Intrigue aplenty as Central Michigan tips off Heather Oesterle era
Central Michigan guard Maddy Watters looks to pass during a scrimmage Oct. 27 at McGuirk Arena.
The Central Michigan women's basketball team is beginning a new era.
After 12 seasons as head coach, Sue Guevara retired. She passed the torch to Heather Oesterle, who spent the last nine seasons as Guevara’s associate head coach and appears ready for her shot.
She’s not the only one poised to step up.
In addition to the loss of Guevara, the Chippewas also lose their top two scorers in guard Presley Hudson and forward Reyna Frost.
Hudson graduated as the top scorer in Central Michigan basketball history, while Frost leaves as the top rebounder.
However, the departures stop there. The Chippewas return three starters including junior guard Micaela Kelly, who scored 14.6 points per game last season and shot 42 percent from the field. Fellow junior and backcourt-mate Maddy Watters also returns to bring shooting firepower.
Both Kelly and Watters know their value extends past their contributions on the court.
“Now that my time is here, I’ve got to lead this team,” Kelly said.
“I really had great role models ahead of me, and now it’s time for me to do what they did,” Watters added.
Filling the spot in the backcourt vacated by Hudson appears to be true freshman Molly Davis. A Midland native, Davis was named Player of the Year in the Saginaw Valley League two years in a row. She’s one of three solid newcomers for the Chippewas coming in this season.
“That kid works her butt off,” Oesterle said. “She’s in the gym all the time, most days twice a day.”
In the frontcourt, sophomore Jahari Smith returns for her second season in the starting lineup. After starting all 33 games a season ago, expectations for Smith are high.
“That kid has really come a long way,” Oesterle said of the Bolingbrook, Illinois native. “I’m really impressed with how far she’s come from her freshman to sophomore year.”
Joining Smith in the frontcourt to round out the lineup will be junior Kyra Bussell. Bussell was the only player to come off the bench in all 33 games last season, averaging 7.8 points per game.
Contributions are also expected from senior forwards Gabi Bird and MacKenna Kelly, as well as sophomore guards Kalle Martinez, Annika Weekes, and Sophia Karasinski, who missed last season due to injury.
Freshmen Kate McArthur, a sharp-shooting guard, and Shine Strickland-Gills, a self-proclaimed “finesse-post player,” look to make an impact as well.
During the nonconference slate, the Chippewas will be tested early and often, as their season opens with Green Bay. The Phoenix finished second in the Horizon League a season ago.
After the tilt with the Phoenix, CMU travels to Kentucky to take on both Louisville (Nov. 14) and Western Kentucky (Nov. 17).
Other notable nonconference games feature a home tilt against Dayton (Nov. 21) along with trips to South Dakota State (Dec. 14) and Central Florida (Dec. 30).
When it comes to the Chippewas' standing the Mid-American Conference, expectations haven’t shifted in the slightest.
CMU is picked to win the MAC West Division for the fourth year in a row, and Kelly is tabbed to be first-team all-conference.
“The goals do not change,” Oesterle said. “We want to cut down the nets, we want another ring ceremony. We have the pieces to compete on the national stage again.”
In the conference, the Chippewas will look to maintain the standard of excellence that has been set in years prior.
Picked preseason to win their fourth consecutive MAC West title, the Chippewas return all but two starters.
The conference slate opens with consecutive road games, first at Akron (Jan 4), then at Ohio (Jan 8).
Back to back home tilts with Miami (Ohio) (Jan 11) and Ball State (Jan 15) are then followed by road games within the MAC West with in-state rivals. CMU travels to Western Michigan (Jan 18) followed by a date with Eastern Michigan (Jan 22).
Central Michigan takes on reigning MAC Tournament champion Buffalo on the road (Jan 29) after hosting Toledo (Jan 22), and then will have back to back home games to start February, first against Ohio (Feb 1) and then against Northern Illinois (Feb 5).
The Chippewas also travel to Miami (Ohio) (Feb 8) before hosting both Bowling Green (Feb 15) and Kent State (Feb 19). They head to DeKalb after that, taking on Northern Illinois (Feb 22) before hosting Western Michigan (Feb 26).
Back to back road contests against Ball State (Feb 29) and Toledo (March 4) round out the road schedule for Central Michigan, and the regular season wraps up with a contest at home against Eastern Michigan (March 7).
The conference tournament begins Monday, March 9 and runs through Saturday, March 14.
