Women look to end short losing skid
The women's basketball team travels to Kalamazoo today in hopes of ending a couple of trends.
The team has lost two consecutive games and four of its last five road games.
CMU plays at 7 p.m. against Western Michigan.
The Chippewas beat the Broncos 98-87 on Jan. 17 at Rose Arena, led by senior guard Angel Chan's 33 points.
Assistant coach Bill Ferrara said he likes how CMU matches up with WMU.
"I think this is a great matchup for us," he said. "The way they play their man-to-man defense really blends to the way we attack offensively. They need help off the corners and our corners are deadly with Angel Chan in one and Shonda Long in the other. We are going to attack from the top of the key."
Since the teams' January meeting, the Broncos are 3-5 in Mid-American Conference games. But coach Sue Guevara said WMU is starting to improve just in time for the conference tournament.
"I think they are one of those teams that are coming together at the right time," she said. "They are a team with a new coaching staff and that takes a minute or two to get used to. I think that they are really coming together and it's not a bad time to come together."
The Broncos are 2-2 in their last four games, including a 79-77 overtime loss to Bowling Green on Feb. 7. Bowling Green defeated the Chippewas 94-79 on Feb. 15.
The Broncos are led by point guard senior Tiera DeLaHoussaye, whose 14.8-point average ranks 10th in conference games.
"They have one of the best point guards in the MAC with DeLaHoussaye," Guevara said. "I think that right now, neither one of us can win the West, but we can both play the spoiler. I know that they are playing with abandonment and playing with a lot of passion."
Ferrara said WMU is a dangerous team to play.
"I think that mentally, for them, they are playing the spoiler role right now," Ferrara said. "They have nothing to lose and this is a rivalry and a revenge game for them. They are basically playing hard to try and ruin people's seasons."
The Broncos rank fifth in the West Division with a conference record of 3-9 and are 7-17 overall. One spot above Western is CMU, 6-6 in the MAC and a 14-12 overall record.
Guevara said this rivalry creates good games in most sports here on campus and tonight's game is no exception.
"This is Western against Central - this is a pretty big rivalry," she said. "We beat them here in a high scoring game. Whenever you go into another teams place, especially in an intense rivalry like this, you know it is going to be tough. But there is nothing better than shutting up a crowd by beating up a team and scoring a lot of points."
sports@cm-life.com
