Women's basketball looks to regroup from tough end to season
After winning nine of their final 10 regular season games, the Central Michigan women’s basketball team lost its final two games to Wright State in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament Thursday and to Western Michigan in the Mid-American Conference quarterfinals on March 8.
In both games, CMU had the lead going into the final few minutes of the contest, but couldn't hold on to secure a victory.
“Everyone is very disappointed," said head coach Sue Guevara. "The last two games we played are not how champions play, and we didn't play like champions. That is what is very frustrating — to end the season the way we did with how we played all year. It just doesn't seem right.”
Against WMU — a team CMU swept in the regular season— the Chippewas led 63-57 with 1:20 remaining. WMU ended the game on a 10-0 run including a 3-pointer with 11 seconds to play to bounce CMU from the MAC Tournament.
It was a similar situation against Wright State in the WNIT.
WSU was down 64-61 with two minutes to play before embarking on a 5-0 run to end the game and beat the Chippewas. CMU missed its final four shots, including the game-tying layup as time expired.
“Unfortunately, I thought we turned the ball over and (that) got us into a hole, and we dug ourselves out,” Guevara said. “The last three shots we took in the paint were good shots. We couldn't have asked for better shots and they didn't go. Good players make good shots and we didn't make any of those.”
The Chippewas entered the WNIT 0-7 in postseason play outside of the MAC Tournament and are still in search of that first-ever victory.
Record-Breaking Campaign
The season wasn't a complete loss, however. The Chippewas won their first regular season MAC title in 32 years. CMU went 23-9 overall and 15-3 in conference play.
Fifteen of CMU’s wins came at McGuirk Arena, which set a program record for the most in a single season. CMU didn't lose a conference game at home this season, and its only loss in Mount Pleasant came against Elon on Nov. 19.
From an individual standpoint, several CMU players had noteworthy seasons as well. Sophomore guard Presley Hudson led the team with 16.8 points per game and scored a program record 43 points against Ball State on Jan. 11. She surpassed Shonda Long’s 40-point performance against Buffalo in 2011.
Junior forward Tinara Moore totaled 64 blocks this season, also a program record. Moore passed Ann Skufka, who had 62 blocks in the 2006 season. Moore also averaged 16.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
While it wasn't a record setting season for sophomore forward Reyna Frost, she was able to put herself in position to inch closer to the all-time rebounding record at CMU.
The Reese native averaged 11.3 rebounds per game, which was first in the MAC and sixth nationally in Division I. Frost tallied 363 rebounds this season, giving her 671 for her career. She needs 469 more rebounds over her final two seasons to break the program’s all-time rebounding record held by Crystal Bradford.
Guevara became the all-time winningest coach in program history, surpassing Donita Davenport. She sits at 176 wins in her career with the Chippewas and is one win away from 300 as a head coach.
Hudson and Moore were both named to the All-MAC First Team and Moore was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Frost and senior forward Jewel Cotton each earned All-MAC Third Team honors.
Looking Forward
Guevara said she wasn't ready to turn the page on this season because of the disappointment of how the team finished the 2016-17 campaign.
“I think before we look ahead to next season, we all need a little bit of time to get passed what happened to end this season,” she said. “In time, I’ll be able to talk a lot about next season, but we have to regroup after how we ended this season first.”
CMU will lose senior forwards Cotton and Jasmine Harris from this year's squad. Cotton averaged 10.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
The Chippewas will have four seniors, two of which include starters Moore and junior guard Cassie Breen. Junior guards Amani Corley and Aleah Swary, who both played key minutes off the bench this past season, will be the other two Chippewa seniors.
