CMU women's basketball falls to highly ranked Michigan team
Central Michigan senior forward Nekhu Mitchell talks to her teammates after a whistle is blown during the Central Michigan versus Notre Dame women’s basketball game at the Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana, on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (CM-Life | Mark Hoover)
The Central Michigan women’s basketball team (5-3) travelled to Ann Arbor on Wednesday evening to take on No. 6 Michigan (7-1). The Wolverines proved to be a dominant force, beating CMU 82-40.
“Michigan’s pressure definitely got to us. They’re super long and athletic, and we needed to do a better job of being strong with the ball, looking up the court a little more,” head coach Kristin Haynie said. “Their length hurt us.”
CMU racked up 22 turnovers, which led to 29 Wolverine points.
Despite these challenges, the Chippewas gained momentum late in the second quarter. Not only did things click on the offensive side, but they held Michigan to only seven points this quarter.
“We were communicating more on the defensive end then getting stops...then it was carrying over to the offense,” said Haynie.
After trailing by as much as 20, CMU had a 7-0 scoring run at the end of the second quarter. A three-pointer by sophomore forward Riley Smith made it 32-21 Michigan at the end of the half, with the momentum seemingly in CMU’s favor.
“We did a good job fighting in that quarter, so we wanted to keep that consistent,” Haynie said. “But we came up short in the second half.”
CMU didn’t find much success in the remainder of the game due to Michigan’s suffocating defense and efficient offense.
One Chippewa able to make an impact in the second half was sophomore forward Ayanna Sarai-Darrington, who scored six points and picked up three rebounds in the third quarter.
Darrington led the team with 11 points and had five rebounds. Smith followed with seven points.
Although it wasn’t the outcome CMU may have hoped for, games like these are useful to have under their belt, according to Haynie.
“Every game is preparing us for the MAC conference, no matter who we play,” Haynie said.
Central Michigan is back on the road Sunday, taking on yet another ranked team, the Kentucky Wildcats. Tip-off is at noon.
