Four starters hit double figures as women's basketball blasts EMU


Since the two straight losses to Duquesne and Quinnipiac in late December, the Central Michigan women's basketball team has won 9 straight games and garnered national attention with three votes in the USA Today coaches poll.

Even CMU royalty is beginning to take notice.

Chippewa basketball legend Crystal Bradford was in the stands in Ypsilanti to see their 10th straight victory in blowout fashion against Eastern Michigan (9-12, 5-5) 95-72.

Home for a week from playing for Elitzur Holon in Israel, the point guard that led the Chippewas to an NCAA tournament in 2013 had nothing but praise for the 2017-18 team.

"She was really impressed with how they played," said head coach Sue Guevara. "She talked to the team after the game and talked about how unselfish and how much fun it looked like they were having. I thought it was a nice observation."

With 19 assists on 35 made baskets, Bradford's observation about the unselfishness of CMU was spot on. Junior Presley Hudson led the team with her seven assists in addition to 19 points.

Senior Tinara Moore picked up her second straight 20+ point double-double performance with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Reyna Frost and senior Cassie Breen rounded out the double digit scoring for the starters with 15 and 16 points respectively. 

"We have such a nice inside-outside attack," Guevara said. "I think we executed our game plan, especially offensively."

CMU led the entire game aside from the opening seconds of the first quarter and shot 61.4 percent from the field, allowing the Chippewas to tie their best MAC offensive performance since putting up 95 points against Akron.

Now 18-3 overall and a perfect 10-0 in the conference, Guevara reflected on how her players have responded to having the no.1 target on their back.

"They've done a really nice job of understanding that we are going to get the opponent's best every time," Guevara said. "We talk all the time about how we have a target on our front and a target on our back. We've done a nice job staying focused on us and what we have to do the next game."  

Staying on the road, CMU will now travel to Ohio (12-9, 6-4) for the its second matchup of the season against the Bobcats. The Chippewas defeated Ohio 82-58 in McGuirk Arena on January 3. Guevara their next contest sees as no easy win due to the familiarity both teams have for each other. 

"Now we start all over, because now we go to Ohio," Guevara said. "We know what they do and they know what we do, so we just need to continue to attack on both ends of the floor."

Share: