CMU women improve to 8-0 in MAC play

If you want to know how to beat the Chippewas ask rival Western Michigan University.

Last March the Broncos upset the top-seeded Mid-American Conference regular-season champion Chippewas in the Mid-American Conference tournament 67-63, using five CMU turnovers in the final 2:01 of regulation to reel off a 10-0 run and send the Chippewas packing.

On Saturday afternoon from McGuirk Arena the Broncos led CMU 67-60 with 2:32 left in regulation and appeared to be en route to a second-straight victory over their archrivals.

The Broncos’ game plan was righteous too as they immediately got 6-foot-3 CMU center Tinara Moore into foul trouble in the opening minutes and held fellow senior Cassie Breen to an 0-for-7 performance in the opening 39 minutes.

Despite it all the Moore and Breen came up big when it mattered most as Breen drained a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left in regulation to give the hosts the lead for good. Moore, CMU’s all-time leading shot blocker who was honored for this feat prior to the game, then swatted a pair of runners in the lane to preserve a 74-70 Chippewa victory.

With the win CMU improves to 16-3 overall and to 8-0 in MAC play. Conversely, WMU falls to 12-9 overall and to 5-4 in conference play.

“You understand there’s always going to be a fight in this dog, we’re going to keep going after it” said CMU head coach Sue Guevara, whose team was helped along by 2,300 screaming fans in the final moments Saturday. “We were able to get to the basket and make officials make calls. We went to the line 30 times, I like how we stayed in the moment.”

For the game the Broncos dominated the statistical line as they had 58 shots taken to CMU’s 44 and outrebounded the hosts 36-23. WMU also hit 48 percent of its shots from the field while the hosts hit at a 46-percent clip. Usually, when you take 14 more shots, win the battle of the boards by double digits and hit from the floor at a higher percentage it leads to a victory.

But sometimes statistics lie, as is the case in this instance,

“Western Michigan is a nice basketball team, we beat a good team today,” said Guevara. “The beauty of this team is that every game it seems like one of our starters picks up two fouls in the first quarter and we’re able to bring people in.”

Moore, who has been on a tear since the opening of MAC play as she averages 20 points and 11.4 rebounds per, picked up her second foul five minutes in and sat for the remainder of the first half. Without her presence in the middle the Broncos ran roughshod in the lane, hitting numerous short runners. Combined with a 53-percent shooting performance from the field the Broncos took a 36-35 lead into the half. Had it not been for solid showings from ever-steady showings from Reyna Frost (11 points), Presley Hudson (11 points) and emerging star Micaela Kelly (10 points) the Chippewas would have been in trouble.

After picking up her third foul four minutes into the third Moore had to sit again which opened up the middle. WMU took a 55-54 lead heading into the fourth and after a 12-6 run in the opening six and one-half minutes of the final stanza it appeared the Broncos were on the cusp of sealing the win. A Moore lay-up made it 67-62 before Hudson got a steal and hit Kelly who was fouled going to the basket. Kelly’s ability to attack the basket paid big-time dividends in the final minutes as she hit four straight free throws to make it 67-66. Breen then drained her first bucket of the game with 53 seconds left and the hosts sealed it via Moore’s two blocked shots and by hitting five of its six free throws in the final 19 seconds.

Kelly recorded her fourth-straight double-digit showing to lead the hosts with 19 points. She was also 10-for-11 from the stripe. CMU went 25-for-30 from the charity stripe and effectively won the game there as WMU went 6-for-7.

Moore added in 17 points while Hudson had 18 and Frost 11.

Breanna Mobley led the Broncos with 15.

CMU hosts East Division leader Buffalo on Wednesday at 7 p.m.