Balanced first-half scoring advances women's basketball to tournament championship
Junior Jewel Cotton looks to pass the ball against Middle Tennessee State Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015.
In the first quarter, redshirt junior forward Jewel Cotton scored six points on the Central Michigan women’s basketball team’s first three possessions.
In the second quarter, sophomore guard Aleah Swary drained three 3-pointers, totaling a season-high 13 points by halftime.
In the first half, the Chippewas outscored Rider 24-6 in the paint and CMU shot 62 percent from the floor.
CMU used a strong first 20 minutes of play to down the Broncs 76-58 in the team’s first game of the St. Joseph’s Tournament at Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
CMU (6-4) moves on to the championship game against host St. Joseph at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The Chippewas held on to an 8-7 lead with seven minutes left in the first quarter when they jumped out to a 12-7 lead after a drive to the basket from senior guard Da’Jourie Turner.
Guevara said she was pleased with Cotton's ability to score around the rim.
"(Cotton) was attacking," said CMU Head Coach Sue Guevara. "The first four shots she took were in the paint. She finished.”
CMU led 16-14 after the first ten minutes and all of 16 points were scored in the paint. The Chippewas shot 47 percent from the floor in the first quarter compared to the Broncs’ 25 percent.
“As a team, we are only shooting only about 44 percent in the paint," Guevara said. "Those are red zone shots. That’s at the three-yard line trying to get the ball in. It was good to see that percentage go up.”
Swary paced the Chippewas in the second quarter with her three triples and led CMU, offensively in the first half with 13 points. Turner added 11 points and two assists before the break.
Swary did not score in the second half but added 10 rebounds to the box score to give her a double-double off the bench. Guevara said she is impressed with what Swary can do on the floor.
“(Swary) is giving me confidence that she is going to come in and let the game come to her," Guevara said. "She put up six shots but she was driving and finished. She’s showing she can do more than just score.”
After grabbing a 44-29 halftime lead, CMU did not notch a second-half point until sophomore forward Tinara Moore scored with 5:35 led in the third quarter. The Chippewas led by 11 after 30 minutes of play, but Guevara said turnovers hurt her squad in a nine-point third quarter.
“We have to do better starting the third quarter," Guevara said. "We have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball. We had too many empty possessions right in-a-row.”
In the fourth quarter, freshman guard Presley Hudson hit back-to-back triples, the first being a step-back crossover, before the five-minute mark to push the CMU lead to 66-48. CMU led by 19 at one point in the final period to earn its sixth victory of the season.
Turner led CMU with 20 points, while Hudson and Cotton added 16 and 10 points, respectively. The Chippewas were 20-of-23 from the free-throw line.
Guevara to the sidelines after she missed last week’s win against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville due to a funeral. She thought she saw progress from her team.
“We did a better job tonight of attacking the baseline and making things happen," she said. "That’s a good change.”
The Chippewas now turn their attention to the Hawks, who defeated Maryland, Baltimore County 104-45 in the first game of the tournament.
“We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Guevara said. "They are going to play (man-to-man defense) and be up in our face. All the little fundamentals are going to be key.”
