Last-place women head to Toledo in hopes of upset
Senior forward Lorreal Jones (2) puts up a shot during the Central Michigan University women’s basketball team’s loss to Western Michigan University on March 11 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
The 2014-15 season continues to be an uphill climb for the Central Michigan University women’s basketball team.
The Chippewas snapped a four-game losing streak with a 63-51 win against rival Western Michigan University last weekend, only to stumble its way back into the losing column with a 69-62 defeat at the hands of Northern Illinois University on Wednesday night.
The women travel to Toledo University Saturday in hopes adding another win to the record. The Rockets are riding a three-game winning streak and have won four out of their last five games.
CMU comes into the game 12-14 overall and 7-8 in Mid-American Conference competition, Toledo is 16-10 overall and 9-6 in the MAC.
The Chippewas are 3-7 on the road and have lost their last four games away from McGuirk Arena.
UT dominated CMU 61-46 in their first matchup this season. The Chippewas will attempt to avenge the double-digit loss against the Rockets who are 8-4 at Savage Arena on Saturday.
“Toledo handed it to us pretty (well) at our place,” said Head Coach Sue Guevara. “They are on a good winning streak right now, so they are feeling confident.”
CMU won three consecutive games against the Rockets until their last matchup, and are in need of a victory as it sits in the eighth and final place in the MAC’s West Division.
During its winning streak, Toledo has had a different leading scorer in each of their last three games, defeating opponents by an average of 11.6 points per game.
The Rockets feature a balanced scoring attack and are the fourth-highest scoring team in the MAC, averaging 66.8 points per contest.
With such balance on the offensive end of the court, and coming off of a game where the Chippewas allowed NIU’s offense to score early and often, Guevara said she knows defense will be key.
“Against NIU it was probably one of the worst defensive efforts that we have had,” Guevara said. “Against Toledo, we have to do a much better job defensively on closing out.”
In the last meeting between CMU and UT, the Chippewas went ice-cold on offense in the second half and the Rockets ran away with the game.
Guevara said this time around, the CMU cannot afford a similar offensive showing if they hope to get even with the Rockets.
“We have to do a better job to attack the basket,” she said. “We need to have better shot selection, and we need to get more out of our bench.”
Senior shooting guard Kerby Tamm will be asked for more production after only shooting four shots in CMU’s loss to NIU.
“I don’t think Kerby shot the ball enough,” Guevara said. “She needs to have the ball in her hands more.”
The Chippewas need a victory to stay in contention for a first-round home game when the MAC Tournament starts.
“We have to go in hungry,” Guevara said. “We have to go in like it’s the championship game that we are about to play.”
