Frost blocks potential game-winner to help CMU to victory
On National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the Central Michigan women's basketball team stormed back in the second half and held off Eastern Michigan in the final seconds to win.
With CMU up 66-65 late in the game, freshman forward Reyna Frost blocked the potential game-winning shot to finish the game.
Sophomore guard Cassie Breen did not play after having her appendix removed over this past weekend. Junior guard Jasmine Harris started in place of Breen.
The 3-point shooting struggled early for the Chippewas (14-7, 8-2 MAC) without Breen, but still earned their fifth straight victory, 66-65. Sophomore forward Tinara Moore and freshman forward Reyna Frost both had double-doubles.
“I thought (Harris) gave us good minutes today,” said CMU Head Coach Sue Guevara. “I thought that she was the recipient of some bad luck with some turnovers down the stretch. Despite that, she didn’t stay in that moment. She moved on. She hit some threes for us and penetrated.”
The Chippewas struggled with turnovers, topping their season average before halftime. Freshman guard Presley Hudson had five turnovers during the first 20 minutes. The Eagles scored 15 points off CMU's 16 first-half turnovers during the first half as they led 25-22.
Eastern Michigan scored 24 points off turnovers while CMU had four. The Chippewas turned it over 25 times total, compared to EMU's seven.
Moore scored the first nine points of the game, helping CMU to a 9-0 lead. After that, the Eagles took over and had a 10-2 run of their own.
“(Moore) is playing with a lot of tenacity,” Guevara said. “The word for her is ‘relentless’ because she is going for the ball and we saw her make a couple different moves today underneath."
The Eagles outscored the Chippewas 15-7 in a defensive quarter. CMU used a 10-0 third-quarter run to get back in the game.
“It was a game of runs and we knew it was going to be that way,” Guevara said. “We stayed disciplined defensively for the last 14 seconds. We made it very difficult for them to bring the ball in.”
Moore finished the night with 28 points and 15 rebounds, giving her a third straight double-double. Frost had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Hudson had 10 points and six rebounds.
“I was thinking I had to do whatever I can to make sure we win this game,” Frost said. “We were struggling the whole game offensively."
The Chippewas return home for 1 p.m. this Saturday to take on Bowling Green (8-10, 4-5 MAC).
