Women's hoops down Broncos 53-51 in McGuirk Arena
The shot clock and game clock were winding down on Coach Sue Guevara’s Chippewas, as they trailed by one late in Wednesday's game against in-state rival Western Michigan.
Then, sophomore guard Amani Corley picked up a loose ball nearly 22 feet away from the hoop and knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer as the shot clock hit zero, giving CMU its 53-51 lead with 2:27 left in regulation — it wouldn’t surrender it.
It was the momentum swing that pushed the Chippewas (12-7, 6-2 Mid-American Conference) past the Broncos (12-8, 4-4 MAC) in a game featuring 15 lead changes and 11 tied scores.
Freshman guard Presley Hudson led the way, leading all scorers with 19 points and playing all 40 minutes.
Sophomore forward Tinara Moore contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds—her 10th double-double this season.
Guevara said after the game she was extremely pleased with her team’s defensive play, holding WMU to just 51 points — 14.8 less than the Bronco’s season average.
“Offensively, we were struggling,” Guevara said. “But we didn’t put our heads down. We made Western Michigan struggle also with our defense.”
The Broncos led CMU 19-17 after the first period, but CMU outscored the Broncos 16-11 to win the second period and the first half 33-30.
The frontcourt of CMU held WMU’s leading scorer Miracle Woods to just four points in the first half.
“(Woods) is probably one of the better (forwards) ones — one of the better post players I’ve had to guard,” Moore said. “When she missed her first contested shot, she really got after it again.”
Woods would go on to score 14 points in the second half to finish with 18.
The third period began with a 7-2 Bronco run which gave them a 37-35 lead with 4:23 in the third, until Moore snapped off three consecutive buckets to stop the Broncos' run and make up some ground.
The fourth quarter became the Hudson versus Woods show.
Woods began the final period of regulation with six consecutive points, but Hudson wouldn’t let the Chippewas fall behind.
At the 6:47 mark and in need of a basket, Hudson drove left, took the contact from two converging defenders, scooped and scored to take the lead 47-46 and rejuvenate the Chippewa offense late in the game.
“I was expecting the foul, but then (the foul call) didn’t go,” Hudson said. “I looked up and saw it go in and was like phew.”
But it was Corley’s 3-point shot-clock buzzer beater from NBA range at 2:15 to take the 53-51 lead.
Moore and Hudson said the shot was the game-changer that put the Broncos away in the two programs’ 94th meeting.
“You could tell the whole crowd even got up and got pumped up,” Hudson said. “We knew we were going to win from there.”
WMU would have one more chance, but turned the ball over with two seconds to go.
“It was a great moment,” Moore said.
