Women's basketball to face Buffalo for MAC Championship crown
CLEVELAND — The Central Michigan women's basketball team is one win away from capturing its first Mid-American Conference Championship crown since 2013.
Its only obstacle is the Buffalo Bulls.
No. 8 UB knocked off No. 5 Akron 88-87 on Friday to advance to the MAC Championship game against No. 2 CMU, who defeated No. 6 Eastern Michigan 86-71 in the second game.
The Chippewas will face the Bulls for the first time since Jan. 6. Buffalo won 67-61 in New York.
"I think (Saturday) is going to biggest game we play, so we're going to work on our performance, what we can do and come up with a championship," said redshirt junior forward Jewel Cotton.
In the teams' first matchup, only three Chippewas scored in double figures. Freshman guard Presley Hudson dropped 23 points, while senior guard Da'Jourie Turner and sophomore forward Tinara Moore added 12 and 10, respectively.
"I think we're more of an attacking team than we were at the beginning of the season," Moore said. "We've gotten used to each other and we know each other's strengths a lot more than at the end of the season of on. It is a little bit of revenge. And what's a better revenge than to have it as a championship game?"
CMU dropped to 7-6 (1-1 MAC) following the Jan. 6 loss, while UB improved to 9-4 (1-1 MAC). The Bulls were led by Joanna Smith's 21 points.
On Friday, Smith scored 18 points to led UB to victory over Akron. Head Coach Sue Guevara said a key is to make sure her team knows where Smith is at all times.
"They have a nice inside outside game," Guevara said. "If (UB Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack) runs her little zone, I hope we can get them in a man-to-man real early."
The Bulls shot 44 percent from the field against the Zips and shot 35 percent in the first game against CMU.
Buffalo shot 9-of-19 from 3-point range on Friday. The Chippewas shot 15-of-27 from long range against EMU.
UB played 12 people in Friday's contest, while CMU only played seven. CMU freshman forward Reyna Frost sprained her ankle on Wednesday and played just seven minutes on Friday.
Guevara expects Frost to contest Smith on Saturday. She said bench pieces such as sophomore guards Amani Corley and Aleah Swary will also provide minutes. Cotton and redshirt junior guard Jasmine Harris were the only two players to come off the bench on Friday.
Though five Chippewas played more than 32 minutes on Friday, Guevara does not expect them to be gassed out for Saturday.
"(N)o one's going to be tired," she said. "The adrenaline is going to go for 40 to 45 minutes because it's the Championship game. There no room for tired."
No. 8 Buffalo Bulls
Record: 19-13 (8-10 MAC)
Coach: Felisha Legette-Jack (Fourth season, 57-59)
Top Players: Junior guard Joanna Smith (18 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game), sophomore guard Stephanie Reid (10.5 points per game, 150 assists)
All-time versus CMU: 9-11
MAC Tournament record versus CMU: 1-1
