Three double-doubles help women to 98-73 win against Wichita State

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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – When it’s going good, it’s going good.

The Central Michigan women’s basketball team got three double-double offensive performances Wednesday to beat Wichita State 98-73 in front of 698 at McGuirk Arena.

With the win, the Chippewas improve to a perfect 2-0 at home and 8-3 on the season, having won five of their last six games.

“It was a really good win for us (and) a great way to go into a five-day break,” said CMU head coach Sue Guevara. “To have three players earn double-doubles is amazing to me and a testament to the versatility of this basketball team.”

Senior Kaihla Szunko scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to earn her ninth double-double of the season. More importantly, Szunko’s final bucket of the game made her the 20th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point club.

Sophomore guard Brandie Baker drives past Wichita State's junior guard Heather Robben, right, and freshman guard BreAnna Dawkins during the first half at McGuirk Arena. Baker played 34 minutes, recording 16 points and 10 rebounds in the 98-73 win against the Shockers. (Sean Proctor/Staff Photographer)

After sitting on the bench for a majority of the first half because of foul trouble, Szunko came on in the second half, going 7-for-20 and scoring 20 points, including a layup with 58 seconds remaining that put her over the scoring mark, to help CMU to its fifth win in six games.

“I knew I was one (basket) short from it, so I was kind of giving Coach G puppy dog eyes,” Szunko said. “I wanted it today. It’s nice, and I’m really excited, but I couldn’t do it without my team.”

Sophomore Brandie Baker had 16 points and 10 rebounds while junior forward Skylar Miller rounded out the offensive triple-threat with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Freshman Nikki Diguilio, who was averaging 10.8 points per game coming into Wednesday’s game, scored a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers. By halftime, she had scored 15 points, all from beyond the 3-point line.

“The most important thing was to keep my composure,” DiGuilio said. “I am a freshman – I haven’t been there and done that. I have to listen to what coach says and listen to Shonda and (Szunko) – they instilled confidence in me when I was hitting the 3.”

Both teams struggled to find their rhythm shooting the ball in the first half. At the 11:48 mark of the first half, CMU held a 9-1 lead but was 3-for-13 from the field with the Shockers shooting a worse 0-for-11.

Despite shooting just 34.3 percent from the field in the half – WSU 21.6 percent – the Chippewas were able to establish a double-digit lead and expand on it, taking a 41-21 lead into halftime.

The second half saw a much better 20 minutes of basketball as CMU shot a much healthier 55.6 percent from the field. It also stayed away from the 3-point line, attempting just seven shots from beyond the arc. Guevara said her team had better shot selection in the second half.

Freshman forward Taylor Johnson, center, celebrates with her teammates as senior forward Kaihla Szunko came out of the game in the second half against Wichita State after becoming the 20th player in program history to record 1,000 career points Wednesday afternoon at McGuirk Arena. CMU defeated Wichita State 98-73, shooting 45 percent from the floor and 38 percent from behind the 3-point line. (Sean Proctor/Staff Photographer)

“We started to play unselfish basketball,” she said. “I don’t think we were sharing the ball as well as I had seen us share and we were looking to shoot the 3-ball pretty quick.”

Freshman Taylor Johnson came off the bench to score 12 points and grab eight rebounds.

CMU scored 28 points off 18 WSU turnovers and outrebounded the Shockers 53-48.

“Rebounding has really helped us a lot,” Guevara said. “Our players have made more of a commitment to defense and they understand it. We’ve been in some tough games in the past where we just needed a stop and we couldn’t get it.”

Guard Breanna Dawkins had 14 points and eight rebounds for Wichita State (6-5).

Players will have the next five days off before returning to practice on Dec. 28. CMU hosts Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. on Dec. 31 at McGuirk Arena.