Scouting report: Western Michigan Broncos
Game seven of the 2015-16 Mid-American Conference Tournament will be the third game this season between in-state rivals Central Michigan and Western Michigan women's basketball teams.
CMU swept the Broncos during the regular season, beating them 53-51 on Jan. 27 in Mount Pleasant and 73-61 on Feb. 27 in Kalamazoo, which cliched CMU's ticket to Cleveland.
The Broncos finished fifth in the MAC West Division.
Scouting Report: Western Michigan Broncos
Record: 17-4, 8-10 MAC | Two game winning streak | 1-2 at neutral sites
Team Makeup: Seniors: 4 | Juniors: 2 | Sophomores: 6 | Freshmen: 4
Tournament Seed: 7
Previous Game: No. 7 Western Michigan: 94, No. 10 Northern Illinois: 52
The Broncos routed the Huskies Monday night at University Arena in Kalamazoo in the first round, setting a school record for margin of victory in the MAC Tournament — 42 points.
The Bronco's had 42 points in the paint alone and 15 points off NIU turnovers, making 10-of-22 3-pointers (45.5 percent) and 39-of-70 (55.7 percent) from the floor.
The WMU bench, led by freshman guard Meredith Miller's eight points, contributed 21 points.
Seniors Jessica Jessing (19 points) and Alex Morton (15 points) combined for 34 points, junior Meredith Shipman finished with 18 points and fifth-year senior Deborah Meeks had 13.
Season Stats: WMU ranks eighth in the MAC in scoring offense, averaging 65.9 points per game. It ranks fourth in both field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage, making 722-of-1760 (.410) field goals and 152-of-452 3-pointers (.336) this season.
However, its 152 3-pointers ranks WMU 11th in the conference in 3-pointers made. CMU is second in that category with 215 3-pointers on the season. The Broncos rank first in 3-point defense, allowing just 135 opponent 3-pointers all year (6.4 per game). They are second in the conference in blocked shots with 108 (3.5 per game).
Player Note: WMU is without team captain and leading scorer Miracle Woods, who scored 14 second-half points against CMU on Jan. 27 at McGuirk Arena. Woods was removed from the team due to a violation of team rules. Woods ranks 15th in WMU history in scoring with 1, 171 points and fifth in blocked shots with 106.
