A new post presence: Cotton, Moore lead frontcourt
Midway through last season, Central Michigan women’s basketball lost Crystal Bradford for the season with a knee injury. Soon after, CMU lost her to the WNBA.
Now, the team’s biggest task is dealing with the loss of Bradford, who was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.
Bradford averaged 19.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in 22 games last season and her loss has ignited questions about how the program will fare without its star forward, something the team got a taste of at the end of last season.
Besides senior guard Da'Jourie Turner, CMU will rely on the 6-foot-2 redshirt junior forward Jewel Cotton, who tore her ACL in the fourth game of last season against Oregon, knocking her out for the season.
Despite the injury, Cotton looks to perform better than the 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds she averaged per game in 2014.
“I’m accepting it as a challenge,” she said. “That’s the mindset I have to have for the rest of the season.”
Guevara expects Cotton to lead the team in scoring and rebounding. Cotton is more focused on getting back to her old self on court, which includes being a stat-filler and not playing scared.
“I really learned how to change my speed and slow down, and creating for others as well as creating for myself,” she said. “I feel like my game has picked up greatly just from the injury.”
In terms of rebounding, 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Tinara Moore will look to replace a big chunk of Bradford’s 190 rebounds from last season.
Guevara said the Southgate native has been working hard over the summer and wants her to be more physical.
“I feel like I progressed very well,” Moore said. “I know what’s expected and I know what to do more.”
Guevara will look at the entire roster to help replace Bradford’s production and understands it will require time and patience with a young, inexperienced roster.
“It’s a lot more teaching,” she said. “If I had a dollar for every time I said ‘please,’ I might retire.”
