CMU women’s basketball losing streak moved to four with loss at Kent State


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Freshman guard Taylor Anderson moves the ball during a game against Eastern Michigan Saturday, Feb. 4 in McGuirk Arena. Anderson has scored 132 points this season.

With under two minutes to play and down by six, freshman Sydney Harris hit a three pointer to get Central Michigan women’s basketball within three of Kent State University. 

However, on the next possession the Golden Flashes hit a three-pointer to regain their six-point lead and put them in position to defeat the Chippewas, 68-63 on Wednesday.

“I thought we fought really, really hard,” head coach Heather Oesterle said. “Obviously we still had some injuries. Bridget (Utberg) is out, Jahari's (Smith) out, Nadeje (Jean) was out, and then Tiana (Timpe) got hurt in the first half, so we were down numbers and I thought everybody battled really hard. And we were right in the game the whole game.” 

In the second quarter, sophomore guard Tiana Timpe went down with an injury and had to be helped off the court. She did not return for the rest of the game and her injury is unknown. 

Along with Timpe out, the Chippewas were still without freshman guard Bridget Utberg due to a concussion, causing some struggle beyond the three-point line as CMU went 4-for-15 from three. 

“Without the three-point shooting of Tiana and Bridget, we had to create some offense for ourselves and transition off our press,” Oesterle said. “And I thought our press worked really well. And (Rochelle Norris) did a good job inside.” 

Junior center Rochelle Norris ended the game with 16 points along with a team-high 12 rebounds to secure the double-double.  

Following a slow start, the Chippewas secured five-straight points aided by a Harris three-pointer to put them up 9-4 halfway through the first quarter. However, the Golden Flashes shot right back with a 12-2 run to take a 16-11 lead. Graduate student Mikala Hall hit a three-pointer to end the quarter, cutting the Kent State lead to two and giving CMU some momentum going into the second. 

Harris led in scoring for CMU with 19 points along with four rebounds and three assists. 

The Chippewas had eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter, but they failed to translate them into points as they went 5-for-21 from the field. 

With Timpe out and Harris in foul trouble, the Chippewas had trouble getting offensive production in the second quarter as they only scored six points in the first seven minutes. The CMU defense held the Golden Flashes to 14 points in the quarter to go into halftime down three, 30-27. 

Harris got the Chippewas going to start the third quarter with five unanswered points, leading to a 13-0 run to give CMU its largest lead of the game, 40-32. The Golden Flashes started to find their rhythm near the end of the quarter going on a 15-2 run to take back the lead, heading into the fourth quarter up 49-44. 

The Chippewas outscored the Golden Flashes 10-5 to begin the fourth quarter to tie the game at 54 with five minutes to play. With under two minutes left, Harris hit a three-pointer to get within three, however a three on the other end and a CMU turnover sealed the win for Kent State. 

The Chippewas return to McGuirk Arena on Saturday to face off against Buffalo at 1 p.m. 

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