Women's basketball seeks return to MAC championship
Members of the women's basketball team pose for a photo during Media Day on Oct. 20 at McGuirk Arena.
All head coach Sue Guevara and the Central Michigan women’s basketball team could think about over the summer was — 3.4 seconds.
The Chippewas fell to Buffalo 73-71 in the Mid-American Conference championship game last season on a buzzer-beating layup.
CMU had 3.4 seconds to defend the Bulls, but were unable to and saw their NCAA tournament hopes disappear.
Now the Chippewas return with a familiar cast to make it back to the conference title game.
“I like this team, I love coming into practice,” Guevara said. “Last year we had a lot of inexperienced depth. Well this year, a lot of that inexperience is experience.”
The Chippewas return second team All-MAC selections Tinara Moore and Presley Hudson, as well as MAC Co-Sixth Player of the Year in senior Jewel Cotton.
CMU opens the season with a tough test on the road against Notre Dame. The Chippewas fell to the Fighting Irish 106-72 the last time the two teams squared off in 2013.
Guevara said the team will use the final play in last season’s MAC championship game as fuel for the 2016-17 campaign.
“We have to get better defensively,” she said. “They understand 3.4 seconds. We lost the championship with 3.4 seconds because we didn’t get a stop and our players have made a committed effort to that side of the ball.”
CMU plays Notre Dame on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at Edmund P. Joyce Center.
