CMU women's basketball throttles Akron in dominant victory
At halftime of its Mid-American Conference matchup against the University of Akron, Central Michigan women’s basketball held a 40-22 lead while holding the Zips to just eight points in the second period.
The defense helped the Chippewas win convincingly 75-55 under assistant coach Chelsie Butler while head coach Kristin Haynie was unable to attend due to medical reasons. The win puts their overall record at 6-10 and their conference record at 2-3.
Senior guard Jess Lawson led a three-headed offensive attack with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman guards Madi Morson and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington pitched in 16 points each. The trio combined for 50 of the team's 75 points.
Leading 16-14 going into the second quarter, CMU extended the lead to eight off of three straight buckets from Darrington to complete a 10-0 run. But the Zips fought back to get within three. Central Michigan would then go on a 17-0 run, holding Akron scoreless for six and a half minutes.
Coming out of the half down 18 points, the Zips woke up on offense, but were unable to get stops. After both teams traded buckets for most of the quarter, CMU freshman guard Jayda Mosley laced a three midway through the third to put the Chippewas up by 20. A bucket by Lawson followed to give them their largest lead of the game at 22.
Akron managed to cut the lead down to 10, four minutes into the fourth quarter, but a 16-6 run sealed the game for Central Michigan. With the 75-55 win, it marks the first win against Akron in four years.
The defense seemed to click for CMU, holding the Zips to just 29.2% from the field and 10.7% from three while also forcing 16 turnovers.
The Chippewas return home to host the Eastern Michigan Eagles at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
