Women's basketball not looking back at 2014 win over Oregon
Senior guard Cassie Breen speaks during the press conference on March 23 at Spokane Arena.
SPOKANE, Washington — Sue Guevara and Cassie Breen have beaten Oregon before.
In the 2014-15 season, the Central Michigan women’s basketball team beat Oregon in an early season tournament in Las Vegas.
With the Chippewas and Ducks set to square off in the 2018 NCAA Tournament Regionals this weekend, CMU head coach Guevara said she hasn’t even looked back at their previous contest — even though it resulted in a CMU victory.
“I think both teams are quite different,” Guevara said. “Our seniors were freshmen. I’m not even sure they saw the floor. Didn’t go back at all.”
CMU defeated Oregon 73-67 back on Nov. 28, 2014 in the Las Vegas Tournament behind 34 points from former star Crystal Bradford, who was eventually drafted No. 7 in the 2015 WNBA Draft.
Senior guard Breen, who was a freshman at the time, saw 18 minutes of action off the bench and was 1-of-4 from 3-point range. Senior forward Tinara Moore, the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, did not play in that game.
Breen said she remembers “a little bit” from the first matchup agains the Ducks.
“Honestly, freshman years is a while ago, a lot of games have passed,” Breen said. “I just remember them being just a tough team, like any (Bowl Championship Series) school is. I don’t remember anything other than that.
“I know No. 10, we played against her, (Lexi Bando). I just remember she was a shooter, just looking to score obviously. A lot of things have probably changed since then.”
Bando, a senior guard for the Ducks, is the only member of this year’s roster to play in the 2014 contest. Bando, who started, recorded 18 points in 39 minutes against the Chippewas, including 4-of-8 from 3-point distance.
This season, Bando is fifth on the team in scoring with 10.3 points per game. She leads Oregon with a .469 shooting percentage from 3-point range, Guevara said Bando is a player the Chippewas will look to defend.
“We’re going to follow Bando to the bathroom,” Guevara said. “That’s how she can shoot it.”
CMU (30-4, 17-1 MAC) takes on Oregon (32-4, 16-2 Pac-12) at 6 p.m. Eastern time March 24 at Spokane Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN.
