Central Michigan University Athletics
Fourth-year CMU women's basketball coach Kristin Haynie fields questions Tuesday during the Chippewas' Media Day.
Photo by: Josie Ransley '25,M'27 - @josieransmedia
10/28/2026 2:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Chippewas face rugged nonconference schedule that includes four three ranked opponents, including Michigan, which comes to McGuirk Arena on Nov. 16
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – From all indications, the transfer portal was good to Central Michigan Women's Basketball.
Fourth-year Chippewa coach Kristin Haynie welcomed four transfers in the offseason, and all could be major contributors, blending with veteran holdovers from last year's team that finished 18-12 and reached the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the second straight season.
"We were looking at the style of play on the defensive end and the talent as well," Haynie said on Tuesday during the Chippewas' media day. "All of those (transfers) are talented on both ends of the floor.
"We looked to (their) high school (team) or the teams that they've been on previously at the college level. A lot of those teams that they've been a part of have played pressure defense; pressing in-your-face (defense). We really wanted to amp our defense up this year and be a better defensive team."
Among the transfers are the Davis twins, Summer and Indya, who played last season at Georgetown after spending the 2024-25 season at Georgia. The junior guards were highly recruited and highly decorated prep players at West Bloomfield High School, leading the Falcons to a pair of Division 1 state championships.
"We know they have good chemistry together," Haynie said. "They've been playing with each other for a really long time.
"It's been awesome to just see them continuing to grow and I'm very happy that they're here. They have a really high ceiling. They are gym rats, they work hard. First ones in the gym, last ones to leave. They're up at 6 in the morning. They're what you want as a coach. They're just going to continue to get better and grow in our system."
Also new to the squad is guard Nevaeh Williams (Davenport) and sophomore Jailenn Green (St. Leo). Williams hails from Mount Clemens, Green from Kentucky.
The arrival of Williams, an athletic 5th-year guard who figures to play the point, will allow Haynie to move sophomore Lilah Turnbull to shooting guard.
"She's an animal on defense," Haynie said of Williams, who earned a spot on the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Defensive Team a year ago when she totaled 58 steals. "She's small but she's mighty. She can go get offensive rebounds; she's super quick to the ball; she can defend and she can score multiple ways. With how quick she is, she's really hard to guard."
Turnbull, Haynie said, has added the 3-point shot to her repertoire.
"We need her to be a great 3-point shooter for us," she said. "When she's open, she's knocking that down. And that's not luck, that's because she's like, OK, my role is to be more of a shooter instead of facilitator. She's taking that on and she's done a really good job with it."
Among the other returnees are junior guard Jayda Mosley, a major threat from beyond the arc, sophomore guard Rylan Buschell, 6-foot-2 junior Riley Smith, and 6-3 senior Taylor Johnson.
Smith was injured 13 games into last season. Her healthy return has been inspirational, Haynie said, and she is expected to play a crucial role this season.
"She has a great mentality," Haynie said. "She's not just a shooter; she's putting the ball on the floor, scoring in different ways. We really like to see her growth. She worked hard this summer, and you can see it."
Those veterans will not only take on increasingly important roles from a nuts-and-bolts standpoint, but also as program leaders, Haynie said.
"Experience matters," Haynie said. "Minutes matter. So they've been there, done that. We're really looking to them to amp up their leadership, which they have.
"(Turnbull) is a lot more vocal this year, as is Rylan Buschell. It's really good to see them just being comfortable and being able to take on a leadership role. They have stepped up in leadership roles and they're more aggressive."
The Chippewas open on Monday, Nov. 2 (11 a.m.) when they entertain Old Dominion in the MAC-Sun Belt Conference Challenge at McGuirk Arena and the ambitious nonconference slate includes dates with Big Ten members Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota and Purdue.
Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota all enter the season ranked in the top 20. Michigan comes to McGuirk Arena for a nationally televised game on Monday, Nov. 16.
"It's a great challenge for us," Haynie said, alluding to last season, when the Chippewas played at Notre Dame and then came home to beat Purdue a week later. "Having those teams, Michigan, Purdue, come to our arena, is pretty awesome.
"We felt like playing against Notre Dame last year prepared us for Purdue. So that's why we play those games. It helps us for the MAC (schedule). We can take a lot of learning from that. If we can defend and score on players that are pretty good defenders (from) top teams in the nation, then we know we can score on anybody. We'll get confidence from playing against those teams."
No matter who the opponent is, Haynie stressed that the Chippewas will be what they always have been since she took over the program four years ago.
"The defense and rebounding needs to always be there," she said. "That just takes heart and effort. We're getting there. At this point in the season, the best thing we've had so far (is that they're) communicating with each other. That's really encouraging and really good to see.
"Maybe some of the gaps that we had last year, I feel like we're going to fill them in this year because of who we brought in on the defensive end."
Fourth-year Chippewa coach Kristin Haynie welcomed four transfers in the offseason, and all could be major contributors, blending with veteran holdovers from last year's team that finished 18-12 and reached the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the second straight season.
"We were looking at the style of play on the defensive end and the talent as well," Haynie said on Tuesday during the Chippewas' media day. "All of those (transfers) are talented on both ends of the floor.
"We looked to (their) high school (team) or the teams that they've been on previously at the college level. A lot of those teams that they've been a part of have played pressure defense; pressing in-your-face (defense). We really wanted to amp our defense up this year and be a better defensive team."
Among the transfers are the Davis twins, Summer and Indya, who played last season at Georgetown after spending the 2024-25 season at Georgia. The junior guards were highly recruited and highly decorated prep players at West Bloomfield High School, leading the Falcons to a pair of Division 1 state championships.
"We know they have good chemistry together," Haynie said. "They've been playing with each other for a really long time.
"It's been awesome to just see them continuing to grow and I'm very happy that they're here. They have a really high ceiling. They are gym rats, they work hard. First ones in the gym, last ones to leave. They're up at 6 in the morning. They're what you want as a coach. They're just going to continue to get better and grow in our system."
Also new to the squad is guard Nevaeh Williams (Davenport) and sophomore Jailenn Green (St. Leo). Williams hails from Mount Clemens, Green from Kentucky.
The arrival of Williams, an athletic 5th-year guard who figures to play the point, will allow Haynie to move sophomore Lilah Turnbull to shooting guard.
"She's an animal on defense," Haynie said of Williams, who earned a spot on the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Defensive Team a year ago when she totaled 58 steals. "She's small but she's mighty. She can go get offensive rebounds; she's super quick to the ball; she can defend and she can score multiple ways. With how quick she is, she's really hard to guard."
Turnbull, Haynie said, has added the 3-point shot to her repertoire.
"We need her to be a great 3-point shooter for us," she said. "When she's open, she's knocking that down. And that's not luck, that's because she's like, OK, my role is to be more of a shooter instead of facilitator. She's taking that on and she's done a really good job with it."
Among the other returnees are junior guard Jayda Mosley, a major threat from beyond the arc, sophomore guard Rylan Buschell, 6-foot-2 junior Riley Smith, and 6-3 senior Taylor Johnson.
Smith was injured 13 games into last season. Her healthy return has been inspirational, Haynie said, and she is expected to play a crucial role this season.
"She has a great mentality," Haynie said. "She's not just a shooter; she's putting the ball on the floor, scoring in different ways. We really like to see her growth. She worked hard this summer, and you can see it."
Those veterans will not only take on increasingly important roles from a nuts-and-bolts standpoint, but also as program leaders, Haynie said.
"Experience matters," Haynie said. "Minutes matter. So they've been there, done that. We're really looking to them to amp up their leadership, which they have.
"(Turnbull) is a lot more vocal this year, as is Rylan Buschell. It's really good to see them just being comfortable and being able to take on a leadership role. They have stepped up in leadership roles and they're more aggressive."
The Chippewas open on Monday, Nov. 2 (11 a.m.) when they entertain Old Dominion in the MAC-Sun Belt Conference Challenge at McGuirk Arena and the ambitious nonconference slate includes dates with Big Ten members Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota and Purdue.
Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota all enter the season ranked in the top 20. Michigan comes to McGuirk Arena for a nationally televised game on Monday, Nov. 16.
"It's a great challenge for us," Haynie said, alluding to last season, when the Chippewas played at Notre Dame and then came home to beat Purdue a week later. "Having those teams, Michigan, Purdue, come to our arena, is pretty awesome.
"We felt like playing against Notre Dame last year prepared us for Purdue. So that's why we play those games. It helps us for the MAC (schedule). We can take a lot of learning from that. If we can defend and score on players that are pretty good defenders (from) top teams in the nation, then we know we can score on anybody. We'll get confidence from playing against those teams."
No matter who the opponent is, Haynie stressed that the Chippewas will be what they always have been since she took over the program four years ago.
"The defense and rebounding needs to always be there," she said. "That just takes heart and effort. We're getting there. At this point in the season, the best thing we've had so far (is that they're) communicating with each other. That's really encouraging and really good to see.
"Maybe some of the gaps that we had last year, I feel like we're going to fill them in this year because of who we brought in on the defensive end."
Players Mentioned
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