Turner's big fourth quarter helps women's basketball slip past Northern Illinois
For a team that had depended on its underclassmen for most of the season, it was senior Da’Jourie Turner who carried the Central Michigan women’s basketball team on Saturday.
Turner scored 16 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter, which led the Chippewas to a 73-67 comeback victory over host Northern Illinois, extending their win streak to eight games.
“I needed to be more aggressive,” Turner said. “Being the senior on the court, (my teammates) kept telling me I had to lead and that’s basically what I did.”
In better-late-than-never fashion, CMU erased an 18-point second-half deficit, outscoring the Huskies 30-10 in the final period to improve to 17-7 overall and 11-2 in the Mid-American Conference.
“It wasn’t the first time we’ve been down in the season,” Turner said. “We just had to take it one possession at a time.”
CMU entered the fourth quarter down 57-43. Junior Jewel Cotton connected on a 3-point play to start the fourth quarter and Turner scored six straight points to bring the Chippewas within five.
Turner then went on a 6-2 personal run, including a steal that turned into a break-away layup that gave CMU a 62-61 lead with 3:10 left in the game capping a 19-4 run.
It was CMU’s first lead since the Chippewas led 6-5 early in the first quarter.
“I made sure I took the open looks compared to the first half,” Turner said. “My shot was falling, so it worked out for the best for us.”
CMU took control when sophomore Cassie Breen nailed a 3-pointer giving the Chippewas a 65-63 edge at the 2:26 mark.
NIU turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and the Chippewas closed the game out with four free throws from Breen and Turner respectively.
Sophomore Tinara Moore and freshman Reyna Frost both finished with double-doubles for CMU. Frost scored 12 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, while Moore added 10 points and 13 boards. Breen chipped in with nine points and Cotton had eight points off the bench.
Despite the comeback win, Head Coach Sue Guevara said her team needs to come out more aggressive as the MAC Tournament approaches.
“I told our kids, 'A cat only has nine lives and we’ve used about five of them,” she said. “We gotta come out earlier and throw the first punch. Lessons have to be learned quicker.”
CMU got to within 12 points towards the end of the third quarter. But instead of closing strong, the Chippewas turned the ball over on four of their final five possessions allowing NIU to take momentum into the final period.
The Huskies came out with a vengeful style of play after they had lost to the Chippewas by 32 points earlier in the season.
“I said in the locker room at halftime that NIU wanted that game a lot more than we did,” Guevara said. “They were playing with much more energy.”
NIU controlled the tempo in the first half and forced CMU into 13 turnovers. The Huskies went 5-for-10 from the 3-point line and took a 38-25 edge into halftime. The Chippewas had 24 turnovers in the game.
Turner said a win like this, as the regular season begins to dwindle, is huge for the team.
“It means a lot to be able to pull this one out,” she said. “We just stayed focused and stayed together. Not once did we think we were going to lose that game, and with that mentality it showed on the court.”
CMU has a week to rest before its next game against Toledo on Saturday, Feb. 20 at McGuirk Arena.
