COLUMN: Mark it down — women will make NCAA Tournament
Not a single Central Michigan women’s basketball player was born when it last happened.
It was 1985, the first year of the Donita Davenport era. She spent 12 seasons in Mount Pleasant as the women’s head basketball coach and is the all-time leader in wins with 171.
Her 1985 team was the last to make an NCAA Tournament appearance for the women’s basketball program.
Five of its first six head coaches were above .500 during their time at CMU. Since Davenport, not one has reached the .500 plateau.
Every season CMU has a “chance” to make the NCAA Tournament. However, this season, it’s for real.
CMU (15-7 overall, 7-3 Mid-American Conference) is built to be a legitimate contender for the Mid-American Conference tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Seven losses are seven losses, but four of them are outside of MAC play. Realistically, the only way a MAC program earns a trip to the NCAA Tournament is by winning the conference tournament.
So let’s focus on that.
Three losses Ball State, Bowling Green and Buffalo.
A lot of hype surrounded the program when Crystal Bradford, the 6-foot guard from Inkster, turned down schools such as Michigan State, Louisville, Auburn and West Virginia, for a chance to be a Chippewa.
However, it doesn’t have to wait for Bradford. This team can have its cake and eat it too.
Its first loss was against Ball State.
CMU hasn’t won in Muncie, Ind., since 1997-98. Fortunately for the Chippewas, the MAC Tournament isn’t in Muncie. An 86-77 falter against the Cardinals is fixable.
Bowling Green is good. The 90-62 loss against them wasn’t a fluke. However, CMU has been more committed defensively since the blowout.
Its most recent loss was a moral victory. Back on Jan. 26th, senior forward Kourtney Brown scored a game-high 33 points on 14-of-22 shooting and hauled down a game-high 16 rebounds. She also had a game-high 6 blocks.
Brown’s effort resulted in a win, but not by much. The Bulls won 92-89 at McGuirk Arena and the loss was a major wake-up call.
Afterward, Guevara called CMU’s defensive effort “embarrassing.”
Now the Chippewas are ready. Buffalo gave it exactly what it needed.
There are no questions about points. It is ranked No. 2 in scoring offense in the NCAA. CMU will score.
Now the scariest part of this team is left in question.
What if this team commits defensively? What could this team become if it becomes balanced? Will this team commit defensively?
Since the wake-up call, it has held two of three opponents below 65 points. All three resulted in wins.
Freshmen Niki DiGuilio and Taylor Johnson have made an impact. Seniors Kaihla Szunko and Shonda Long have shown leadership, but will the defense continue?
Yes. I’m confident enough to say that. I’m not Nostradamus. I can’t predict crazy world-wide disasters. I’m new. I’ve never publically predicted anything before. Yeah, I’ve called my fair-share of meaningless picks, but it has never been on record.
Until now.
Write it down, make a mental note or do whatever you do to remember something because it’s my first prediction.
Not one player on the CMU team had been born when it last happened. However, they want to make it happen.
It’ll be in its first NCAA Tournament since 1985.
