Battling through injuries
John Remus III
Forward Ann Skufca has struggled from the field since breaking her nose in practice Dec. 26.
The junior is averaging only 7.7 points per game during the past three games, well below her season average of 12.1.
She has scored in double-digits only once, and her team is 1-2 since the injury.
Skufca looks to get back on track today against Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. in Rose Arena.
“We’re just taking it one team at a time, and hopefully our home crowd will pump us up,” Skufca said. “I definitely went down a little bit, but now I’m trying to regroup and refocus.”
Skufca is wearing a face mask to protect her broken nose, but is not yet comfortable with it.
“Most definitely (it has affected her),” said coach Eileen Kleinfelter. “To have your nose cracked, you worry about getting hit again, and wearing that mask doesn’t help her fight.”
She will have to deal with the Mid-American Conference’s best rebounding team in NIU. The Huskies are outrebounding their opponents by five per game and have two players averaging more than six rebounds per game.
Kleinfelter said her team is going to have to make a concerted effort rebounding, but needs to make sure it does what made it successful early in the season.
“They have good outside shooters and are very good in the post,” Skufca said. “We just need to follow our game plan and execute our offense and play good defense.”
Up Next
- What: Central vs. Northern Illinois
- When: 7 p.m. today
- Where: Rose Arena
- Key players: NIU guard Stephanie Raymond averages 16.5 points per game.
- CMU junior forward Ann Skufca leads the team averaging 12.1 points per game.
The Chippewas (9-3, 0-1 MAC) have the MAC’s second best defense, giving up only 56.2 points per game. NIU on the other hand, struggles to score as it is only averaging 58.2 points per game.
Still, Kleinfelter is concerned about their post and guard play.
Stephanie Raymond is fourth in the MAC in scoring at 16.5 points per game.
“They are a balanced team with a very good post player and an all-conference preseason picked point guard,” Kleinfelter said. “She (Raymond) is a solid scorer, she’s quick, she hits three’s, she drives and she is definitely their offensive spark.”
After getting off to a school-best 6-0 start, CMU has only won three of its last six games.
The team beat Northern Illinois in double overtime 64-58 last season at Rose Arena.
“We are going to continue to work on our defense and make it even better, focus on our rebounding and definitely work a little better on our shot selection,” Kleinfelter said. “We have to look for the outside shot when it’s there.”
