COLUMN: Women leave 'no doubt' in win
Was there ever any doubt?
OK, maybe there was a little doubt.
But the CMU women’s basketball team has only lost two games at McGuirk Arena all season and being down 10 points with just over six minutes to play on Saturday against Kent State left a great opportunity for this team to really find itself.
“They battled,” said head coach Sue Guevara. “They just battled.”
And battle they did.
Seniors Shonda Long and Kaihla Szunko did what they have been doing all season, providing leadership and backing their words up with their play on the court when it matters.
Down 10 points with just over six minutes to play, was there any doubt?
Well maybe, but not in the minds of junior Skylar Miller and sophomore Jalisa Olive.
Miller’s tenacity on the offensive glass and Olive’s quickness on defense sparked a 24-8 run over the final 6:25 of the game, showing this team can play defense when it matters.
Miller and Olive combined for 16 points, seven rebounds and five steals during the 78-72 comeback victory, keeping the team in line for a first round bye in the Mid-American Conference tournament. The biggest thing about these stats is that five of those rebounds came on the offensive side of the ball.
Tight defense and hustle won this game for CMU.
The Chippewas are now on a four-game win streak, the longest of the season and the longest stretch under Guevara.
It was a great win for CMU no doubt, playing against one of the best teams in the MAC.
The Golden Flashes leading scorer, Taisja Jones, was held to just two points of which she scored in the final 10 seconds of the game.
Jones got into foul trouble early and foul trouble late and only saw 16 minutes of action, compiling four personal fouls.
“That was kind of the plan,” Guevara said.
While I agree with you, coach, that it might have been the plan to attack her and play tight defense on her, you never plan on a team’s best player getting in foul trouble so early their time on the bench becomes significant.
With that being said, Miller played good defense on her and turned out one of her best games all season.
But this was just one game.
It was a crucual win, but now more than 48 hours later it is a game that will soon be forgotten.
CMU (16-7, 8-3 MAC) won just 12 games all of last season, so this has already been a much better year for the Chippewas. But this team can not settle for, “We did better than last year.”
This team is different.
Persistent. There is no quit.
This team has veteran leadership, two of the MAC’s top freshmen, and a double-double machine (Szunko) that can carry them to even greater heights if they work for it.
Down 10 points with just over six minutes to play, was there any doubt?
Not really.
