Chippewas become aggressors in MAC quarterfinal win over NIU
Central Michigan changed up its pregame chant, according to coach Heather Oesterle.
Gathering before the team's Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal matchup against Northern Illinois, Oesterle and the Chippewas spelled "Be Aggressive" letter-by-letter. When asked following the game, an 83-69 win, senior guard Micaela Kelly smirked.
"I just wanted us to come out and be the more aggressive team," Oesterle said.
Whatever they did pregame, it worked.
For the first time since a Feb. 19 showdown with Kent State, CMU held a lead after the opening 10 minutes of play. A large part of that success was an 11-2 run to open the game, highlighted by triples from Kelly, senior forward Kyra Bussell and senior guard Maddy Watters.
"I was really proud of the way we came out in the first quarter," Oesterle said. "Because we talked a lot about throwing out the scouting report at this point of the season. We all know each other, but it's about who wants it more and who's gonna be the aggressive team coming out. And I thought we were the aggressors coming out."
NIU punched back and cut the lead to just two at the end of the first, but CMU used a 13-0 run to push back out in front and take a nine-point lead into the locker room. The Chippewa's trio of starting guards, Kelly, Watters and sophomore Molly Davis, led that charge. Among the highlights was a no-look feed from Watters to Davis resulting in a 3-pointer.
The Chippewas finished the game with 13 team assists, a large amount of those coming on cross court skip-passes that led to open triples in that second quarter.
"Right from the start, the ball, for us, was moving," Oesterle said. "We were skipping it, attacking, skip, attack. I thought our ball movement was really, really good to start the game and that's what we were asking for."
Every time the Huskies would mount a rally in the second half, the Chippewas got a clutch shot from someone to stop it. Redshirt junior guard Kalle Martinez hit three triples, redshirt sophomore Anika Weekes had two and Davis scored 14 of her 24 points in the second half.
Now, the Chippewas will move on to take on an Ohio team that used a strong first quarter to put the Chippewas in a hole the last time the two teams met. It's yet another rubber match, with Ohio winning the second matchup thanks in large part to that strong first quarter while CMU took the first matchup.
With a chance to get to the final with a win, it's certain that Oesterle and her team's mindsets will be the same. How they go about executing the aggressive start will likely determine the result.
"Well basically we know we have to come out and throw the first punch," Kelly said. "Basically being aggressive from the start is actually important."
