Haynie’s homecoming: CMU women’s basketball falls to Michigan State
CMU Freshman center Desrae Kyles shoots agains Concordia-Ann Arbor's freshman forward Alexx Braddock (left) and senior guard Taylor Leatherman (right) during the women's basketball game against Concordia-Ann Arbor Tuesday, Nov. 14 in McGuirk Arena. The game was coach Kristin Haynie's first win as head coach. (Ella Miller | CM Life)
The crowd in Breslin Center rose to their feet, a wave of applause filling the arena, as Central Michigan women’s basketball head coach Kristin Haynie made her return to East Lansing on Sunday when the Chippewas faced off against Michigan State.
“I had all the emotions,” Haynie said. “Definitely excited and nervous, just proud. Breslin is a special place and those fans are special. So, just to come back and get the applause that I did, the warm welcome was very special.”
Before taking on the head coaching role for CMU, Haynie was the assistant coach with the Spartans for four seasons. She also played for MSU during her collegiate career.
In her return, the Chippewas lost to the Spartans 91-67, moving their record to 1-7 with one game remaining before Mid-American Conference play begins.
CMU was slow to get going in the first half. Michigan State’s defense looked to fasten the pace of the game as the Chippewas had 14 turnovers in the first half, creating 27 points off of turnovers for the Spartans.
“We started out a little timid, we weren’t playing Chippewa basketball,” Haynie said.
Junior guard Karrington Gordon tried to get things going for the Chippewas in the second quarter with a quick jump shot coming off a fastbreak to make the score 36-14.
However, mistakes on offense continued to affect the Chippewas' production, committing five more turnovers in the quarter following the jumper.
Near the end of the second quarter, Gordon secured a fastbreak layup, leading the Chippewas into halftime as Michigan State took a 23-point lead, 48-25.
“We needed to take care of the ball,” Haynie said. “They scored 27 points off of our turnovers in the first half and that’s way too many. That’s been our Achilles heel all season, so hopefully we can build off the second half, we took care of the ball in the second half, and we just got to continue to get better in that department for us to win games.”
The Spartans came out of halftime immediately committing a turnover. Sophomore guard Taylor Anderson capitalized on State’s error, hitting a three-point shot on the other end.
The Chippewas fastened the pace of the game with a fast break layup brought up the court by junior guard Lisa Tesson.
Central Michigan was not done as sophomore forward Madisen Wardell and junior guard Tiana Timpe drained two shots around the perimeter to create a 6-0 run and force a timeout from MSU head coach Robyn Fralick.
CMU cut the Spartan’s lead to 14 at the end of the third quarter after a layup in the paint by graduate forward Nadége Jean.
Jean was the second leading scorer for the Chippewas with 12 points. Gordon was one point ahead of her with 13 points coming off the bench.
“I’m proud of them for coming out and going on that run and having Coach Fralick call a timeout,” Haynie said. “That was an emphasis for us and so I’m proud of the players' fight.”
CMU had the score within 13 after a free throw from Tesson with less than five minutes to play.
Michigan State came back alive in the final minutes quickly running the score to a 24-point lead.
A steal from redshirt junior guard Capria Brown with less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter led to the final points of the game coming from Tesson in the paint.
Sunday was the first time Brown was on the floor for the Chippewas scoring seven points and four steals, helping shift the momentum for CMU.
“For her to come out and she gave good minutes, and we’re excited to have her back,” Haynie said.
The Chippewas are now 1-7 overall and look to improve their record as they travel to Fargo, North Dakota to take on North Dakota State University on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
