Women’s basketball falls at EMU in first-place battle

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It was a struggle from start to finish for the Central Michigan women’s basketball team as it lost to Eastern Michigan Thursday night 73-60 in Ypsilanti.

The Eagles (12-6, 4-1 MAC) got out to a quick 10-0 lead to start the game and did not let up, going up 20 points in the first half. Both teams came into the game 3-1 in the MAC fight for sole possession of first place.

Freshman forward Jas’Mine Bracey had 10 points for CMU (11-8, 3-2) in the first half, but EMU senior guard Tavelyn James outdid her with 19 at halftime.

“(EMU) was being really aggressive with us,” assistant coach Heather Oesterle said. “We’ve got to be more intense, physical and we have to match them.”

The Chippewas couldn’t match the Eagles first-half productivity in the second half, but they did step up their intensity.

CMU cut a 20-point deficit down to seven points with 6:34 to go and held James to zero points in the second half.

“It was too big of a hole to get out of against a team like this,” CMU head coach Sue Guevara said. “Our youth showed itself quite a bit today.”

Guevara started junior guard Jalisa Olive at the point over sophomore guard Kylie Welch. At halftime, the Chippewas had 16 turnovers, and Guevara wanted a change. In the second half, they had just eight turnovers with Welch running the offense.

“(Welch) played smart,” Guevara said. “I thought (Olive) could come in and give us that quickness defensively, and it’s not that she didn’t, but our offense wasn’t going.”

Bracey finished the game with a team-high 16 points, while Johnson contributed with 15 points, and freshman guard Jessica Green had 12 points.

CMU will be looking to shake off this loss and rebound at Kent State, Sunday at 2 p.m.

“Our shooters have to come out, and our shooters have to score,” Guevara said. “Between DiGuilio, (Kerby) Tamm and LaDuke, we’ve got to get some scoring out of them.”