Women's basketball clinches share of MAC West title in defeat of Ball State
Senior guard Presley Hudson drives the lane against a Northern Illinois defender during a game on Feb. 23 at McGuirk Arena.
Sue Guevara is all about finishing strong.
Regardless of Central Michigan owning the top spot in the Mid-American Conference West Division, Guevara and Co. had four games remaining entering a Feb. 27 matchup against Ball State.
The Chippewas (21-6, 12-3 MAC) started slowly on the Cardinals' (7-20, 2-13 MAC) home floor, but rallied throughout the final 30 minutes for an 81-64 victory at Worthen Arena.
"This is a tough place to play," Guevara said. "It's so physical and there's a lot of bumping going on. When the whistle blows, it's tough to get into a flow. When the whistle doesn't blow, you get beat up."
CMU clinched at least a share of the MAC West Division title with the win.
Senior forward Reyna Frost paced the Chippewas once again with 26 points and 15 rebounds. She was 11-of-19 from the field and converted both attempts from 3-point range.
Alongside Frost was sophomore guard Micaela Kelly, who went 4-of-8 from downtown as a catalyst for her 16-point effort. Senior guard Presley Hudson added 18 points, five rebounds and six assists, but she was a meager 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Coming into the game, Frost set a goal to outplay Ball State star sophomore forward Oshlynn Brown, and she did just that.
Brown, who came into the game averaging 13.5 points and 9.2 rebounds, was held to five points on 1-of-9 shooting from the field, adding nine rebounds compared to Frost's 15.
"She missed some easy shots early, and it maybe got in her head a little bit," Guevara said of Brown.
Senior guard Jasmin Samz poured in eight first quarter points, including a 3-pointer with 36 seconds remaining to take a 21-19 edge over CMU in the first 10 minutes of action.
In the second, with 8:50 remaining, Frost and Hudson capped off back-to-back makes from beyond the arc to reclaim the lead, 25-21, and force Ball State coach Brady Sallee to burn a timeout. A few possessions later, Kelly dropped in a 3-pointer of her own to make it a double-digit margin.
Pulling up at the buzzer was Ball State junior forward Aliyah Walker. She made the 3-pointer, but it was called off by officials following a review.
It wasn't the only call made by the officials Wednesday, as a total of 42 fouls were handed out throughout the event – 21 for each team.
Following the game, Guevara went to one of the referees and asked, "Was this a tough game to officiate?"
The official said it wasn't easy due to the physicality of both teams, especially underneath the basket.
"When you have teams that are being physical, it's tough for the officials," Guevara said. "If they are going to call it tight, they have to for 40 minutes. This was a grinder."
During the entire second quarter, the Chippewas put together a 26-9 run heading into halftime with a 45-30 lead. At the break, Frost had 14 points, while both Hudson and Kelly chipped in 11. CMU was shooting 48.4 percent with a seven-rebound advantage on the glass.
But the Cardinals didn't go away.
Behind an old fashion 3-point play from Samz with to open the third quarter, Ball State began climbing back into the action. With just 52 seconds remaining in the third, Samz made yet another and-one to trim her team's deficit to four, 55-51.
Samz, through penetration to the basket and sharpshooting from downtown, poured in 26 points on CMU's defense. She put together a complete game with three rebounds, five assists, two steals and a 5-for-6 mark from the 3-point line.
"You go back to the drawing board and keep working on your defense," Guevara said. "We knew she'd be able to shoot it, so in that respect, it was a little disappointing."
Off the bench, sophomore forward Kyra Bussell provided the Chippewas with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to go up 60-51 over Sallee's group heading into the final 10 minutes.
Ahead 75-57 on a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Maddy Watters with 5:02 to go, CMU had an opportunity to step on Ball State's throat.
Yet again, the Cardinals clawed back.
While being in front by 15 points doesn't seem like much to worry about, the game felt closer than it really was, and Guevara showed her frustration in the late stages.
"It was tough to get in any kind of offensive flow," Guevara said. "At times, we took some quick shots."
Late free throws from Hudson put the icing on the cake – an 81-64 victory for the Chippewas.
Up next
The Chippewas hit the road for the fifth time in their last six games for a 2 p.m. March 2 in-state rivalry against Eastern Michigan at the Convocation Center. The Eagles are 12-13 overall and 5-9 in conference play.
"Four of our last five games have been on the road, and we were able to get all four wins on the road," Guevara said.
