Women’s hoops drops final home game 86-64

• Tweet
• 

CMU’s 86-64 loss to Toledo is one of those games a team would like to forget about.
However, at this point in the season, it may have been the biggest loss. The Chippewas were thinking about more than a win, they were also thinking about hosting a first round Mid-American Conference Tournament game.
The loss drops Central to 9-16 overall and 6-8 in the MAC, which puts the Chips right in the middle of the conference fight for the number eight seed, which is the last home site in tournament play, while Toledo (11-12, 8-5 MAC) is fighting for an all important first-round bye in the MAC Tournament.
Central came out of the gates cold against the Rockets and stayed that way the entire game. The Chippewas trailed by as many as 24 in the first half and went into halftime trailing 41-21.
“We couldn’t hit a thing,” Head Coach Fran Voll said.
CMU struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 22 percent (8-37), including 0-for-9 from the three-point line, but the Rockets couldn’t miss, shooting 63 percent (17-27) in the first half and 58 percent (7-12) from beyond the arc.
“It’s always a nice thing when you can be up 20 on the road,” Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. “Normally you don’t see that kind of shooting on the road.”
“They couldn’t miss a shot. I don’t think I’ve seen a team so hot coming out of the chute,” Voll said.
Voll was surprised with his team’s effort in the game because it was their last regular season home game and also marked the end of the home careers of seniors Shelly Woods and Jodi Culbertson.
“I felt good about today’s game. I thought our kids were well prepared,” Voll said. “I thought we were going to have a good performance. I had no indication whatsoever that we were going to do this.”
Woods and Culbertson both struggled from the field. Woods ended up with eight points and nine rebounds, while Culbertson followed up her 21 point night against Northern Illinois with only two points. Culbertson was 0-for-6 from three-point range.
“Jodi and Shelly are special players,” Voll said. “I take my hat off to both of them,”
In the second half Voll decided to go with the younger players in hopes of creating a spark. For awhile it worked, but Central would get no closer than 14 points in the second half.
“I didn’t care if we won by 40 or won by two I just wanted to win. I thought that answering them was important in the second half,” Ehlen said.
“We went with the kids that kind of had it. They were able to pick it up a little bit for us,” Voll said.
The Chippewas were led by Alicia Rozak who had 18 points. Vershaun Jones also posted a strong game, scoring 16 points and pulling down 8 rebounds.
Toledo had six players in double figures and was led by Tara Overaitis. Overaitis put in 18 points and grabbed 11 boards and was also a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range.
“What they did today was unheard of,” Voll said.
Toledo cooled down in the second half, only shooting 55 percent (17-31), but it was still too much for Central to overcome. The shooting improved in the second half for the Chips as they shot 44 percent (16-36).
“Toledo is playing for a bye right now. They knew what they had to do and they did it,” Voll said. “I think we were caught off guard. I was very surprised with how the game unfolded.”
The Chips get no rest now as they head out on the road for their last two regular season games. First up is MAC co-leader Western Michigan at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Central will look for a split of the season series as the team dropped the first game at Rose Arena 82-63 on Feb. 5.
The Chips wrap up the regular season at Ball State on in a 7 p.m. Friday contest. CMU is looking for the regular season sweep over the Cardinals, winning the last meeting at home 74-69.