Women's basketball clinches MAC West title with 78-70 win over Eastern Michigan
It was junior Jewel Cotton who led the charge on senior day for the Central Michigan women’s basketball team Saturday at McGuirk Arena.
Cotton finished the game with 20 points and eight rebounds off the bench which helped the Chippewas defeat Eastern Michigan 78-70, clinching the Mid-American Conference West title and the No. 2 seed in the MAC tournament.
“I always say I just do what’s needed at that time,” Cotton said. “I knew I had to be a threat in the high-post in order for them to respect us."
CMU finished the regular season 20-9 overall and 14-4 in the MAC. This was the program’s fifth 20th-win season in six years and their second MAC West title in three seasons.
After the Chippewas erased a 40-33 deficit at halftime, they took a 54-49 lead into the fourth quarter. CMU opened the final period with a 10-2 run pushing its edge to 64-51 with 7:28 remaining.
EMU made a run late in the game and cut CMU’s lead down to four points, but freshman guard Presley Hudson nailed a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock expired extending the Chippewas lead to 74-67 with 38 seconds to play. Hudson recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
CMU sealed the victory with free-throws from sophomore Cassie Breen and senior Chelsea Lynn.
When the preseason polls came out, CMU was picked to finish fifth in the MAC West, but Head Coach Sue Guevara knew she had a special group for the 2015-2016 campaign.
“You look at everything that we lost (from last year), rebounding, scoring and a first round draft pick, but we all knew (the potential) in the summer,” Guevara said. “We’ve been in a lot of close games and people have made runs on us, and we haven’t panicked.”
Guevara said the most crucial moment came before the season when the team went to Toronto and played several exhibition games.
“One of the best things that happened to us was our administration let us go to Toronto so we could get a peek at what could possibly be,” she said.
In addition to Cotton and Turner’s performance, freshman Reyna Frost finished the game with 15 points and made all five of her field goal attempts in the second half. Breen chipped in with 13 points including three 3-pointers.
“I have a team full of gym rats,” Guevara said. “I just prayed every day that it would pay off, and it is. The best thing is we’re not done. The MAC season just ended, so now we have a whole other season coming up with the tournament.”
CMU will play the winner of Northern Illinois and Western Michigan in the quarterfinals Wednesday. The Chippewas swept both teams in conference play.
Turner was a freshman when the Chippewas won their first MAC championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2013, so her experience will be crucial for the underclassmen.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on them,” Turner said. “I basically tell them to stay focused and do what they do because they’re great players. We’ve come a long way and shocked a lot people and playing their game has got us here.”
Cotton said not underestimating other teams will be critical once the tournament begins.
“Having the mindset that in the MAC tournament, no one cares about your record in the season,” she said. “Because (the other team) made it on that court (too) regardless of what their record is. Wednesday will be the biggest game we play that day.”
