Women's hoops looks to overcome last year's overtime defeat in MAC Championship
It’s difficult to rebound from a buzzer-beater defeat in overtime of the Mid-American Conference Championship game.
When Buffalo’s Stephanie Reid hit a runner in the lane to end the Central Michigan women's basketball team's 2015-16 season without a title, all the Chippewas could do was wait seven months to avenge the heart-breaking loss. That time has finally come.
CMU opens up its season on Friday against the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Poll, — Notre Dame.
Head coach Sue Guevara said her team doesn’t need to be convinced of Notre Dame's ability and its own ability.
“I don’t have to convince this team about anything. This team is basketball educated,” Guevara said of her Chippewas. “They know Notre Dame. They know their rank. They know all of that. We are just looking to control what we can control against Notre Dame so we can compete.”
The Irish will pose a good test for a CMU team returning four starters from last season. The Chippewas are favored to win the MAC West Division.
With high expectations, CMU will need leaders.
The team will look to redshirt senior forward Jewel Cotton and senior guard Jasmine Harris to be leaders this season. Guevara said they both lead in their own way.
“Jewel is our returning leader. She’s been really good vocally and is always out there talking,” Guevara said. “I’ll tell you somebody else who has been quiet, but when you watch, (has been a good leader) — Jasmine Harris. She’s a really good teammate and is very good at taking players aside and helping them.”
Cotton scored in double figures 13 times in 2015-16. She recorded five double-doubles and saw action in 30 games. Harris saw action in 32 games, while making 32 three-pointers. She was 80 percent from the free-throw line.
One of the team's goals, Guevara said, is to move on from last season's finish.
“I really like this team. Team 49 is a very hard working team," she said. "(The) majority of them felt the pain of 3.4 seconds last year in the championship game. The goal is to always get back to Cleveland and get to the championship game.
“I’ve said this before, we know what we did last year and we just want to be better than what were last year.”
Guevara mentioned how big of a role the experience the team has coming back this season will be.
“We have a lot of experience this year. I like the rotation I have in the post with the bigs,” she said. “I like having Amani Corley back and being a more confident player and me having more confidence in her. We have a variety of players who can also step up and hit3-pointers for us and make us more competitive in the MAC.”
The junior guard, Corley, averaged 8.9 minutes per game last season. She played 24 minutes against Western Michigan and scored a season high five points.
The Chippewas begin their season against Notre Dame as a part of the Preseason WNIT Tournament at 7 p.m. Friday in South Bend, Indiana.
