Women's basketball faces second straight test in Western Kentucky


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Sophomore guard Micaela Kelly high fives her teammates after they reached 100 points on Nov. 8 at McGuirk Arena.

Earlier in the week, the Central Michigan women's basketball team took South Dakota State to the wire at McGuirk Arena. The result was an 80-71 loss to the Roadrunners, and coach Sue Guevara was disappointed.

CMU sophomore guard Micaela Kelly compared the battle against South Dakota State to an NCAA Tournament game. The Roadrunners played in the 2018 Big Dance, as did CMU's next opponent Western Kentucky.

"Once the crowd got into it," Kelly said, "it was like March Madness. You had to roll up your sleeves."

The Chippewas (1-1) and Hilltoppers (0-3) square off at 1 p.m. on Nov. 17 at McGuirk Arena. Like Guevara's group, Western Kentucky packed its nonconference schedule with three top opponents to open the season against No. 5 Louisville, Oklahoma and No. 13 Iowa – all losses.

Facing Western Kentucky gives the CMU an opportunity to bounce back after a tightly contested loss and provide momentum leading up to a tough Cavalier Classic tournament beginning Nov. 24.

In the 2017-18 season, Western Kentucky finished 24-9 overall and 12-4 in the Conference USA. The Hilltoppers lost its opening game in the NCAA Tournament to Oregon State, 82-58. Following six seasons on the staff, Greg Collins was promoted to head coach on March 27, 2018.

Guevara, in her 12th-year as CMU's coach, started sophomore guard Maddy Watters for the first time in her career against South Dakota State. Running alongside fellow guard Presley Hudson and Micaela Kelly, Watters scored just seven points on 1-of-7 shooting. 

"For Maddy and for Jahari (Smith) and for Anika (Weekes) and for (Kyra Bussell), (it's about) getting them the experience that they need that's going to help us down the road," Guevara said.

Senior guard Presley Hudson and senior forward Reyna Frost both played the entire 40 minutes, while Watters logged 38 minutes. The duo of Hudson and Frost combined for 43 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists on 14-of-31 shooting.

The Chippewas were out-rebounded 38-28 in the nine-point loss. 

Scouting Western Kentucky

Redshirt junior guard Dee Givens carries the Hilltoppers with 17.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. She's 17-of-38 from the field and 10-of-21 from 3-point range. Redshirt junior guard Alexis Brewer follows suit – 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 rebounds on average.

Other top scorers include sophomore forward Raneem Elgedawy with 14 points, redshirt sophomore forward Arame Niang with nine points and freshman guard Meral Abdelgaward with 8.7 points per game. Elgedawy paces Western Kentucky with a team-high average of seven rebounds.

Guevara is not looking past Western Kentucky, and she hopes to avoid dropping back-to-back games at McGuirk Arena. 

"You never want to lose a game on your floor," Guevara said.

Central Michigan also plays Virginia, Quinnipiac, Louisville and Miami (Fla.) in the nonconference. All were 2018 NCAA Tournament teams. For Guevara, the goal is to be prepared for March rather than win every nonconference battle. 

"These games are for us to get tested, to be in tough games like this to get our kids the experience of playing an NCAA game in November so that we're going to be ready to rock and roll in March," Guevara explained.

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