Women begin crucial season stretch

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It comes down to the final eight-game stretch of the season.

With three of their next four games on the road, the CMU women’s basketball team currently sits two games out of first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division.

At 7 p.m. today in Oxford, Ohio, the Chippewas take on Miami (OH) in a crucial conference road game.

“I’m only one game at a time. Here we go, this is nothing new,” said head coach Sue Guevara. “At this point it (the standings) doesn’t matter. Our defense is going to be even more important.”

The Chippewas (13-7 overall, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) left Mount Pleasant Tuesday afternoon and will be staying in Ohio throughout the week, with a game against the Ohio Bobcats looming on Saturday.

This extended road trip has been planned for months and has nothing to do with Wednesday’s snowstorm. Both trips are long drives that would have created unnecessary travel for the team.

The RedHawks (10-11, 2-6 MAC) are currently on a four-game losing streak, with their last win on Jan. 15 at Akron. Before then, they also knocked off a Buffalo team that CMU suffered a loss against last week.

“What you just said right there, they beat Buffalo and Buffalo beat us,” Guevara said. “We are waiting for all the cylinders to be working so this engine is efficient and strong, puts the ball in hole and plays defense.”

The Chippewas lead the MAC in scoring and have two of the conference’s rising stars.

Freshmen Niki DiGuilio and Taylor Johnson are two of the top scorers in the league and Johnson is one of the freshman leaders in rebounding as well.

DiGuilio is averaging more than 11 points per game but has scored just 19 points over the last four games.

After a school record nine straight road games to start the season, the Chippewas senior leading scorer Kaihla Szunko (16.5 points per game) said that has prepared the team for the 2-game roadtrip.

“I think those tournaments helped us not only being on the road but being away for a longer time,” Szunko said. “We have a long trip but everyone will be prepared. We can’t allow open looks and just play team defense.”

The RedHawks are led by sophomore guard Courtney Osborn, who averages 16.5 points per game. Sophomore forward Kirsten Olowinki averages a double-double with 11.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

TV addition

CMU’s Feb. 19 game against Western Michigan at McGuirk Arena has been picked up for TV on SportsTime Ohio. Tipoff is scheduled for noon.