CMU women's basketball upset by Kent State on the road
The Chippewas have now lost three of their last four games
Central Michigan University women's basketball head coach Kristin Haynie gives her team pointers during a time out during a basketball game against Western Michigan University in McGuirk Arena on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (CM-Life | Claire Vachon)
Up one and looking for the upset win against Central Michigan women’s basketball, Kent State senior Corynne Hauser came up big one more time. With about a minute left in the game, Hauser’s layup all but sealed the win as CMU’s offense couldn’t convert in the final seconds.
After losing the first matchup against the Chippewas earlier in the season, the Kent State Golden Flashes extracted their revenge against Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon, defending their home court with a 63-56 victory.
“It was a disappointing loss,” head coach Kristin Haynie said. “We felt like we could have taken that one. And areas that we lacked was just unforced turnovers down the stretch, and they got way too many offensive rebounds. So we feel like we needed to be a little tougher taking care of the ball and just getting some stops on the defensive end, that kind of got away from us with mental errors.”
On Saturday, the Golden Flashes found production up and down its roster. Everyone who recorded playing time registered a point, a stark contrast to Central Michigan. Kent State’s bench outscored the Chippewas’ bench 34-0, with CMU’s players only putting up six shots.
“They just gotta be more confident when they're out there, looking for their shots. … Jayda's (Mosley) gotta be able to come off screens and then transition, looking for her shot more than what she has been,” Haynie said. “We gotta get the ball down low to TJ (Taylor Johnson) when she's open. So some of that is our passing, we gotta look at the players when they're open. And some of that is just the players being confident and knocking down their shots when they can get 'em.”
Central Michigan was led in the scoring column by sophomores Madi Morson and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington who scored 19 and 16 respectively. Darrington rounded out a double-double with 12 rebounds while senior Taylor Anderson had 11.
The second quarter proved to be a difference maker in the contest, defined by two large runs from Kent State and a lack of offense from the Chippewas. The Golden Flashes kept Central Michigan scoreless for about six minutes of the quarter and used a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the game. Kent State then used a 7-2 run to end the first half, going up four at the break.
“We need other players stepping up and scoring so they can't double-team Anna (Darrington) and Madi (Morson),” Haynie said. “We gotta have other people just being confident and stepping up and making their layups and making their shots when they're open. And then we gotta do a better job of taking care of the ball.”
Central Michigan kept the game close and even had a three-point lead with 3:23 left in the game. Kent State, however, shut the door with a 10-0 run. Haynie said she credited Kent State for hitting its shots down the stretch, specifically highlighting Hauser.
Hauser, who missed 10 games in January and February, led the way for the Golden Flashes with 15 points in the game, six of which were in the fourth quarter and helped put the game away.
“She's a really good player for them,” Haynie said. “She's one of their starters, so she just took the game over. That's what great players do, is they want the ball and they make shots. So credit them (the team) for making shots (at the end).”
Kent State thrived from the free-throw line in the game, going 17 of 20. Comparatively, Central Michigan went 6 of 7.
“We just need to be, on the offensive end, be tougher with the ball and go up a little stronger for us to get those calls,” Haynie said. “But on the defensive end, we gotta be able to defend without fouling. And some of those fouls were ticky tack, and some of 'em were just us not locking in on the defensive game plan.”
Central Michigan has now lost three of its last four games, sliding to 17-11 overall and 11-6 in conference play. Despite the recent losses, Central Michigan still finds itself in fourth place in the Mid-American Conference with one game left on the schedule.
“We've played against some of the top teams in the conference lately,” Haynie said. “So we gotta be able to look at those games, look at today, and look at the stuff that we did well with, and then we gotta be able to play consistent.”
Haynie also said the team needs to get better at playing while tired.
“We just gotta slow the game down just a little bit when we're tired and play well together,” Haynie said. “Sometimes we get away and play one-on-one ball versus playing team ball when we're tired. So the biggest part is just being able to push through that fatigue and still playing hard and playing at a high level.”
The Chippewas have one more game on their schedule before heading off to Cleveland for the MAC Tournament. On Wednesday, Central Michigan will host Bowling Green at 6:30 p.m. as the team celebrates the seniors on the roster.
“Bowling Green's playing well right now,” Haynie said. “They're a better team than when we played 'em before. And this is our last home game, and we're playing for our seniors, especially Taylor Anderson, being here all four years, this is her last home game.”
