Late rally can’t push women’s basketball past Miami (Ohio)


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General caption: The CMU women's basketball team fell to Kent State by a score of 78-67 on Wednesday, Feb. 9 in McGuirk Arena. This loss takes their record to 2-11 in the MAC.

Photo: Midland junior Molly Davis goes up for a layup against Kent State on Wednesday Feb. 9 in McGuirk Arena.

Down 24 with seven minutes remaining in the game, Central Michigan women’s basketball looked to be dead in the water against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday. 

,That’s when the Chippewas’ offense caught fire, draining four-consecutive shots from three-point land. Ultimately, the RedHawks (8-14, 4-9) survived the barrage of deep-balls and held on to win 90-77 over CMU (4-19, 2-12) in Millett Hall.

With freshman Tiana Timpe making her return to the court after missing two games due to injury, CMU looked to start fast. Yet, the RedHawks had the same plan.

As a result, both teams found success pushing the pace, ending in wide-open looks. However, when the Chippewas looked to exploit mismatches in the paint with Jahari Smith, they weren’t there.

After Smith notched a career-high 21 points against them in Mount Pleasant on Jan. 26, Miami adjusted its gameplan and silenced CMU’s interior offense through 20 minutes. 

On top of increased defensive pressure, the RedHawks opened the game shooting lights out. Miami went 5-for-10 from behind the arc in the first half, forcing the Chippewas to guard the three-point line. 

Once they had CMU backpedaling, the RedHawks began working the paint, as they stretched their lead to 18 at halftime. 

Coming out of the break, both teams turned up the intensity on defense and began limiting three-pointers. The teams combined to shoot 1-for-12 from three in the third quarter.

Instead of getting locked in on the deep ball, the Chippewas began to force the issue at the rim. As the fouls piled up, Miami’s frustration continued to grow, CMU took advantage and found its rhythm.

However, when the buzzer sounded on the third quarter, the Chippewas were down 21 and the Miami crowd was rocking.

CMU picked up two quick fouls in the fourth, allowing the RedHawks to increase their lead to 24 and forcing coach Heather Oesterle to call a timeout. 

When the teams returned to the court, the Chippewas flipped the script on Miami. After trading baskets, Miami missed a layup and Davis found an opening on the three-point line.

Once she connected, the floodgates opened as Timpe buried back-to-back threes. Not looking to be outdone, Davis drilled a deep three-pointer on CMU’s next possession. 


Miami’s scoreless drought continued as Smith connected on both shots from the free-throw line, cutting the RedHawks lead to 12.

But just as fast as they caught fire, CMU went cold as Miami held on to split the season series.

Davis led the way for the Chippewas with 24 points and five assists. Timpe notched 16 points while shooting 5-for-9 from three.

Smith finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds, securing her ninth double-double of the season. 

Miami finished the game with 46 points in the paint, 20 more than CMU.

The Chippewas wrap up their two-game road trip on Wednesday, against Akron at 7 p.m.

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