How Micaela Kelly, Molly Davis rolled through MAC Tournament
CMU’s women’s basketball team huddles around coach Heather Oesterle during the MAC Tournament Championship game against Bowling Green on March 13 in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (photo by Ben Suddendorf)
Micaela Kelly walked into the frame of the virtual press conference with the net from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse draped around her neck and wearing her Mid-American Conference champions hat backwards.
For the senior from Detroit, this was the culmination of a four-year journey with Central Michigan. In her freshman season, the Chippewas were MAC Tournament champions. After premature exits in each of the last two seasons -- and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last March -- this year offered a chance at redemption.
Kelly took advantage, steam rolling through opponents alongside Midland sophomore guard Molly Davis to secure the program's second tournament championship in four years, serving as bookends for a storied career.
"I know that I wanted to end the season a lot better than how we started," Kelly said. "Even though we didn't get the overall MAC conference (championship), we ended up coming together, pulling through and getting a championship."
And when the clock hit zeroes, certifying the Chippewas' championship, Kelly sprinted across court and found Davis -- who jumped into her arms.
Together, the two formed an unstoppable force in the Chippewa backcourt. Kelly averaged 27.7 points per game in the tournament, while Davis was just a step behind at 26.7. Both were named to the MAC All-Tournament team.
"Davis and Kelly are phenomenal guards, top in our league," said Bowling Green forward Katie Hempfling. " ... They're so dynamic, both of them, because they can score at all three levels."
After willing their team to victory each of the past two days, Davis and Kelly were forced to make one last push Saturday afternoon. Down 12 midway through the first half, Davis kickstarted a run with a personal 8-0 scoring flurry.
Her leaning floater through contact with just seconds remaining in the first half turned into a 3-point play, and tied the game heading into halftime. Davis finished with 15 points before the break and set the stage for Kelly, who took off in the third quarter.
Kelly scored 15 points in the third quarter's first five minutes, getting anything she wanted to fall. Her efforts put the Chippewas up 12. Though the Falcons would eventually cut into that margin and take a brief lead, the duo of Kelly and Davis were able to keep it within one and set the stage for one final moment.
With Davis appearing to be shaken up after landing awkwardly on her ankle, Kelly drove the ball late in the shot clock as the fourth quarter ticked under a minute remaining with CMU up five. The ball ended up in Davis' hands, who then drilled an arcing shot as the shot clock expired, extending the Chippewa lead to eight and putting the game out of reach.
"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."
Kelly, the 2019-20 MAC Player of the Year, adds this series of performances to an unparalleled resume compiled in her career. She recently surpassed the 2,000 point mark as well as the 500 win plateau, in addition to everything that this program has accomplished as a team while she's been here.
Meanwhile, Davis appears to be well on her way to entrenching herself in the record books. In her two seasons, the Chippewas have notched a regular season title and now a tournament title, which comes with a guarantee of Davis' first career NCAA Tournament berth. She currently sits 23 points short of 1,000 for her career.
"It's crazy," Davis said. "I really haven't been able to take it all in yet. It's just indescribable. Just the amount of hard work we've all put in.
"To see it all kind of pay off here, it's just indescribable."
