Women’s hoops team wins home thriller over EMU

They say football is a game of inches, in that same tone, basketball is a game of seconds.

That was never more true than during Saturday’s 69-67 Central victory over Eastern Michigan in women’s basketball.

EMU had the ball with the score tied at 67 and only 41 seconds left and was looking to take the lead following a timeout. The Chippewas though had other ideas as senior center Shelly Woods blocked an EMU shot attempt and sophomore forward Vershaun Jones tied up the loose ball to give Central possession.

Sophomore forward Alicia Rozak took the ball up court for the Chips and operated one-on-one with the Eastern defender. Following an assortment of spin moves and fakes, Rozak threw up a shot attempt from the left side of the lane and the ball rimmed off, but the Chips were saved by the referee’s whistle and Rozak sank two free throws to give CMU it’s final margin of victory 69-67.

After the second free throw, the Eagles got a good look at a three-pointer, but it was not to be as the Chippewas improved to 8-12 overall and 5-4 in Mid-American Conference action.

Afterwards, EMU Head Coach Suzy Merchant was understandably upset at the call.

“That was a horrible call. To make that call was terrible, let the kids decide the game,” Merchant said. “It’s unbelievable, quite truthfully, just let us play.”

Merchant went on to comment on the personal foul disparity between the teams.

“Are you telling me they (Chippewas) went nine minutes without touching someone, that’s amazing.”

The first CMU foul didn’t come until 8:16 to play when sophomore guard Rochelle Germany was whistled, and only had six in the second half and 12 for the game, the same amount as the Eagles.

The magnitude of the win was not lost on CMU Head Coach Fran Voll or his team.

“I’m thrilled to have won two-of-three from EMU,” he said. “We’ve really turned it on in MAC play.”

EMU defeated the Chips 92-55 on Dec. 4 in Ypsilanti, while Central won on Jan. 12 back at Eastern in a 60-51 triumph and then added a home win Saturday.

“Coming in after our Northern Illinois loss, we knew we needed to pick it up,” Rozak said. “We knew they wanted to kick our butts and we knew we had to respond.”

“It’s a huge win for us, especially following our NIU loss,” senior guard Jodi Culbertson said.

Even though Woods was the one honored for passing 1,000 career points, it was Culbertson who set a record on Saturday.

With her third three-pointer of the contest with 6:38 to play, Culbertson passed Jenny Ritz and became CMU’s all-time single-season leader in three-pointers made with 56.

“It’s a great honor especially after not playing for three years and then getting to play a lot this year,” Culbertson said.

“She’s really stepped up this year when she was given the opportunity,” Voll said.

In addition to Culbertson’s three treys, sophomore guard Molli Munz was 6-of-8 from behind the arc, but to Voll there was an even more important stat from his starting point guard.

“Molli played 38 minutes and had one turnover, that’s the biggest stat in the game,” he said. “A starting point guard with one turnover that’s almost impossible.”

For the game, Woods led CMU with 23 points, while Munz added 18, while Rozak and Jones led the Chips with seven rebounds each.

Eastern’s Kristy Maska led all scorers with 25 points.

Central stays home for its next contest, at 1 p.m. Feb. 5 against rival Western Michigan. The game is scheduled to be a part a doubleheader and the first-ever “CMU Gold Rush Day.”