Women's basketball begins MAC Tournament journey with rubber match against Toledo


Top-seeded Chippewas face No. 9 seed Rockets in MAC Tourney opener


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Molly Davis dribbles the ball during the women's basketball game Feb. 26 in McGurk Arena.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — As the adage goes, records can be thrown out in March. 

Central Michigan, which just wrapped up its fourth consecutive Mid-American Conference regular-season championship, is out to prove that's not the case. 

After falling in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament to Buffalo a season ago, the Chippewas will begin their quest to win a second tournament title in three years Wednesday afternoon. 

When the Chippewas take the court at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, they'll do so in front of a nearly empty arena. The MAC announced on Tuesday that the general public would not be admitted due to coronavirus concerns.  

As the No. 1 seed, the Chippewas earned a first-round bye. Their opponent for Wednesday, ninth-seeded Toledo, knocked off Akron 63-59 on Monday to earn the right to play in Cleveland. CMU and UT split the two regular-season meetings, both teams holding serve on their home court. Wednesday's matchup between Central Michigan and Toledo will tip at noon. 

Central Michigan won the first meeting, 73-66, on Jan. 25 led by freshman guard Molly Davis' career-high 28 points and a strong fourth quarter in which CMU outscored the Rockets 21-10. Toledo was able to get revenge on March 4, defeating the Chippewas 76-67 thanks to a late rally after the Chippewas tied the game at 63. 

The Chippewas will be led by junior guard Micaela Kelly, who was named the MAC Player of the Year on Tuesday. In addition to that honor, Kelly was also named First Team All-MAC and a part of the conference's all-defensive team. She finished the season tied for the conference lead in scoring with 21.5 points per game.

Chippewa coach Heather Oesterle was named MAC Coach of the Year after leading the Chippewas to a 23-6 record, including a 16-2 record in conference play and a 15-0 mark to open the MAC campaign. Senior forward Gabi Bird also earned Sixth Player of the Year honors after averaging career-highs in scoring, rebounding and minutes played. 

Davis and junior forward Kyra Bussell were also honored, Davis being named Second Team All-MAC and Bussell earning a spot on the third team. Toledo, on the other hand, did not have a player recognized. 

The Rockets are led in scoring by junior guard Nakiah Black, who averaged 12 points per game in the regular season. Senior guard Mariella Santucci finished second on the team with 11 points per game and junior forward Taniya Beachum finished third with 10.7. Santucci led the team in both rebounding and assists. 

Freshman guard Quinesha Lockett was the leading scorer in the Rockets' win over the Chippewas, scoring 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds. On the season, she averaged 9.2 points per game.

On the season, the Rockets average a MAC-worst 66.4 points per game. On the flip side, the Chippewas boast the conference's top scoring offense, averaging 76.6 points per game. Both teams have scoring defenses that rank near the bottom of the league. 

The winner of this game will move to the semifinals to take on the winner of Wednesday's second quarterfinal game between Ohio and Western Michigan. The Chippewas swept both of those squads in the regular season.

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