Strong second half secures CMU women's basketball victory at Bowling Green
With the win, Central Michigan snaps a six-game losing streak against the Falcons
Central Michigan sophomore guard Madi Morson signals to a teammate during the Central Michigan versus Notre Dame women’s basketball game at the Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana, on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. Morson finished with a team-high 15 points. (CM-Life | Mark Hoover)
Coming out of halftime, Central Michigan women’s basketball was locked in a tight battle with Bowling Green, both teams knotted at 26 points apiece.
On the first possession of the second half, sophomore Madi Morson hit a floating jump shot to take the lead. The next time down the court, Morson scored again, this time with a three-pointer.
Morson’s buckets got the Chippewas going in what proved to be a decisive third quarter the team would use to win the game 68-56. The win brings Central Michigan’s record to 8-5 and 2-1 in conference play.
“We are super proud of their defensive effort,” head coach Kristin Haynie said. “We felt like our defense got away from us at home against Ohio, so to come in and play that great of defense against a really good team that has really good scorers on their team, and we did a really good job shutting them down.”
After a narrow loss in overtime against the Ohio Bobcats last time out, the Chippewas were looking to get back into the win column against a Bowling Green team that has had their number for the last several years.
Before Saturday, the last time Central Michigan was victorious against the Falcons was in the Mid-American Conference Championship game in 2021 when the Chippewas won the conference title.
With the win, Central Michigan broke the six-game losing streak against the Falcons.
“We actually played today for (senior) Taylor Anderson,” Haynie said. “She's been here all four years and she hasn't beaten Bowling Green yet. So, we talked about that before the game and at halftime. So, this game was because of her.”
After a cold start to the game in the first half of the opening quarter for both squads, Central Michigan began to find its rhythm. A 10-0 run starting at the 4:40 mark gave the Chippewas an early 12-5 advantage. At the end of the first quarter, the Chippewas held a 14-11 lead.
“It's (starting slow) been a common theme for us, so we got to figure out how to start quicker,” Haynie said. “ Proud of them. We thought there was some good talk in the huddles, good leadership, good communication that we haven't heard. So, we feel like there's growth in that area and hopefully we can start games better.”
Bowling Green struggled from the floor not only in the first quarter, but throughout much of the game. The Falcons ended the contest shooting 29.1% from the field.
Despite the struggles, Bowling Green was able to keep the game close using the free-throw line. Almost half of the Falcon’s points in the first half came from the charity stripe as the team went 12-16 from the line.
By the end of the game, Bowling Green had been to the line 32 times, earning 23 points.
“I know some of that, the coaching staff can take the fault for it because that's how we teach box outs and the officials didn't like how we were boxing out, so we'll take a look at it and see what it is and we'll make adjustments,” Haynie said.
By the time halftime rolled around, the score was deadlocked at 26.
Central Michigan shot out of the gate to start the second half, knocking down five of its first ten shots to go on an 11-2 run and forcing Bowling Green to burn a timeout. Led by Morson, who scored eight in the quarter, the Chippewas outscored the Falcons 20-11 in the period and took a nine point lead into the fourth.
“ We just talked (at halftime) about moving the ball more and us moving more,” Haynie said. “We stood a lot on the offensive end just watching. So, we picked up the movement and moving the ball, swinging the ball and playing a little bit faster. We got some fast break points too, which helped open the lead up as well.”
Despite getting pressure from Bowling Green in the fourth, Central Michigan was able to close out the first victory of 2026.
Morson, who is off to a hot start in conference play, finished the game with a team-high 22 points. The performance marks the fifth time she has scored 20+ points this season and her third game doing it in a row.
“They're trying to deny her the ball and she just is, with the experience of last year and this year, she's figuring out how to change her speed and get the ball and get them off of her,” Haynie said. “She's having more poise on the offensive end, seeing what the defense is doing and then adjusting to her game.”
CMU also received substantial production from senior Nekhu Mitchell who scored 17 points.
With three conference games now under its belt, Central Michigan finds itself in fifth place. For Haynie, continuing the success in conference play lies in how the team executes its practices and how it plays on defense.
“We talk about getting better in practice and then it'll carry over to the game,” Haynie said. “We can't have flat practices. We got to get after it and act like practice is a game day. And we just continue to hound, like talk about defense. We're a really good team when we defend and we're super capable of defending anyone in the league. So, we got to keep that mindset defensively, and then that feeds our offense.”
Central Michigan will be back in action on Wednesday as it takes on Kent State at home with tip off scheduled for 11 a.m.
