Women's basketball overcomes foul trouble, slow start to win conference opener over Akron
Saginaw freshman Shine Strickland-Gills puts up a shot and gets fouled against Northeastern Nov. 27 in McGuirk arena.
Despite having three starters on the bench to end the first half due to foul trouble, Central Michigan trotted into the locker room at halftime with a three-point lead over Akron.
Molly Davis, Maddy Watters and Kyra Bussell were each whistled for a pair of fouls, causing coach Heather Oesterle to reach into her bench for minutes to close the first half.
"Our bench gave us good minutes to keep us ahead at halftime," Oesterle said.
In a game that saw the two teams combine for 31 fouls, the Chippewas were forced to look around for contributors to complement junior guard Micaela Kelly, who continued her incredible stretch with a game-high 31 points.
Seven Chippewas scored at least four points, resulting in a cohesive performance ending in a 77-72 CMU victory over the Zips to open Mid-American Conference play.
Akron led early, sprinting out to a 7-2 lead. The two teams traded blows throughout the entirety of the first half, with neither squad leading by more than five points. Central Michigan made just one 3-pointer in the first two quarters yet shot 50% from the floor.
In the second half, the Chippewas opened on a 15-8 run to push their lead to double digits, taking a 54-44 lead on a layup by Kelly. Later in the second half, the Zips rallied and cut the Chippewa lead to four on a pair of free throws from Kendall Miller, but senior forward Gabi Bird hit a buzzer-beating triple to put the Chippewas up, 61-54, heading into the fourth quarter.
Led by Jordyn Dawson, who scored a career-high 25 points, the Zips rallied to cut their deficit to just a single point, prompting Oesterle to call a time out with 4:12 remaining.
"It's tough to go on the road in this conference and win games," Oesterle said. "Our team battled today. (When) they cut it to one, there was zero panic on this team."
Junior guard Maddy Watters and Bird each hit 3-pointers to extend the lead back to seven. Though the Zips would battle back, the Chippewas were able to convert free throw opportunities. CMU was led by Kelly, who finished 13-of-14 from the free throw line, and sealed the victory.
Bird hit four 3-pointers off the bench, finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds. Bussell had nine points, Davis had eight points and Watters had seven. Akron was led by Dawson and Caitlin Vari, who had 12 points each.
Next up, the Chippewas head to Ohio to face the Bobcats at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Convocation Center. The Bobcats were the preseason favorite to win the MAC East Division.
