Women’s basketball drops thriller against Northeastern
After leading most of the way, Central Michigan women’s basketball suffered a heart-breaking 63-57 loss against Northeastern on Friday in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Chippewas are 1-3 on the season. Northeastern improves to 4-2.
How it happened
Northeastern matched the defensive intensity of the Chippewas, and with a minute left in the first, the score stood at 9-9. Sophomore forward Sydney Graber broke the deadlock with a short jumper, giving CMU the lead at the start of the second quarter.
Freshman guard Tiana Timpe kept rolling with a contested 3-pointer, increasing the Chippewas’ lead to five. Northeastern answered and tied things at 14. CMU continued pressuring the Huskies in the half-court, resulting in transition buckets as the Chippewas went into the break ahead 26-22.
Northeastern got things started from deep in the third, and the Chippewas looked to junior guard Molly Davis. She responded with back-to-back three-pointers, as CMU kept their foot on the gas and pushed the lead to 10.
A 10-0 run of the Huskies brought the score back even two minutes into the fourth quarter. The Chippewas snapped the scoreless streak, but a shot-clock violation started an offensive slump for CMU. The Huskies strung together a 9-0 run and took the lead.
The Chippewas never quit fighting, as Davis connected on another 3-pointer late. However, Northeastern kept shooting lights-out and secured a 63-57 victory.
Key Performers
Davis led all scorers with 32 points while shooting 11-of-13 from the free-throw line. Senior forward Jahari Smith finished with a game-high 12 rebounds.
Three Northeastern players finished in double-figures.
Key Stats
The Huskies finished the game shooting 45.8 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from deep. CMU finished 6-25 from beyond the arc and 19-of-53 overall.
Northeastern finished with 35 points in the paint, compared to 20 for the Chippewas.
What’s Next
The Chippewas continue their road trip at 2 p.m. Sunday when they head to Poughkeepsie, New York, to face Marist.
