Moore's record-breaking day powers women's basketball to road win over Akron
Sophomore forward Tinara Moore shots the ball during the game against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Dec. 21, 2015 in McGuirk Arena. CMU defeated Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 78-65.
After scoring the first 14 points of the game for Akron against Central Michigan, it seemed the Zips' DiAndra Gibson was going to be the star of the game.
CMU sophomore forward Tinara Moore made Gibson's efforts seem forgettable, and in record-breaking fashion.
Moore had career highs in points (35) and rebounds (20) and was a perfect 16-of-16 from the field as the Chippewas knocked off Akron 97-77 in Saturday's matchup at James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.
CMU (8-6) improves to 2-1 in Mid-American Conference play and splits its five-day road trip after losing 67-61 at Buffalo on Wednesday. The win over Akron is CMU's first MAC road win this season.
Head Coach Sue Guevara said it was nice to see her bench play better. After scoring zero points against the Bulls, the bench poured in 22 against the Zips.
“It was a nice rebound game after our performance against Buffalo," Guevara said. "I thought our bench really responded after not scoring any points against Buffalo and then coming out and doing a really nice job in the first half scoring and rebounding for us.”
Moore's perfect day from the floor is a CMU record, ousting Mary Oswald's 13-of-14 (.929) record in 1989. She becomes just the second player in NCAA history to go 16-of-16 from the field, and is the first since 1988.
The sophomore also set the MAC record. She bested the 14-of-14 day Emma Jones of Ball State had in 1985.
“I thought she took her time," Guevara said. "I thought she used her left hand as well as her right hand. She realized there was a one-on-one and she just went to work. I thought she was relentless. It was just a very nice performance by her, and her teammates giving her the ball.”
Moore scored nine points in the first quarter and the first six of the second quarter to extend the Chippewas' lead to 33-26.
A jumper from sophomore guard Cassie Breen and a layup from sophomore guard Amani Corley pushed the lead to 11 and forced a Zips timeout with 6:53 to play in the first half.
The Chippewas led 53-39 at halftime. Moore scored 21 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and was 10-of-10 from the floor in the game's first 20 minutes of play. She scored 12 points in the second quarter while Akron totaled only 13.
CMU came out of the locker room and sought an even larger lead in the third quarter. A three from Breen and six consecutive points from junior Jewel Cotton, with one basket coming off an assist from Moore, ballooned the lead to 19 with 7:55 to play in the third.
Moore then scored seven consecutive points to give her 28 points. Her previous career high was 24 against Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 19, 2015. Two straight 3-pointers from Breen closed out the quarter and put the Chippewas ahead 75-60.
Moore scored the first two points of the fourth quarter and grabbed her 20th rebound later on. She exited the game with 4:23 remaining.
“I was pleased with her aggressiveness and her relentlessness shooting the basketball," Guevara said. "If we can establish our inside game with our outside game and get that consistently, we’re just going to get better.”
In addition to Moore, Breen finished with 21 points and shot 50 percent from the field (8-of-16) and from three (5-of-10). Cotton chipped in eight points off the bench.
Guevara said she is pleased with Breen's consistency as a 3-point and jump shooter.
“She did a nice job of reading the defense and they were taking away (the three) so she went to the (short jumper) and got something else," Guevara said.
The Zips had three players in double figures. Gibson totaled 21 points, while Hannah Plybon and Anita Brown added 17 and 14 points, respectively.
Before Gibson and Moore's performances, the major story might have been the officials telling the Chippewas before the game to return to the locker room because the team was wearing maroon spandex with gold tops.
The rules specify that uniforms must be matching but Guevara said her team has been wearing that uniform for most of the season.
“We won’t do it anymore," Guevara said of the maroon-gold pairing.
The Chippewas will head back to Mount Pleasant and take on Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. Wednesday at McGuirk Arena.
