Women's basketball gets revenge, tops Quinnipiac


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Senior guard Presley Hudson heads to the boundary of the court for a throw in on Nov. 21 in McGuirk Arena.

Presley Hudson's shot was in mid-air as the halftime buzzer began to sound. When the gym quieted, the shot fell through the net. Central Michigan's bench erupted in cheers.

The Chippewas (7-1) used the buzzer-beater as momentum to hold Quinnipiac to just seven points in the third quarter, leading to a 67-52 victory on Dec. 2 at People's United Center.

Hudson, a senior guard, finished with 25 points, four rebounds and seven assists to pace CMU. 

A season ago, the Bobcats (4-4) topped coach Sue Guevara's group at McGuirk Arena, giving CMU one of just five losses in 2017. Her team got revenge on Sunday.

"I give all the credit to our kids," Guevara said. "They battled. We did a nice job on the boards. I can't say enough about the way our players gutted this game out."

The Chippewas played a majority of the game without starter Maddy Watters, who suffered a concussion.

CMU jumped out to a 14-9 edge against Quinnipiac with 3:14 remaining in the first quarter and went up by eight points less than three minutes into the second on senior forward Reyna Frost's put-back layup.

With Quinnipiac ranked No. 10 in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll, CMU has now defeated another top opponent on a tough nonconference schedule. The Chippewas take on Vanderbilt, Louisville, Tulane and Miami (FL) before beginning Mid-American Conference action.

"It's our seniors," Guevara said of the success. "They all were in some really tough games last year. For them to help our younger kids like Jahari (Smith), she's playing against a really tough, physical team."

When Hudson began shooting the ball at a high rate in the second quarter, Guevara saw a turn in the game. Hudson finished 5-of-12 from 3-point range.

"She passed up some shots and had some shots that didn't go in," Guevara said. "I'm happy she didn't play with her own mind and kept shooting the basketball. It was good for her to hit some shots and she had seven assists."

The Chippewas entered the final 10 minutes of regulation with a 50-37 edge and ran with the lead until the final whistle sounded. Hudson's impressive pass to Frost for a layup began to put the finishing touches on the win with 2:26 to play, ahead by 13 points. 

Frost finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and one assist. Sophomore guard Micaela Kelly chipped in 16 points, five rebounds and two assists – along with exquisite third quarter defense.

"They only scored seven points in the third quarter," Guevara said. "Our zone (defense) did a nice job with them. In the fourth, we went man-to-man."

Guevara's group improved to 7-1 on the season. The team does not play again until traveling Nashville for a matchup with Vanderbilt at 6 p.m. on Dec. 15.

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