CMU extends lead in MAC West, is one win away from clinching first-round bye
Cotton scores all 13 bench points for Central Michigan
After Ball State made a layup to bring the Cardinals within one point, the Chippewas turned the ball over with four seconds to play.
The Cardinals (18-8, 10-5 Mid-American Conference) would miss the potential game-winning 3-pointer, handing CMU (18-8, 12-3 MAC) another one-point victory, 67-66.
“I think we’re tired,” said Head Coach Sue Guevara. “We have shooters that have wide open shots and — I know this is going to sound absolutely crazy — I think right now they have to cut back on the extra stuff that they’re doing. I think mentally and physically they’re tired. We’re going to take tomorrow off.”
With Eastern Michigan beating Toledo Wednesday, CMU extends its MAC West lead to two games over Ball State and Toledo with three to go. Eastern Michigan trails by three games.
The magic number for the Chippewas is one, meaning one more CMU win or one more EMU loss will help the Chippewas clinch a top four seed in the MAC Tournament. The top four teams earn a first-round bye and automatically go to Cleveland for the semifinals.
Chippewa sophomore forward Tinara Moore had nine points in the first 10 minutes Wednesday and finished with 21 points and seven rebounds.
CMU was up by 13 points in the second quarter, but the lead shrunk to four by halftime.
Cardinal junior center Renee Bennett, who averages 9.6 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game, had 12 points and seven rebounds in the first half. In the meeting previously this year, Bennett totaled two points and seven rebounds. She finished with 16 points and seven boards.
Meanwhile, the Chippewas were able to maintain senior guard Nathalie Fontaine. She finished 19 points and 11 rebounds. Two weeks ago, Fontaine had 29 points and 14 rebounds against CMU.
Ball State started the third quarter with a 7-0 run, making four of its first six shots. CMU responded with an 8-0 run to take back the lead.
CMU freshman guard Presley Hudson struggled, going 0-for-12 from the field and 0-for-7 on 3-point attempts. The offense was supplemented by junior forward Jewel Cotton, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. She had all of CMU’s bench points.
“My role is to come off the bench and bring energy,” Cotton said. “I knew we needed energy because we were lagging a bit and being passive. My goal wasn’t to score 13 points, it was to come off and be in my role.”
In the fourth quarter, it was back-and-forth again. With CMU up by one point and having the ball with less than a minute to play, senior guard Da’Jourie Turner missed a shot, but Cotton was able to grab the offensive rebound and pass it to sophomore guard Cassie Breen to take the foul.
Breen made all of her free-throw attempts, going 7-for-7.
“I actually like going to the free-throw line because I don’t get to go there often,” Breen said. “I was a little nervous, but I’ve shot so many free throws in practice and in game situations, it wasn’t a big deal.”
CMU will be on the road at 2 p.m. this Saturday as they take on rival Western Michigan (15-12, 7-8).
