Women's basketball losing streak grows to 10 as Ball State survives nail-biter
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.
Holding a seven-point lead with just over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Molly Davis dribbled the ball around the three-point line and toward the left corner.
With a Ball State (17-11, 10-8) defender in her face, Davis passed to Anika Weekes on the right-wing, Weekes dribbled left towards the paint. Once she reached the free-throw line, Weekes stepped back and drilled a mid-range jumper, pushing the score to 69-62.
The maroon-and-gold pom-pom wielding crowd roared with excitement, trying to will Central Michigan women’s basketball (4-24, 2-17) out of its nine-game losing streak.
However, those were the last points the Chippewas would record as Ball State secured a 75-69 victory in McGuirk Arena on Wednesday.
“I was really proud of our team today,” Oesterle said. “I thought we started the game well, and we hit our cold streak, unfortunately, in the fourth quarter. That’s been kind of our issue all year. We get these times where we can’t score. But I was proud of them, the way that they played. They did play very hard for the whole game, and I thought we made some key plays. But I was just sitting over there thinking, you know we haven’t been in a lot of close games this year, and that’s where you learn to execute down the stretch.”
CMU has struggled with injuries all season, as Molly Davis, Tiana Timpe and Kalle Martinez have been unavailable recently. But as it started warmups, Timpe and Davis emerged from the tunnel in uniform.
While Weekes was happy to have them back in the lineup, she said it didn’t change their approach.
“Same mindset,” Weekes said. “It’s good having two shooters because it’s not easy to defend us. We have people that can drive, finish in the paint, (Smith), and then we also have shooters, so it gives us some versatility.”
After suspecting their seasons were over, Oesterle said the word came down Monday afternoon that Davis and Timpe would be available against the Cardinals.
"(Timpe) and our trainer came into my office and said that they were both cleared to play,” Oesterle said. “It came down to them being able to get MRIs and us being able to read it and them seeing the doctors again. Both of them were feeling good, and I wasn’t going to play them if they were still hurt. I asked (Davis) and (Timpe) both today. I wasn’t going to play them. It’s too important for this offseason.”
With their top three-point shooters back, the Chippewas exploded offensively in the first half, shooting 6-for-12 from range. At the break, Hanna Knoll led the way for CMU with 13 points, as they took a seven-point lead into the third.
However, Ball State ratcheted up the intensity on defense in the third quarter and slowly began to claw its way back into the game by feeding center Annie Rauch inside.
Rauch finished the game with 24 points and nine rebounds going 8-for-12 from the floor.
When the Chippewas offense struggled against the pressure, Weekes’ success from three buoyed the team throughout the second half.
“(Oesterle) just tells me, ‘shoot the three, shoot the three,’” Weekes said. “So what did I do, shot the three, I listened to (Oesterle).”
Although she fouled out with 20 seconds left, Weekes recorded her fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
“I wish it was more consistent, but at the same time, that’s not how it is,” Weekes said. “But, it feels good to end the last home game on a good note.”
Davis led the way with 17 points while adding five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Her performance moves her into sole possession of 12th all-time for points scored at CMU.
Jahari Smith notched 13 points and eight rebounds. Knoll finished with 13 points and three assists.
Despite leading for three and a half quarters, the Chippewas’ familiar shooting woes returned at the end of the fourth quarter.
“This has been the story all year,” Oesterle said. “We get to these points where we’re not hitting shots I call it our ‘cold streaks.’ We have yet to put four quarters together where we’re hanging with teams offensively… and that’s been our struggle, just to have consistent scorers.”
The Chippewas end their season on the road against Northern Illinois at 2 p.m. CMU is 1-0 in the season series.
