Women's basketball posts first undefeated home record in 30 years
Over 370 days have passed since Central Michigan women’s basketball last lost in McGuirk arena.
In that time the Chippewas have gone on to achieve a Mid-American Conference championship, a MAC Division West championship and now, the first undefeated home record since the 1983-84 season.
“We don’t let anyone come into our house and take what is ours," said senior forward Taylor Johnson. "We achieved that goal and it feels good to be undefeated at home.”
Topping Western Michigan 84-75 on Wednesday pushed CMU to 11-0 at home this season.
The streak started in the most dramatic of fashions on Dec. 5, 2013 with a last-second 94-91 victory over Dayton.
Other teams came close to defeating Central Michigan in McGuirk Arena. MAC opponents Bowling Green and Ball State forced the Chippewas to overtime, but neither could break the streak.
“It was pretty close against Ball State and Bowling Green here," said head coach Sue Guevara. "When you sit down and think about goals, you want to be realistic. I thought this was one we could obtain and we did.“
CMU beat teams by an average of 13.6 points over the course of 11 games.
“Everybody comes into the season wanting to protect their home court, especially if you are looking to get a championship,” Guevara said. “You have to take care of your business at home and we did.”
The outcome of a home game mostly comes down to players performing on the court, and the McGuirk Arena crowd has a strong influence in creating an advantage for the Chippewas.
“Our fans are so supportive because this team feeds off the energy and enthusiasm of our fans,” Guevara said.
Now that the undefeated home season is in the record books, the team can focus on the task at hand: a MAC championship.
“Even though today was very special for our seniors and our team played great, it’s over now,” Johnson said. “Tomorrow we have to watch film and we have to start working on coming back and getting strong for Eastern (Michigan) and then the MAC tournament.”
