Not done yet: With consistent success, women's basketball knows there is more to play for
Central Michigan players celebrate after a victory against Western Michigan on Feb. 26 at McGuirk Arena. The victory made the Women's Basketball Team Mid American Conference Champions.
Micaela Kelly is familiar with the territory.
As a junior with the Central Michigan women's basketball team, Kelly has always cut down the nets in McGuirk Arena to celebrate a Mid-American Conference regular season championship.
She climbed the ladder again on Wednesday as the Chippewas (22-4, 15-0) wrapped up their fourth-straight MAC regular season title with a 76-60 victory over arch rival Western Michigan in McGuirk Arena.
At the beginning of the season, Kelly was put into a new role as a leader and has stepped into the role in the exact moments her team has needed her to this season.
Through 26 games, Kelly is averaging 21.8 points per game and has scored in double figures in each game. She has also scored 30 points or more five times this season, including her career-high 38 points at South Dakota State on Dec. 14.
Despite the season-long success, Kelly knows the base of that success and where it comes from.
"Just coming and working hard," Kelly said. "Trusting the process, no matter what, just keep working and trust the people around you to be successful."
Another member of the Chippewas familiar with cutting nets down is the team's head coach, Heather Oesterle.
After taking for her mentor, Sue Guevara, and serving as an assistant coach for nine seasons, Oesterle has kept the program on track and delivered its fourth-straight regular season conference championship.
Oesterle said she has a photo in her office of her and Guevara at the press conference when Guevara announced her retirement and Oesterle was introduced as the head coach.
"I just look at it on my way out to practice and I say, 'I've got to make her proud,'" Oesterle said. "That's been the goal all year, to make her proud, because she did so much for me over the years and it's prepared me for this opportunity."
Even though Oesterle is in her first season as the leader of the program, she has seen its success and continued that success.
Should CMU win out, it would be the first team since Bowling Green in 2004-05 to go undefeated in the MAC. That Falcon team won the conference tournament but was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
CMU has three games left on its schedule — two on the road and one at home — and Oesterle said the check list of goals for the season is just getting started.
"The message to our team is we're not done yet," Oesterle said. "We still have a lot more to do — a lot more. We set the goals at the beginning of the year — this is the first one. Now, we can check it off but we still have a lot to play for this regular season."
The Chippewas had locked up a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament by taking down after taking down Kent State on Feb. 19. By winning the conference regular season title, the Chippewas will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Once the postseason arrives, starting in Cleveland, Oesterle said she likes her team's chances.
"(We can make) a lot of noise," Oesterle said with a smile. "The thing we've talked about is to put four quarters together by March. I just don't think we're putting together four quarters yet, and by March, we have to be putting those together. Then the sky is the limit for this team."
In all, Oesterle said she is thankful for the opportunity to lead the program she has been a part of for a decade.
As for the progress of the team itself, Oesterle is happy with the way the players filled their new roles in the midst of significant change throughout the program.
Now, the Chippewas are on the cusp of conference history.
"I'm really proud of this team," Oesterle said. "I'm just honored to be the head coach."
