What we missed: Women’s basketball

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The Central Michigan women’s basketball team season improved over break.

Before it began, the Chippewas were 2-5 and coming off a home loss to Bradley.  Since then the team has won seven of eight games to improve their record to 9-6.

CMU won its first five games over break beginning with one of the biggest wins in CMU women’s basketball history when the Chippewas defeated No. 12 ranked Purdue 75-62 at McGuirk Arena on Dec. 11.

Throughout break turnovers crippled the Chippewas offense. Against Mississippi they turned the ball over 28 times, but improvement showed in the Mid-American Conference opener against Northern Illinois with a season-low eight turnovers.

Most Valuable Player Over Break: Crystal Bradford

The six-foot freshman from Detroit has been CMU’s best player all season and she continued that during break.  Bradford averaged nearly 12 points and nine rebounds in those games.  Against Ole Miss she sent the game to overtime with a last second shot and then scored the first seven points in overtime to lead CMU to the win.

“I have a lot of confidence in her,” said head coach Sue Guevara. “She’s long and she’s able to get her hands on a lot of balls. She’s a gamer. “

Best Game over Break: 75-62 win over No. 12 Purdue

The Chippewas best game over break was beating No. 12 Purdue at home right after finals week. Junior Brandie Baker recorded her first double-double of the season scoring 16 points and hauling down 10 rebounds to lead CMU.

The Chippewas took the lead with 6:31 to go when freshman guard Crystal Bradford set up freshman forward Jas’Mine Bracey for an easy layup. From there, Bradford and Baker went 7-for-8 from the free throw line to seal the victory. Bradford and freshman guard Jessica Green each had 14 points in the win.

Biggest Surprise over Break: Jordan LaDuke

The 5-foot-11 forward from Flushing, Mich., wasn’t eligible to play until the Purdue game because of transfer rules, but that didn’t stop her from making an impact. She has started the last five games and had some solid performances including a five rebound, 17-point performance against the College of Charleston.

Biggest Disappointment: Turnovers, free-throw shooting

The Chippewas played well over break except for two things: turnovers and free-throw shooting. Those two flaws have hurt CMU all season and it continued over break. The Chippewas averaged almost 20 turnovers a game and 139 total. They committed 28 twice, including the only loss over break to Hampton. Shooting from the free-throw line also continues to be a concern. They made 114 of their 176 attempts, just 65 percent.

Looking Forward:

The Chippewas home opener is on Jan 11. against Western Michigan. They have proven that their young talent can play and that they can get contributions from virtually anyone on the team. As the season progresses CMU will need to continue to cut down on their turnovers, but this team should compete for the MAC West Division title and be in the hunt for the MAC’s NCAA Tournament bid.