CMU wins 5th straight, Guevara breaks program record


Every game there seems to be one player for the Central Michigan women's basketball team who steps up and makes big shots when the Chippewas are struggling to score.

Tonight, the spotlight landed on junior forward Cassie Breen.

Breen totaled 26 points for the game on 8-for-11 shooting from the field, leading the Chippewas to a 70-64 victory over Ohio. CMU has now won five straight games.

Breen said she felt she has been close to a game like this for awhile and finally got to it tonight.

“I really just haven't been shooting the ball as well as I’ve wanted to lately and tonight I kept shooting and they finally started falling,” Breen said. “I guess it really was just my time to step and make the big shots when my team needed it.”

With the Win, CMU (19-6, 11-2 Mid-American Conference) stayed in first place in the MAC West Division. Northern Illinois (18-6, 11-2) escaped with a win against Miami (OH) by a final score of 63-61, to keep pace with CMU.

The game started in the complete opposite way CMU wanted it to go. The Chippewas committed 10 turnovers in the first quarter, but were still within striking distance, down just 15-9 after the first quarter.

CMU slowed the game down in the second quarter, committing no turnovers in the first few minutes and it resulted in a 9-3 CMU run to tie the game at 18.

Then it was Breen who changed momentum for the team.

Breen made three 3-pointers in the second quarter along with a pair of jump shots to propel CMU back into the lead. The junior had 19 points at the half on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting, with five of those coming from 3-point distance.

After taking a 31-26 lead into the locker room, the teams traded buckets throughout the third quarter until CMU took a 51-44 lead into the final quarter.

Ohio then caught its own fire as the Bobcats went on a 12-6 run to open the fourth quarter, making it a 57-56 Chippewa lead with 4:48 left in the game.

With the game remaining close down to the wire, sophomore guard Presley Hudson missed a 3-pointer but Ohio’s Yamonie Jenkins committed an off-ball foul that sent senior forward Jewel Cotton to the free-throw line.

Cotton went 1-for-2 from the line, giving CMU a 64-60 lead with under 30 seconds left, which iced the game for the Chippewas.

Head coach Sue Guevara became the all-time career win leader in program history with now 172 victories in her 10 years with the Chippewas.

Guevara said that she was extremely happy with the way her team grinded out this win tonight after struggling to start the game.

“I was extremely happy with the way our team responded, despite beating ourselves at times in this game,” Guevara said. “I couldn't be more proud of the way this team has battled down the stretch here lately.”

While the Chippewas did shoot 51.3 percent from the field and 44.4 (8-for-18) from 3-point range, they also committed 26 turnovers which is 12 above their season average. CMU also out-rebounded the Bobcats 41-26, with 33 of those coming on defense.

CMU also had a tough time guarding Quiera Lampkins who played 39 minutes and scored 32 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists.

Other than Breen, two Chippewas finished in double figures. Hudson had 16 points, going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line with six assists. Junior forward Tinara Moore had 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor while posting eight rebounds.

CMU returns home to seek revenge against Toledo at noon on Saturday at McGuirk Arena. The Rockets beat the Chippewas 74-72 in their last meeting.


Guevara said she would love to see the arena filled for the upcoming home games.

“It would be great if we could have a lot of people fill up the arena for our next couple of home games that we have in a row,” Guevara said. “We're playing Toledo who beat us earlier this year and then a good team in Northern Illinois. It would be pretty awesome if we could get quite a few people in that arena for the next couple of games.”

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