Three-point barrage powers CMU women’s basketball to win against NIU
Central Michigan begins conference play with a scorching hot offensive performance
Notre Dame junior guard Hannah Hidalgo steals the ball from Central Michigan freshman guard Lilah Turnbull during the Central Michigan versus Notre Dame women’s basketball game at the Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana, on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. Hidalgo had 25 points, seven assists and six steals. (CM-Life | Mark Hoover)
Central Michigan women's basketball opened up Mid-American Conference play on Saturday as it took on the Huskies from Northern Illinois at home in Mount Pleasant. In the end, a dominant offensive performance, highlighted by success from behind the three-point line, powered the Chippewas to the 89-51 win.
Both offenses got off to a hot start in the first quarter, each shooting over 50% from the field in the opening frame of the match. Chippewa freshman Lilah Turnbull made an early impact, scoring her first five points of the game in the opening minute.
Turnbull finished the game with a career-high 11 points.
Northern Illinois began to pull away from the Chippewas in the latter half of the first quarter, going up by as much as seven at the 2:51 mark. It would have been a six-point advantage for the Huskies at the end of the first, but sophomore Madi Morson knocked down a shot from deep to cut the lead to just three with one second left on the clock
Morson had one of her better games of the season so far, highlighted by a scorching hot first half in which she went 7-9 from the field, 3-5 from deep and scored 17 points. Morson finished the game with 26 total points, shooting 67% from the field.
Turnovers were a problem for both squads throughout the afternoon. Coming into the game, both the Huskies and the Chippewas were ranked at the very bottom of the MAC in turnover margin, and it showed.
In the first quarter of play alone, the Chippewas racked up seven turnovers, leading to nine extra points for NIU. In the game as a whole, Central Michigan turned the ball over 19 times, leading to 17 extra points for the Huskies.
Defense was the story for the Chippewas as the momentum shifted in the second quarter. Central Michigan held the Huskies to just 30% from the field and forced seven turnovers, holding NIU to just nine points in the frame.
Going into the locker room for halftime, the Chippewas held a 34-30 lead over NIU.
The second half looked like a completely different game thanks to Central Michigan’s offense exploding in the third quarter, especially from behind the three-point line. Highlighted by a 5-7 performance from deep, the Chippewas dropped 31 points in the third.
On the other side of the ball, Central Michigan’s defense was stifling. The Huskies were held to just 13 points in the third, most of which came at the charity stripe. Northern Illinois only managed to hit one basket from the field in the frame, shooting 11%.
Heading into the final period, Central Michigan’s lead had ballooned to 65-43.
The fourth quarter went much like the third as the Chippewas cruised to their seventh victory of the season and first in MAC play.
Three-pointers were a highlight of the Chippewa’s offense throughout the afternoon. Central Michigan finished the game having gone 14-28 from behind the three-point line with four different players knocking down three shots from deep.
Senior Taylor Anderson was a dominant force on the glass throughout the game. Having just recently set a new career high in rebounds last time out against Valparaiso, Anderson broke that high again and set a new record for herself against NIU, grabbing 17 boards. In addition, Anderson added six points, four assists and five steals.
Scoring was largely a group effort for the Chippewas. In addition to 26 points from Morson and 11 from Turnbull, senior Nekhu Mitchell, sophomore Riley Smith and sophomore Jayda Mosley all scored nine of their own.
Moving forward, the Chippewas will have a bit of a break for Christmas before picking up gameplay again as they take on the Ohio Bobcats in Mount Pleasant on Dec. 31 at 1 p.m.
