NCAA bound: Chippewa women win MAC championship over Bowling Green
Detroit guard Micaela Kelly passes the ball against Ohio on March 12 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio (photo by Ben Suddendorf)
Micaela Kelly looked for somewhere to go with the ball as the shot clock ticked down.
Running out of options, Kelly bounced the ball to sophomore guard Molly Davis, who launched an off balance shot. The ball fell through the net, extending CMU's lead to eight with less than a minute left.
And when that minute expired, the Chippewas were champions.
Central Michigan took every punch Bowling Green threw at it in stride, eventually knocking down clutch free throws to claim its first Mid-American Conference Tournament title since 2018. The Chippewas won, 77-72, Saturday in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
"It's an unbelievable feeling right now," coach Heather Oesterle said after the game. "I'm just so proud of our players because we've gone through some speed bumps, some slumps, some adversity ... Just for it to come full circle this year, I was so happy."
Key moments
Thanks to a Madisen Parker 3-pointer, Bowling Green took an early 12-5 lead. The Chippewas shot just 1-for-9 from beyond the arc in the first quarter and trailed 16-11 after one. The Falcons extended that lead to 12 midway through the second quarter, leading 27-15 after a Katie Hempfling layup.
At that time, Davis woke up.
After a personal 7-0 run from the Midland native, the Chippewas cut the lead to just one. The Falcons extended their advantage back to six, but a triple from senior guard Maddy Watters and a 3-point play from Davis tied the game at 34 heading into halftime.
Kelly joined the party in the third quarter, scoring 10 unanswered points to give the Chippewas a nine-point lead three minutes into the second half. That lead was extended to 12 after a layup from Jahari Smith, leading to a Falcon time out.
"Technically, I know I struggled in the first half," Kelly said. "But it's not how you start, it's how you finish."
Bowling Green rallied with a 12-0 run to take a one-point after a layup with Nyla Hampton. Kelly responded with a 3-point play, and the two teams went back and forth. Davis hit a free throw to put the Chippewas up three, however Elissa Brett answered with a buzzer beating layup to cut CMU's lead to one heading into the fourth.
Bowling Green took a 65-63 lead on a pair of Lexi Fleming free throws with 7:49 remaining. The Chippewas tied the game, but Brett scored on a lay-in to once again give the Falcons the lead. Davis answered with a 3-pointer to give the Chippewas a one-point lead as the clock ticked under five minutes.
Kelly converted a layup to push the lead to five with 2:35 remaining. After forcing a held ball, the Chippewas turned the ball back over with a shot clock violation. Bowling Green turned the ball over on a bad pass, and Davis drilled a triple to beat the shot clock buzzer with less than a minute left.
"Twin and I know each other really well," Davis said. "She drove to the lane, created some space for me and I got the shot off."
From there, the Chippewas iced the game away on free throws to earn the conference tournament win.
Key stats
CMU finished 28-for-60 (47 percent) from the field and made eight 3-point attempts. Bowling Green shot an identical 28-for-60 from the field and made nine 3-point attempts.
The Chippewas out rebounded the Falcons, 34-32. Bowling Green committed 11 turnovers while Central Michigan committed 10.
Key players
Kelly scored a game-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting while Davis finished with 23. Watters also chipped in 11 while Smith had eight and seven rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Anika Weekes had eight rebounds to lead CMU.
Brett led Bowling Green with 18 points. Fleming added 13 points and nine rebounds while Hempfling and Hampton each had 11.
Up next
The Chippewas will await their tournament selection during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 6 p.m. Monday.
