CMU women’s basketball defeats Miami (Ohio) to secure second-straight win
Following four-straight points from Miami (Ohio) to get within two, freshman guard Sydney Harris hit a three-pointer to get McGuirk Arena loud and push Central Michigan women’s basketball lead back to five with 2:15 to play.
Shortly after, freshman guard Bridget Utberg hit a driving layup to extend the lead to seven and put the Chippewas (6-18, 4-9) in position to take the 83-80 win over the RedHawks (9-17,4-9) securing their second-straight on Wednesday.
This is the first time since Jan. 4 that the Chippewas have won back-to-back games this season.
“I think it all comes down to the energy really,” head coach Heather Oesterle said. “Inserting Mikala Hall into the lineup is instant energy and that's contagious. And I think people have really started to accept their roles. Our bench energy has been awesome.”
Graduate Student guard Mikala Hall has found herself in the starting five for CMU in the last three games and has become a source of leadership for the team. In the win she secured nine points along with a team leading eight assists and six rebounds.
“Mikala has been awesome for us,” Oesterle said. “I can tell her something, she relays it to the team … She's the older guard out there for us. And she huddles them and gets everybody on the same page.”
The freshmen duo of Utberg and Harris led the way, combining for 43 points. Harris led the team in scoring with 24 points along with four rebounds and two steals while Utberg put up 19 points and four steals.
“I think we have very good chemistry for only playing with each other this season,” Harris said. “... She's either hitting me or she's very capable of scoring and so she can keep it, and I think that's very hard for other teams to guard.”
The Chippewas jumped out to a 6-0 lead to begin the first quarter aided by five points from Harris. Following two straight buckets for the RedHawks to tie it at eight, CMU shot right back with six-straight points to regain a 14-8 lead. After trading runs to end the quarter, the Chippewas took the 18-14 lead into the second.
Harris led the charge in the first quarter with seven points, going 2-for-4 from the field.
After CMU held the lead throughout the first nine minutes of the second quarter, Miami went on a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the game heading into halftime, 36-35.
Following seven lead changes to begin the second half, the Chippewas finally found some separation from the RedHawks after back-to-back three-pointers to take a 47-42 lead. With the game tied at 48, CMU went on a five-point run assisted by a Harris three-pointer. Following a quick bucket from Miami, the RedHawks went into the fourth quarter with the 53-50 lead.
Both teams had trouble getting anything going to start the fourth quarter, scoring a combined four points in the first four minutes. The RedHawks first six points came from the free-throw line.
After a technical foul by the RedHawks, CMU went on a 9-2 run to take a 68-60 lead. After two-straight baskets from Miami, Harris hit a three-pointer followed by an Utberg layup to take back the momentum and go up 74-67 with 1:30 left to play. The Chippewas were able to hang onto their lead to win their second-straight game.
Junior forward Rochelle Norris fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter which led to graduate student forward Nadége Jean getting subbed in. Down the stretch, Jean hit three free throws to seal the win for CMU, ending the game with 10 points and five rebounds.
“I'm most proud about the fact that like we had some people in foul trouble that usually play a lot of minutes for us and then we had people step up,” Oesterle said. “I mean for Karrington (Gordon) and (Jean) to go to the line at the end of the game, I mean, with composure. I thought that was huge for our team. It gives me trust more in our bench.”
The Chippewas look to continue their win streak when they travel to Athens, Ohio to take on Ohio University on Saturday at 1 p.m.
