and game out, getting fouled, getting double and triple teamed and she's still scoring, still efficient in the paint."

Haynie improved to 4-0 against Eastern Michigan as CMU's head coach, 7-1 in the in-state conference matchups as the defense of the Michigan MAC trophy began Saturday.

"We talk about winning the state, being the best team in the state in the MAC, and it started with today. It's about going out, fighting and playing with our urgency, toughness and grit: playing Chippewa basketball. Every game is the same as far as the approach and mentality, but we do want to win the state of Michigan, so today was a good start."

Central Michigan shot 60 percent or better from the field in three of four quarters Saturday, 64.3 percent in the second half in conjunction with a typically dominant rebounding margin, 39-23. Senior guard Taylor Anderson (South Lyon, Mich. / East) shared the team high of 10 rebounds with Morson.

Chippewa Women's Basketball gears up for back-to-back on the road, with visits to Akron Wednesday (Jan. 21; 6 p.m. ET) and arch-rival Western Michigan next Saturday (Jan. 24; 3:30 p.m. ET)—a twinbill with the men's programs from both schools.

CMU returns to McGuirk Arena Jan. 28 (6:30 p.m. ET) to host defending MAC Champion Ball State.

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— CMU —