CMU women's basketball gets first win of the season against Davenport
Riding a strong defense, success on the boards and a team effort in scoring, the Chippewas come out with the victory
Central Michigan University sophomore forward Ayanna-Sarai Darrington goes against Davenport sophomore forward Reese Polega for the ball toss at McGuirk Arena on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. Darrington scored a total of 15 points and 11 rebounds. (CM Life | Jasmine Brookins)
After crashing the offensive glass on the previous possession and being rewarded with free throws, Central Michigan women’s basketball came up with a big play with 7:34 left to play in the second quarter.
After freshman Rylan Buschell came up with a steal in Davenport’s defensive zone, sophomore Riley Smith knocked down a three-pointer to ignite the crowd in McGuirk Arena and put the Chippewas out to a 10-point lead.
Strong defensive play, success in grabbing rebounds and a team effort in scoring were the keys to CMU getting its first win of the season with a score of 71-44 over Davenport.
“We ended on a good note,” head coach Kristin Haynie said. “We started off flat in the first half. But we regrouped in the second half and, holding them to 19 total points in the second half, (we) did a really good job on the defensive end. Causing 18 turnovers to our 12 was good, so we're happy with taking care of the ball.”
Neither team scored for the first two-and-a-half minutes as both squads traded missed buckets and turnovers. Eventually, Davenport struck first with a made three-pointer from junior Tangee Gagau.
Defending the three-ball was a weakness of the Chippewas in their first game against Georgia Southern, and the problem appeared to be popping up again. On the Panthers’ next possession, Gagau knocked down another triple to take a 6-0 opening lead. In the first quarter altogether, the Panthers went 3-7 from deep.
Despite what appeared to be a strong start from behind the three-point line, CMU was able to limit the Panthers to only one more three-pointer for the rest of the ballgame.
“ I think a couple of those threes, our hands were down, not in their face,” Haynie said. “One of the threes was NBA range, so we told them that we just have to get up a little bit more, get in their space and not have open looks. We just told them that they gotta defend the three-point line better than we did against Georgia Southern, and we did that. I mean, they didn't shoot the greatest, but we also were there to contest the shot.”
Davenport continued to apply pressure to the Chippewas throughout the first quarter. With about three minutes left in the period, Smith stepped up and sank a three-pointer to bring the Panthers’ lead down to just 11-9.
A 7-0 run by the Chippewas to end the first quarter saw them take a 13-11 lead into the second.
Central Michigan’s defense came alive in the next period. Using their press and an aggressive approach, the Chippewas launched themselves out into a 27-15 lead at the halfway mark of the quarter.
Moving forward, Haynie wants her team’s success on defense to last for a longer portion of the game.
“ It would be nice to be consistent,” Haynie said. “It's early, so we just keep working on it in practice and being consistent. We wanna disrupt and dictate on the defensive end, so we saw spurts of that today, but we just gotta be consistent with it.”
Defense was a big factor in the Chippewas’ win. Central Michigan finished the game having forced 18 turnovers, leading to 19 extra points. Defensive rebounding was also something the Chippewas did well, accumulating 31 boards on the defensive end of the floor. The team finished with a total of 53 rebounds on both sides of the court.
Davenport did its best to minimize the damage to finish out the second quarter and found itself down just 31-25 going into the locker room for halftime.
Central Michigan used the third quarter to slowly draw out its lead. The defense from the Chippewas continued to control, allowing the Panthers to make only four of their 12 shots in the period, holding them to just 10 points.
The Chippewas continued to build their lead throughout the fourth. At the final buzzer, it was Central Michigan on top, securing its first win of the season.
Scoring for the Chippewas was largely a group effort, with all but two players who saw action registering at least three points.
Four Chippewas ended the game in double figures, with Ayanna-Sarai Darrington leading the way with 14. Darrington also finished with 11 rebounds, capping off a double-double. Smith was hot from behind the arc, going 3-5 from deep on the way to 13 points.
“It's good to see multiple people scoring double figures,” Haynie said. “I thought Riley Smith came in; she gave a really good boost, a good spark for us, and not just with her scoring but just her energy on both ends of the floor.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Buschell led the team in steals with four of her team’s nine.
“She did a good job of controlling the tempo, and she took care of the ball,” Haynie said. “Having two assists and zero turnovers and having the ball in your hand (the) majority of the time was super positive to see.
"Then she also got four steals. She got her hands on a lot of balls, so super good. There was growth there for her for sure, taking care of the ball and just getting our team organized.”
Up next, the Chippewas travel down to Indiana to play Butler University on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
