Oesterle, Kelly and Bird among Chippewas honored with MAC postseason awards
Central Michigan coach Heather Oesterle coaches against Bowling Green Feb. 15 at McGuirk Arena.
For the third straight season, both the Mid-American Conference's Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards belong to a Central Michigan Chippewa.
Following in the footsteps of forwards Tinara Moore (2017-18) and Reyna Frost (2018-19), junior guard Micaela Kelly has been named the MAC Player of the Year. Kelly averaged 21.5 points per game, finishing second in the conference in scoring to Buffalo freshman Dyaisha Fair by a single point and fourth in the nation.
Kelly also finished third in the conference in assists with 4.9 per game. She was also named to the conference's first team and all-defensive team in addition to being named Player of the Year.
Heather Oesterle was named Coach of the Year in her first season at the helm. She led the Chippewas to a fifth-consecutive MAC West Division title and a fourth-consecutive MAC regular season championship. Under Oesterle, the Chippewas finished with a 23-6 record, holding a 16-2 mark in conference play.
The Chippewas opened conference play on a 15-game winning streak and swept both rivals Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.
Oesterle took over this summer for Sue Guevara, who retired this summer following 12 seasons as the leader of the Chippewas. Guevara won the award in each of the last two seasons.
Senior forward Gabi Bird was named Sixth Player of the Year in the conference. Bird notched career-high averages in every category, scoring 8.6 points per game and shooting at a 41-percent rate, including a 35-percent mark from 3-point range. She also grabbed 4.9 rebounds per game.
Bird came off the bench in all 29 of Central Michigan's regular-season games but averaged 24.8 minutes per game, good for fourth on the team in that category.
The Conference awarded Freshman of the Year to Fair, who beat out the Chippewas' guard Molly Davis. Davis finished the season leading her team in shooting percentage, shooting 49 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc. She ranked third in 3-point field goal percentage and fourth in overall field goal percentage within the MAC.
Despite missing out on Freshman of the Year, Davis was named as part of both the All-Freshman team and All-MAC Second Team. Junior forward Kyra Bussell was named Third Team All-MAC, finishing the season shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and averaging 13.9 points and seven rebounds per game.
The Chippewas begin their quest for a conference tournament championship, next taking the floor on Wednesday at noon inside RocketMortgage Fieldhouse for a quarterfinal showdown against Toledo in Cleveland, Ohio.
