Women’s basketball heads to conference leader Ohio
It is time to see what the Central Michigan University women’s basketball team is made of.
The Chippewas head to Ohio University for a 2 p.m. matchup against the Bobcats on Saturday.
OU comes into the matchup with one of the best starts the program has had in school history. The Bobcats have posted a record of 12-3 overall and 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference.
Averaging 72.9 points per game, OU’s offense ranks second in the conference.
CMU coach Sue Guevara said the Bobcats are even more dangerous than their statistics show.
“OU is a really good offensive team,” Guevara said. “They have two guards that can really shoot it. We are going to have to tweak our defense a little bit.”
The Bobcats are led by junior guard Kiyanna Black, who ranks sixth in the MAC with 15.2 points per game. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Quiera Lampkins is ranked in the top ten of the MAC with 13.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Holding its opponents to 57.9 points per game, the Bobcats are defeating opposing teams by an average of 15 points.
“They do a really nice job defensively of packing it in, and forcing you to hit that outside jumper,” Guevara said. “I thought Northern Illinois was a pretty good defensive team, but watching OU on tape, they’re very disciplined on defense.”
Patience on the offensive end is what Guevara said she has stressed to her team in practice this week.
“If we come down and up it goes, then we are going to play right into their hands,” she said. “We will have to continue to work on getting our offensive efficiency going.”
A big key in the Bobcats early success this year has been due to their efficiency shooting the 3-point ball.
The Bobcats’ 35 percent from the 3-point line this season is well above the 27 percent they shot during the 2013-2014 campaign. Lexie Baldwin is the player to watch for the Bobcats on the perimeter as she is shooting a team-high 45 percent from long range.
Crystal Bradford, CMU’s senior guard said she has noticed the improvement in Ohio’s offensive game during her four years in Mount Pleasant.
“They pretty much have the same players from last year, but they are shooting the ball better than they were last year,” Bradford said. “They have a really good guard and they like to get up and go.”
A win on Saturday would put the Chippewas at 5-0 in the MAC, something freshman Cassandra Breen said would be a good confidence booster for the CMU women.
“I think it will just keep us rolling on this journey that we’re taking right now,” Breen said. “I think what we are really focused on is the MAC tournament and trying to get a good seed going into the tournament.”
