Aggressive matchup leads to loss for CMU women's basketball
In their first game of the regular season, Central Michigan women's basketball fell on the road, 77-55 to South Alabama. After a dominating exhibition game against Davenport, CMU was unable to keep its winning streak alive.
The Chippewas once again dominated in rebounds having a total of 33, most of them being defensive rebounds. The team struggled on the offensive side of the game with shooting and offensive rebounds.
“Our mentality before the game was to rebound because we knew they would be on the boards,” head coach Kristin Haynie said. “I wished we got more offensive rebounds, especially for how low our shooting percentage was.”
CMU was held to 14 points in the paint, 14 points off turnovers and only completed three of 18 layups.
One of the biggest struggles the Chippewas had throughout the game was consistent fouling. CMU totaled 14 fouls giving away points to South Alabama.
“In the second half our defense was better,” Haynie said. “But again, we’re still not where we need to be. We had too many fouls, so we have to do a better job of one-on-one defense without fouling.”
Freshman Tamara Ortiz led the team with 20 points and two rebounds becoming the leading scorer again for the Chippewas. Sophomore Madisen Wardell followed with 14 points and four rebounds.
The ability to share the load has proven to be one of the biggest strengths of this team. As CMU begins its first season with a new coaching staff and new players, the connection between both may prove to help win games.
“This team will continue to grow and get better in all parts of the game,” Haynie said. “It’s a process and we’ll keep working.”
The Chippewas will continue on the road as they travel to Peoria, Illinois to face off against Bradley on Sunday at 3 p.m.
