Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 12/3/07 Section: Sports

Junior guard Latisha Luckett led the women's basketball team with 17 points Saturday against Wagner. [Click to enlarge]

Junior guard Latisha Luckett has done most of her scoring off the bench this season.

But on Saturday afternoon, Luckett started in place of Britni Houghton, CMU's regular starter. Luckett poured in 17 points in her debut as a starter for the Chippewas as CMU rallied from behind to defeat Wagner College, 73-61.

"This was a good win for us," Luckett said. "We came out with a lot of intensity and effort this weekend. We've been working hard and we ended a (three-game) losing streak."

Luckett also was named to the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational all-tournament team.

"Latisha was our leading scorer while coming off the bench," said coach Sue Guevara. "We talked about it earlier, and she didn't mind her role coming off the bench.

"But that morning, I told her, 'Latisha, we need your energy and defense to start the game. You're starting today.'"

The move payed off for CMU (3-4 overall). In addition to her 17 points, Luckett also added six assists, three steals and two blocks against the Seahawks.

The game started off back and forth, with CMU holding a 12-9 lead 7 minutes, 30 seconds into the game. But Wagner (2-4) rattled off nine straight points and never relinquished the lead in the half, holding an 11-point lead at halftime.

In the second half, the Chippewas came out with energy and intensity missed in the fist half. A balanced offensive attack helped them outscore the Seahawks 19-5, taking a three-point lead with 11:44 left in the game.

The teams swapped lead changes over the next six minutes, with Wagner's Andrea Reed hitting a layup to give the Seahawks a 57-54 lead with 5:49 left.

Two straight layups from Houghton and Luckett gave CMU a lead it would never relinquish.

Six free throws from Candice Wilson and Angel Chan closed out the scoring for CMU, which outscored the Seahawks 47-24 in the second half.

"I was very happy with their ability to fight back," Guevara said. "They're a scrappy team. They played with a lot of heart."



Comeback not enough against Wildcats

A 19-0 run in the second half wasn't enough for CMU on Friday against Northwestern.

The Chippewas failed to complete a big comeback against the Wildcats in the opening round of the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational in Evanston, Ill., losing 52-48.

The Chippewas almost overcame a 23-point halftime deficit. Down 47-24 with 14:39 to go, a Kendra Holman 3-pointer started a massive turnaround in which CMU wouldn't allow a Wildcat basket over a period of nearly 10 minutes.

But the Chippewas were unable to get past the Wildcats in the final four minutes, giving Northwestern the win.

Luckett led the Chippewas with 10 points. Freshman guard Shonda Long added eight points and senior guard Stacey Verhoff had seven.

CMU travels to Youngstown, Ohio on Wednesday to play Youngstown State (3-3).



sports@cm-life.com

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools