Women's basketball overcomes sluggish start to claim ninth straight win

Central Michigan women's basketball eventually distanced itself from Ohio after a slow first half, pulling away for an 80-63 victory over the Bobcats Sunday afternoon at McGuirk Arena.

It was the team's ninth-straight win, keeping its home unbeaten streak alive.

“We’re halfway and we’re 9-0. It’s a good place to be," said CMU head coach Sue Guevara. "I think we have to play like we’re the No. 1 team in our conference."

CMU failed to rebound the ball while creating little separation on the scoreboard early through the first half. Missed opportunities were a big part of the first-half effort.

Although CMU (13-8, 9-0 in MAC) led at halftime, Guevara said the team had major adjustments to make if they wanted to remain undefeated in conference play.

“Basically, I told them we were playing uninspired,” Guevara said.  “We were being out-rebounded by a team smaller than us because we weren’t being aggressive enough.”

Junior forward Jas’Mine Bracey led all CMU scorers with 18 points. She also pulled down 12 rebounds.

“At halftime, we were told that we needed to start taking it to the glass more,” Bracey said.

Sharp-shooting senior Niki DiGuilio continued her long-shot offense finishing a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range and scoring 14 points.

“We were finding the open people,” DiGuilio said.  “After those three threes, we simmered down and got to work. We let the game come to us.”

CMU saw notable contributions from their bench as sophomore point guard Da'Jourie Turner scored a career-high 15 points in the win. Junior guard Crystal Bradford finished the game with 10 points and eight rebounds.

It was the only regular-season meeting between the Chippewas and Bobcats.

CMU will travel to Muncie, Ind. to take on Ball State on Thursday.  The Cardinals sit in the middle of the MAC West Division standings at 9-10 overall and 4-4 in the conference.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.