Chippewas Clamp Down on Defense, Top Western in Kalamazoo

Saturday, January 24

Kalamazoo, Mich.

3:30 p.m.

Central Michigan University

12-6,6-2MAC

Western Michigan

5-13,2-6MAC

Central Mich.

Western Mich.

Chippewas Clamp Down on Defense, Top Western in Kalamazoo Image

CMU's Taylor Anderson drives to the basket on Saturday in the Chippewas' 64-44 at Western Michigan. Anderson had 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography

1/24/2026 5:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Full Game Book (PDF)

CMU women run win streak to 3 games, entertain second-place Ball State on Wednesday

By: Andy Sneddon

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Taylor Anderson posted a double-double and Central Michigan exploited a huge inside advantage on Saturday in downing Western Michigan, 64-44, in a Mid-American Conference women's basketball game at the Broncos' University Arena.

It was CMU's third straight win and its fifth in its last six games as it improved to 12-6, 6-2 MAC. The Chippewas have won four of their last five against their biggest rivals and they play Ball State, which is 7-1 and in second place in the MAC, on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at McGuirk Arena.

Anderson, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, scored 10 points and hauled down a career-high 18 rebounds to lead the Chippewas. Madi Morson and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington added 16 points apiece.

It marked the fourth time in five games, and the seventh time this season, that Anderson has reached double digits in rebounds. The double-double was her first of the season and the fifth of her career.

"Rebounding is toughness," CMU coach Kristin Haynie said. "It's grittiness and it's a mentality, and TA has that. She just lays her heart out, leaves it all on the floor. It's hard to box her out and she's just continuing to be relentless on the glass."

The Chippewas outrebounded the Broncos, 46-27, and scored 36 points in the paint to Western's six.

CMU held Western's leading scorer, Kailey Starks, to two points on 0-of-6 shooting. Starks did not score until the fourth quarter. The Chippewas held Western to 29 percent shooting (15 for 52).

"We've been focusing on defense and being consistent, and you can tell," Haynie said. "For most of the game, we were pretty locked in. I think in the third quarter, we had some mental lapses, but I'm super proud of them for coming out on the road and (being) really locked in to what the game plan was."

The Chippewas led for most of the game and were up, 42-37, when Anderson scored on a drive to end the third quarter and up the lead to 44-37.

CMU scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter – five of them came from Morson – to extend the lead to 18, 55-37, with under 5 minutes to play.

"We thought the third quarter got away from us a little bit there, so we wanted to start the fourth quarter out quick," Haynie said. "We wanted to punch first and we did just that. It was really good to see that we stopped the bleeding in the third quarter."