Women's basketball loses to Eastern Michigan, heads to Northern Illinois for first round of MAC Tournament
Turnovers cut the senior day celebration short for the Central Michigan University women’s basketball team as rival Eastern Michigan University handed the Chippewas a 93-86 loss on Saturday at McGuirk Arena.
CMU committed 23 turnovers during the game, allowing EMU to score 20 points off of the mistakes.
“They get into the passing lanes well,” said senior Kerby Tamm. “They are a scrappy team. We had a strong day offensively, but when you have 23 turnovers, that’s going to hurt you.”
Five different Chippewas scored in the double digits during the loss. Senior Lorreal Jones led CMU shooing 11-of-12 from the floor with a career high 23 points.
“It was my teammates that helped me score,” Jones said. “Tamm and (Jas'Mine) Bracey were telling me where to go and I was in the right place.”
Bracey recorded her sixth double-double of the season, pulling in 17 rebounds and scoring 18 points.
“Our post players played really well together,” Head Coach Sue Guevara said. “They passed the ball to each other well. We did a nice job of going inside out. Jas’Mine finished with six assists. She was looking of open shooters when she was double teamed.”
CMU also had a successful day from beyond the arc, shooting 42 percent from long range. Tamm hit four of the eight shots she took from 3-point range, while freshmen Aleah Swary and Cassandra Breen combined for 27 points.
“Eastern did a good job of denying me in the first half,” Tamm said. “Our freshmen did a good job of hitting shots to keep us in the game. My teammates were finding me well in the second half and I was able to hit a few shots.”
Breen started the game scoring 12 points in 10 minutes before suffering a head injury that left her lying on the court in pain. The guard eventually got to her feet and returned to the bench, but did not return to the floor.
“I saw her sitting at the end of the bench and wanted to get her back in, but the trainer said no,” Guevara said. “She had a headache and she was dizzy, so I told her she could not play.”
Defensively, CMU struggled to contain EMU sophomore Janay Morton. The Minnesota-native scored 34 points and went a perfect 13-of-13 from the free-throw line.
“We had to weather the storm,” Guevara said. “They punched us, so we punched back. It was a game of runs, but when it came down the stretch, they made plays we couldn’t make.”
CMU will head to Dekalb, Ill. to play Northern Illinois University Monday in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Despite the loss in their final regular season game, the Chippewas say they are optimistic heading into the first round.
“Even though we lost, we saw what we can do when we are all contributing,” Bracey said. “We still have a high energy that we are going to bring Monday.”
