Missed shots, 3-pointers bury CMU against Elon
The Chippewas didn’t score until four minutes into the game and didn't hit a 3-pointer until the second quarter as Central Michigan women's basketball lost to Elon 71-57 Saturday night at McGuirk Arena.
In the Chippewas' final Preseason WNIT game, the Phoenix of Elon shot over 50 percent from both field goal and 3-point range. It was the second straight game CMU gave up more than 50 percent from the 3-point line.
“It’s a disappointing loss, but it’s also a loss to a good Elon team,” said head coach Sue Guevara. “They did a nice job inside — they had a nice inside-outside attack. We had trouble stopping both. We’ll get back at it and work on our defense.”
The Chippewas managed to make 40.8 percent (20-of-49) from the field and 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from the 3-point line.
Junior guard Cassie Breen led the Chippewas' offense with 21 points. Eleven of her 21 points came from free-throws. She was 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, but only hit two of her nine 3-point attempts. She made five 3-pointers in CMU's previous game against Furman.
“When my outside game isn’t falling, I usually try to penetrate because I’m not any use to the team if I’m not hitting on the threes,” Breen said. “I was able to get to the free-throw line because they probably weren’t expecting me to drive much.”
After a career-high 26 points against Furman on Friday, senior guard Jewel Cotton contributed once again off the bench. She had eight points at the half and finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. She was shut out in the third quarter, but ended up hitting 7-of-9 from the floor by the end of the game.
“They were bigger — when we tried to make our move they were good with moving their feet and keeping us away from the basket and that was kind of tough for us tonight,” Cotton said.
The Phoenix finished the game with 20 points off of turnovers.
“The confidence level is still a little high, but we know we have to work on things,” Breen said. “We know that we have each other’s back, and we know that at the end of the day when (conference season) starts, these games are just building up for that. These bumps that we face in the opening games are just tests before (the MAC Tournament).”
The only statistics the Chippewas led in at the end of the game were turnovers (12) and steals (nine) compared to Elon’s 15 and four, respectively.
The Chippewas will finish their three-game home stand Tuesday when they take on the Oakland Grizzlies at 7 p.m.
