CMU women’s basketball wins MAC opener against NIU
A 29-point second quarter secured a Mid-American Conference opener win for Central Michigan women's basketball with a 79-62 victory over Northern Illinois on Wednesday.
The Chippewas are on a two-game winning streak as they are now 3-9 overall and the Huskies are 8-4 on the season.
The first quarter was back-and-forth as both teams found success in the paint early each scoring 14 points. CMU held control of its offensive possessions with six second-chance points.
In the second quarter, CMU went 11-for-12 (91.7%) from the floor. Freshman guard Bridget Utberg was the main scorer in the quarter with 11 points and scored three out of the five three-pointers from the Chippewas. The main part of CMUs success in the quarter was its defense as it forced the Huskies to make five turnovers and limited them under the net. Going into the half the Chippewas' led 46-32.
“We stuck with what we were doing defensively," said head coach Heather Oesterle. "We did try to trap a couple of ball screens, but I thought Rochelle Norris made a huge difference in there in the second quarter. And then Taylor Anderson's defense on... (Chelby) Koker was huge, getting over and taking away her three ball.”
Coming out of the half CMU continued to dominate as junior center Rochelle Norris and freshman guard Sydney Harris both scored eight points in the third quarter. Norris dominated in the paint both offensively and defensively getting rebounds and blocking shots.
Norris had a career day as she finished with a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. She had a career-high of five blocks and three steals.
“She does that stuff in practice," Oesterle said. “You look at her college career like she hasn’t really played basketball in two years before this year so, she had to get some game experience in and it’s finally starting to click.”
NIU came back strong with time was running out as the brought their deficit to eight. The Chippewas answered right back going on a 10-0 run. The Huskies went six minutes without a basket allowing the Chippewas to take a 79-62 victory.
CMU shot 57.7% from the field and 52.9% from the three-point line.
The freshman showed out in the first conference matchup of the season. Harris led the team with 21 points, Utberg had 16 and freshman guard Taylor Anderson had 14.
“Oh, they played really well, they’re a very talented freshman class," Oesterle said. "You know I was proud of them too, because Northern Illinois made a run in the third quarter, and we kept our composure. So yeah, I thought they did a really nice job on both ends.”
The Chippewas will look to continue their winning streak as they head to Buffalo to take on the Bulls on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
