Women's basketball goes 1-2 in Virgin Islands over holiday weekend
After falling short to a pair of superior teams, women’s basketball ended the Paradise Jam on a high note.
CMU lost 68-63 to Kansas Nov. 28, then 97-64 to No. 2 Duke one day later before handling Xavier, 88-62, Saturday.
The Chippewas hit a program-record 18 three-point shots in the win over Xavier.
After gaining a sizable first half lead on Kansas, the women struggled shooting from the floor hitting just one-of-eight three-point shots in the final 20 minutes of the tournament opener.
Junior guard Crystal Bradford led the Chippewas against the Jayhawks, scoring a game-high 19 points, seven of which she scored in the first six minutes of the game.
Kansas used solid free throw shooting (19-of-22 for the game) to close the game out down the stretch.
Central Michigan head coach Sue Guevara’s team did not stack up well against the second-ranked team in the nation.
CMU clawed to a 22-21 first-half lead, but quickly lost it when the Blue Devils scored the next 15 points over three minutes and regained a double-digit lead.
Duke kept the Chippewas from hitting a shot for the first three minutes of the second half and they finished the game shooting 29.7 percent from the floor.
The team’s offense finally came through against Xavier.
Senior guard Niki DiGuilio and junior Kerby Tamm each hit six three pointers in the rout of the Musketeers. The women finished 18-for-32 (56.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
Starting point guard Jessica Green dished out a career-high nine assists and scored 15 points in the win.
The Chippewas will play their first home game of the season at 7 p.m. Thursday against Dayton.
