Women’s basketball prepares for MAC West showdown with Ball State
Head Coach Sue Guevara doesn’t want to overhype Central Michigan women’s basketball team’s road test against Ball State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Chippewas are 15-7 overall and 9-2 in the Mid-American Conference and hold a half-game lead for the top spot in the MAC West division over the Cardinals, who sit at 16-5 overall and 8-2 in conference play.
“It’s just another game,” Guevara said. “It’s just where we are in the standings.”
Although Guevara downplayed the matchup, she said the Cardinals resemble her own squad.
CMU ranks first in the MAC in offensive and defensive field-goal percentage, while the Cardinals rank third in both categories.
The teams are first and second in rebounding margin in the conference with the Chippewas outrebounding opponents by 10.7 rebounds per game.
“I think (Ball State) is very much like we are,” Guevara said. “They’ve got nice inside play, they’ve got five people on the floor that can score and they’ve got 3-point shooters and strength inside. It’s almost like we’re mirrors of each other, we’re just younger.”
The challenge for the Chippewas will be containing the Cardinals’ Nathalie Fontaine, who has been named to the MAC West Player of the Week five times this year.
Fontaine averages 17.7 points and 10 rebounds per game, fourth-best in the conference in both categories.
In addition to Fontaine, Ball State’s 6-foot-5 junior center Renee Bennett will also be another player on the Chippewas radar tomorrow.
“We’re going to have to attack Bennett quickly and maybe get her into foul trouble,” said sophomore forward Tinara Moore. “We’re going to have to stop (Fontaine), that’s the biggest key for Ball State. We’ll have to contact (Fontaine) and score on Bennett.”
Freshman forward Reyna Frost said one of the keys to the game will be receiving contributions from the bench.
“We’re going to need a lot of contributions from our bench,” Frost said. “Coach (Guevara) has talked about how she thinks our bench is better than theirs, so we’re going to need a lot of minutes from them.”
Guevara said even though the Cardinals have multiple options, she knows Ball State will have to account for her players as well.
“Watching them on film is like, ‘Man, how are we going to stop this? How are we going to stop that?’” Guevara said. “But then I think of about how they have to stop us too, so I think it will be a really good game and I like the matchup.”
