Women’s basketball leaders respond to lineup changes

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In a game that saw nine CMU players score, the three most consistent players on the women’s basketball team contributed the most in their 96-86 victory Saturday against the Miami RedHawks.

Juniors Shonda Long, Kaihla Szunko and senior Britni Houghton combined for 68 of the 96 points scored for the Chippewas.

Houghton’s 20-point effort came off of the bench to keep CMU in the game through the later stages of the first half.

“I have been saying this all year long, you are only as good as your bench and, well, our bench came through for us again today,” said coach Sue Guevara. “It’s nice to see Houghton come back after a really tough game against Kent State.”

Szunko made a presence inside and on the glass, scoring 23 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, 12 coming on the offensive end.

Long added 25 points and shot 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.

“I think they just let the game come to them,” Guevara said. “Szunko has been pretty consistent. What you saw today is what you saw the last time we played, and Shonda has been consistent as well.”

Foul troubles

Miami got into foul trouble and had to mix up its lineup throughout the game. Three players for the RedHawks fouled out of the game late in the second half.

The Chippewas were in the bonus at the 13-minute mark of the first half and the 12-minute mark of the second half, allowing them to shoot free throws on every foul after that.

“I think (it) was easy to get inside because we got them into foul trouble early,” Szunko said. “We were attacking, and they couldn’t handle when we pounded it in.”
It was the first game Houghton has not started this season after shooting 2-of-11 against Kent State.

Long has been CMU’s most consistent backcourt scorer, averaging 14 points per game and nearly 32 minutes per game. She is the team’s leading scorer with 14.6 points per game.