With game-tying buzzer beater, women's basketball outlasts Eastern Michigan
Basketball games are often won and lost on momentum swings, and the month of March amplifies this notion to the extreme.
The swings were just right for the No. 1 Central Michigan women's basketball team, as it eliminated No. 9 Eastern Michigan from the Mid-American Conference Tournament in the quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena with an 88-80 victory.
For the Chippewas (25-6), this game was all about surviving the late momentum from the Eagles (14-17) and capitalizing on their own.
Survive and advance, at least that's how CMU coach Sue Guevara analyzed it.
"We know this is March basketball," Guevara said. "We know everyone is going to play their best basketball and it's survival of the fittest."
The Eagles scored the first six points, led by senior guard Danielle Minott to swing momentum in their favor first.
Led by their top three scorers, the Chippewas responded with a seven-point run of their own. Senior forward Reyna Frost opened the Chippewa scoring with a layup, senior guard Presley Hudson added a triple and sophomore guard Micaela Kelly converted a layup in transition.
After battling back and forth, the Chippewas held a 16-14 lead with just over a 1:30 to play in the first quarter.
Then, EMU freshman guard Jenna Annecchiarico initiated a 7-0 run with a triple and added a layup to contribute five points to the run, which was capped by EMU sophomore Corrione Cardwell's bucket at the end of the first quarter.
The Eagles carried a 21-16 lead at the end of the first period of play, but CMU opened up the second quarter with a 5-0 run of its own. The swing was initiated by sophomore forward Kyra Bussell's 3-pointer.
Frost and Hudson led the charge on an ensuing 9-0 scoring run that saw them take, and extend, their edge to as many as eight points, 36-28, capped at the four-minute mark by free throws from Hudson.
Minott poured in a 3-pointer from the right corner just before time expired in the first half to end a field goal drought that marked back to the midway point of the second quarter.
As the teams hit the locker room for the halftime intermission, the Chippewas were holding onto a 36-32 lead.
The second half began at a similar rate – low scoring, hard-nosed hoops.
Frost took a lot of contact throughout the third quarter, but she has continuously expressed her understanding that physicality against her will only continue as she improves underneath the basket.
The Eagles closed the deficit gradually as the third quarter ended. EMU drew within four as the buzzer sounded, signifying the end of 30 total minutes. Still, CMU led 52-48 heading into the final frame of action.
The Eagles and Chippewas traded baskets before EMU eventually took the lead by virtue of a 7-0 run.
The run forced Guevara to call a timeout with just over five minutes on the clock. Her group trailed 61-59 and needed a break on the offensive end of the floor.
The break was sophomore guard Maddy Watters.
She hit her only triple of the game coming out of the timeout, and it energized her teammates and swung momentum in CMU's favor.
That momentum was almost immediately killed by Minott and Annecchiarico, as the pair carried the Eagles with multiple baskets from inside and outside the arc.
Sophomore guard Courtnie Lewis was money for EMU at the free throw line. She made all of her attempts in the game, with the most important coming in the fourth quarter.
The free throws that Lewis converted seemed to put the game away as the Eagles led by three points, 73-70, with five seconds to play.
The Chippewas needed a miracle.
Hudson played that role perfectly.
The Wayland native secured the inbound pass from Frost and drove all the way down the floor. When she crossed the half-court line, she knew she had to pass or shoot.
She took a shot full of hope.
The ball soared through the air with the buzzer in the background. The Chippewas' season hung in the air with the ball.
Guevara's survive and advance mentality came true, as Hudson's shot tickled the twine to send the game to overtime.
"I just knew that we needed to get a 3 off," Hudson said. "(Kelly) told me after the game 'I was just hoping she wasn't going to shoot the half-courter because we had so much time.' I just realized we had enough time to get to the 3-pointer."
Hudson's 3-pointer tied the game, 73-73, at the end of regulation. It gave the Chippewas the momentum heading into the overtime period.
In that five-minute overtime period, the Chippewas outscored the Eagles 15-7, led by Hudson, who seemingly could not miss in the extra period. Hudson and Frost both finished with a game-high 28 points.
Next, the Chippewas take on No. 4 Buffalo for a battle in the semifinals on March 15 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Chippewas and Bulls played in the 2018 MAC Tournament championship, and CMU came out on the winning end.
