CMU women's basketball struggles in home loss to UMASS
The loss brings Central Michigan's record to 16-10, 10-5 in conference play
Central Michigan University senior guard Taylor Johnson shoots a layup at the women’s basketball game against the University of Massachusetts in McGuirk Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. Johnson scored eight points against the Minutewomen with one rebound. (CM-Life | Jasmine Brookins)
Central Michigan women’s basketball hosted the University of Massachusetts Minutewomen in a late-season rematch on Saturday, both teams looking to improve their records with the Mid-American Conference Tournament on the horizon.
It was Massachusetts that had the better outing, raining in 3-pointers and capitalizing on an early lead as the team never trailed. As the final buzzer sounded, Massachusetts held a significant lead on the scoreboard, taking home the 69-50 victory.
“We started out flat, so we dug ourselves in a hole,” head coach Kristin Haynie said. “Third quarter was good, you know, they shot 15% and that's what we talked about at halftime is where's our defense? So our defense was a big disappointment. And on the offensive end, we just weren't playing well together. We weren't moving the ball.”
The loss brings Central Michigan's record to 16-10, 10-5 in conference play.
Massachusetts was largely able to keep Central Michigan’s leading scorers, sophomores Madi Morson and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington, at bay. CMU’s leading scorer of the afternoon, Morson, was held to 16 points. Darrington totaled just eight.
“They do a good job denying her (Morson) the ball and being physical,” Haynie said. “And she's gotta move a little bit more without the ball, on top of the teammates need to find her too when she is open.”
No one from the rest of the team eclipsed double digits in scoring. Junior Taylor Johnson recorded her best game of the season in the scoring column with eight points despite missing part of the game after sustaining a cut on her head in the second quarter.
“ I mean, she even got stitches, so she's tough,” Haynie said. “For her to come back in the game after getting hit, stitches, and we were down by that much, that's toughness. And super proud of her coming back and just seeing her game develop a little bit. It was good to see her be patient when she got it down low, and getting to the foul line a lot. …We just need her to continue to do that in practice and then continue her confidence as we play the rest of our season.”
On the other side of the hardwood, Massachusetts had four players score 10+ points, led by graduate Allie Palmieri who was hot from beyond the arc, knocking down five triples and scoring 19. Sophomore Yahmani McKayle followed her teammate up with three 3-pointers and 16 points.
The Minutewomen scorched the Chippewas from 3-point land in the contest, shooting 55% and accumulating 33 points from deep.
“ We just gotta know where the shooters are,” Haynie said. “And some of those threes are off the dribble, are behind screens and that's our defense. … We'll take that, that's on the coaches. But a lot of the threes are just being lost in transition. … So we gotta be better defending the 3-point line.”
Central Michigan also struggled with ball security, specifically in the first half. In the opening quarter alone, the Chippewas turned the ball over eight times. Although the team cleaned it up in the second half, the damage was already done.
In the game as a whole, CMU finished with 19 turnovers leading to 23 points for the Minutewomen.
“They're very unforced turnovers, and we're throwing the ball to our player who has two or three people on 'em. … So we just started talking about like we gotta start the game out how we started out in the second half,” Haynie said. “I mean, we can't start flat.”
The third quarter was a bit of a bright spot for Central Michigan. The Chippewa defense held Massachusetts to just 15% from the field in the period, clawing into the lead. A 3-pointer from Morson at the beginning of the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 11, but that was the closest the Chippewas would get.
Despite the loss, Haynie was pleased with the crowd that gathered to cheer the team on.
“The crowd means a lot,” Haynie said. “They definitely give us energy. … Even when I was an assistant coach, it was special. … Coach Sue (Guevara) did a really good job getting them here, and they've stayed. I think every year that we've been here it's gotten more and more, so that's really good to see.”
Central Michigan has three games left in its regular season before heading off to the MAC Tournament. Up next, the Chippewas head to Toledo to take on the Rockets on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“(We got to) learn from this game, but it's short term memory, we gotta move on,” Haynie said. “Disappointing we lost at home, especially in front of a great crowd. But we gotta rebound on the road and… play together and play with confidence, get our defense back to dictating.”
