CMU women's basketball fends off Akron, 86-79
Central Michigan University sophomore forward Ayanna-Sarai Darrington shoots a free throw during a basket ball game against the University of Akron in McGuirk Arena, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (CM-Life | Alivia Cranick)
Although the Chippewas had a 21-point win over Akron back in January, their latest matchup had a much different feel.
The Central Michigan Women’s basketball team (15-8, 9-3) survived a high-scoring battle at McGuirk Arena on Wednesday, defeating the Akron Zips (5-19, 2-9) 86-79.
“[Akron has] talented players, they’re young, and freshmen are stepping up and really scoring for them,” head coach Kristin Haynie said.
The Zips proved to put up more of a fight this go around, shooting 53.3% from the field and forcing ten CMU turnovers in just the first half.
Turnovers have been a challenge for the Chippewas throughout the season, but they were able to shrink this number later in the game.
“We only had four turnovers in the second half, so that was super encouraging to see,” Haynie said. “I hope we’re growing up a little bit in that area and we continue to take care of the ball.”
After leading the majority of the first quarter and trailing close behind in the second, the Zips came out of halftime hot, going 5-5 from the field.
Luckily, CMU answered with intensity on the defensive end.
With a couple of easy buckets in transition, the Chippewas extended their lead to 12 by the end of the third quarter.
“That’s one of the things we said at halftime. We have to get stops so we can run,” Haynie said. “We started the third quarter out a lot better than we started the game, so it helped us open up the lead.”
CMU took this momentum with them into the remainder of the game, feeding the hot hands of sophomore guard Madi Morson and sophomore forward Ayanna-Sarai Darrington.
“Our players are doing a good job of feeding the beast, of getting our players who are hot the ball,” Haynie said.
The beasts in question, Morson and Darrington, accounted for 54 of the team’s 86 points.
Morson led the Chippewas with 29 points and picked up four steals. Darrington followed closely behind with 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
By establishing herself in the paint, Darrington opened up the outside shot for CMU and spent plenty of time at the free-throw line.
“Her patience and development have been really awesome to see,” Haynie said. “She’s very coachable, so it’s no surprise to see her blossom.”
Darrington delivered an impressive 78.6% from the charity stripe on Wednesday, going 11-14.
Although the Chippewas walked away with the win, Haynie wasn’t satisfied with the 79 points they let up.
“Our identity is defense; we got to defend,” Haynie said.
CMU is back at home this weekend and will take on the Western Michigan Broncos at 1 p.m., a perfect opportunity to get back into character.
“We've got to get back to playing good defense and lock in in practice these next few days,” Haynie said. “Hopefully we have a better defensive effort on Saturday."
