CMU women's basketball struggles in loss to Bowling Green
Central Michigan University Junior guard Taylor Anderson powers through Bowling Green's defense in McGuirk Arena, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (CM Life | Jasmine Brookins)
After going scoreless for nearly four minutes, Bowling Green’s lead was shrinking, and it needed an answer. That's when sophomore guard/forward Keiryn McGuff knocked down a 3-pointer to start what would become a dominant 14-0 run, taking a 20-point lead into halftime and grabbing complete control of the game.
It was all Bowling Green as the Central Michigan women’s basketball team struggled to overcome its mistakes in what ended as a 70-55 loss. After both teams started the game slowly, the Falcons found offensive success and never looked back, breaking the game wide open.
Central Michigan would never recover, leading to its 14th loss of the season, its seventh in Mid-American Conference play. As the season comes close to the end, the Chippewas find themselves just outside of a MAC Tournament spot with just six games left in the season.
”We didn't show our toughness in the first half,” head coach Kristin Haynie said. “Second half, we beat them by five. So, definitely disappointed in how we started the game and the first two quarters and it's not anything complicated. It was just our toughness to be better on both ends of the floor.”
It was a slow start as both teams struggled to hit their early shots. The defenses were on display as the teams started the game shooting a collective 4-15 from the floor and were tied at four with 4:52 left in the first quarter.
A familiar problem began to plague the Chippewas as they found themselves turning the ball over early. Meanwhile, the Falcons finally found their footing and quickly took firm control of the game as they used a 17-6 run to push the lead out. With 55 seconds left in the quarter, sophomore guard Paige Kohler hit a shot from deep, putting an exclamation point on her team’s explosive first quarter.
Bowling Green continued to knock down shots to start the second while the Chippewas struggled holding onto the ball. By the 8:23 mark of the second quarter, Central Michigan had already racked up seven turnovers, leading to 10 points for the Falcons.
As the second quarter progressed, momentum began to swing towards the Chippewas as they began to clean up their game. Central Michigan trimmed the lead down to just six using a 11-2 run midway through the second quarter.
In desperate need of a bucket, Bowling Green broke the CMU run as it hit a 3-point shot at the 3:30 mark before making a wide-open layup under the basket to bring the lead back to 11, once again flipping the momentum.
To finish the quarter, the Falcons went on a tear, ending the first half on a 14-0 run, putting the game in a stranglehold and going into the halftime break with a 20-point lead.
”Communication was lacking in the quarter court and in transition defense,” Haynie said. “We were losing sight of their shooters and so we let them get away from us with their 3-point shots.”
The Chippewas had 12 turnovers in the first half with which Bowling Green scored 16 points.
Bowling Green came out of halftime and continued to pile on the points, hitting another 3-pointer early and finding plenty of success on offense. The Falcons maintained their lead throughout the third quarter, cruising into the final period of play with a 16-point advantage.
The Chippewas trimmed the lead down to 11 points with 1:49 left in the game as they made a final push for the lead. However, the Bowling Green lead proved to be too much as the Falcons defended their home court in dominating fashion.
Central Michigan ended the game with 19 turnovers, contributing to 27 points for Bowling Green. The team also struggled from behind the 3-point line, going 2-13 compared to the falcons who shot 8-21.
With six games remaining on the schedule, the Chippewas now find themselves in ninth place in the Mid-American Conference after being bounced from eighth because of their loss and a Northern Illinois win. Only the top eight teams can make the tournament.
The Chippewas will look to rebound in a rivalry game in Ypsilanti against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
