Wednesday's Women's Basketball Results

Wednesday's Women's Basketball Results
Central Michigan 84, No. 25 Louisville 75
Northern Iowa 71, Northern Illinois 65
Akron 68, IPFW 66
Providence 86, Buffalo 63
Notre Dame 69, Eastern Michigan 59

 

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Stories Courtesy of MAC Media Relations Offices

Central Michigan 84, No. 25 Louisville 75
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Despite the slow start in the win column this season, head coach Sue Guevara and the Central Michigan women's basketball team never lost faith or confidence. On Wednesday, they were rewarded.

Shonda Long scored a game-high 29 points and Britni Houghton set a career high with 28 to guide the Chippewas to their first win of the season over the Louisville Cardinals, 84-75, at Rose Center.

The Cardinals (4-2) entered the game ranked No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and they were unofficially ranked No. 26 as a team receiving votes in the Associated Press poll. UL was also the 2009 national runner-up, falling in the national championship game to UConn.

Long connected on six threes while a majority of Houghton's damage came at the free throw line (16-of-18) and both players hit big shots down the stretch. Kaihla Szunko added her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She also added three blocks, two steals and two assists.

Tied at 17 in the first half, a Long three-pointer gave CMU (1-5) its first lead of the game at the 10:06 mark.

The two teams traded buckets until Long's layup with 19 seconds left tied the game at 33, but a leaner by UL's Keshia Hines in the frame's final seconds sent the Cardinals to the break with a two-point lead, 35-33.

The game remained tight nine minutes into the second half when a three-point bucket by UL's Becky Burke gave the Cardinals a 53-51 lead with 10:50 left.

A mere six seconds later, the teams and spectators had to leave Rose Center as the sounds of a fire alarm filled the air.

After approximately a 30 minute delay, the teams resumed play, and wasted little time in restoring the intensity level.

A layup by Cheritee Green, who saw her first major minutes of the season, tied the game at 55.

Trailing once again by two, the Chippewas got another three, this time from Szunko, to take a 58-57 lead with 7:59 left.

The teams were tied at 67 with 3:51 remaining, the 12th tie of the contest, after a three by Burke.

Skylar Miller toed the line for a pair of critical free throws and sank them both to put CMU ahead by two, and start a 13-2 run that would allow the Chippewas to stay ahead for good.

Back-to-back treys by Long put CMU up by eight with two minutes left, 75-67, and after Louisville cut the lead to six, the Cardinals were whistled for an intentional foul that put Miller back at the stripe.

She would hit them both, and after getting the ball on the intentional foul call, Long hit another three to blow the game open and give Central an 80-69 cushion. Miller finished with eight points.

Long finished 10-of-14 from the field and 6-of-10 from distance. Houghton was 5-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-6 from deep, in addition to her excellent free throw shooting. She also added six boards.

Green, who entering the night with just two minutes played, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked two shots and hit her only field goal in 18 minutes of action.

CMU shot 42 percent from the floor and 37 percent from long range and held UL to 33 percent from the floor and 38 percent from distance. The Cardinals hit just 29 percent of their field goals in the second half.

The Cardinals did hold a 53-39 edge on the glass, but the Chippewas forced more turnovers than they committed (17-12), blocked five shots and held an edge in second-chance points, 22-16.

The win is CMU's first against a BIG EAST school since the 2006-07 season, when the Chippewas went on the road to beat Syracuse. The victory also snapped a streak of 29 straight games where the Chippewas lost when trailing at halftime.

CMU heads to Valparaiso this weekend to face the Crusaders on Saturday.

Northern Iowa 71, Northern Illinois 65
DEKALB, ILL.- The Northern Illinois women's basketball team dropped a 71-65 decision to Northern Iowa, as junior Marke Freeman scored a career-high 27 points.

The Huskies (3-4) fell behind early as the Panthers (2-4) scored the first 11 points. Nicole Clausen hit two three-pointers over the stretch to score six of her 16 points.

"We dug a hole in the beginning of the game, and spent the rest of it trying to dig ourselves out," NIU head coach Carol Owens said.
NIU battled back to within three on a lay-up by Freeman (Springfield, Ill./Lanphier) with 8:06 in the half, but UNI answered with a 6-0 spurt and carried a seven point advantage into halftime.

Northern Illinois opened the second half with a 9-0 run to take their first lead of the game 35-33. Freeman scored the final five points of the run, including an off-balance jumper on which she was fouled and made the free throw. But the Panthers responded with a 7-0 run of their own to take the lead for good.

Behind Freeman, junior Mauvolyene Adams (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) scored 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to total her fifth double-double this season. Junior Ebony Ellis (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Township) finished the day scoring nine to go with a game-high 12 boards.

"We needed more presence out of our posts," Owens said. "We need to balance our inside and our outside presence."

Sophomore Courtney Shelton (Rockford, Ill./Hononegah) tied her career-high with nine points, and added a personal best six rebounds. Freeman added four steals, three assists and two rebounds to her scoring total. It's the second straight game Freeman has hit a personal best in points. She scored 26 in the Huskies' match-up with DePaul.

Four players scored in double figures for the Panthers. Clausen was joined by Lizzie Boeck with 16. Guard Jacqui Kalin tallied 15, including three treys, and K.K. Armstrong scored 11 while contributing nine rebounds and four assists.

The Huskies shot 35.2 percent (25-71) as a team, including 5-of-17 shooting from behind the arc. Northern Iowa countered, hitting 24-of-59 (40.7 percent) from the field and knocking down seven three-pointers.

"We have got to be smarter about understanding and managing the game," Owens said.

NIU hits the road for three straight in opponent's gyms, starting with a Friday night match-up against Illinois State. All Huskie women's basketball games can be heard on the Northern Illinois ISP Sports Network. Locally, NIU fans can tune in to 1360-AM WLBK for the call, while fans outside of DeKalb County can sign-up for Huskie All-Access online at www.niuhuskies.com to hear the broadcasts. The Huskies return home Dec. 29 to host UIC at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center.

Akron 68, IPFW 66
AKRON, Ohio - A three-pointer by Kyle Baumgartner with three seconds left lifted the University of Akron women's basketball team to a dramatic 68-66 victory over visiting IPFW Wednesday night at Rhodes Arena.

Junior Kara Murphy had another big game for the Zips (3-4), leading all scorers with 27 points and six rebounds. But it was Baumgartner who came up with the clutch shot in the closing seconds.

Trailing 64-61 with 2:37 to play, Murphy started Akron's late rally with a lay-up, then assisted a fast break lay-in by Ayla Guzzardo following a steal by Jolene Tamboue to give UA just its third lead, 65-64, of the half with 15 ticks on the clock. After a pair of three throws by IPFW's Courtney Reed with eitght seconds left, Baumgartner hit the game-winner from the top of the arc off a feed from Tamboue.

"IPFW made the right call and put three players on Murphy on the final play, but Jolene made a great play and found Kyle, who was wide open," said UA head coach Jodi Kest. "Kyle is one of our best three-point shooters and made a big shot. But you have to give a lot of credit to IPFW because they played a great game."

Baumgartner, a member of the Mid-American Conference All-Freshman team in 2008-09, finished with 16 points to go with five rebounds. The center from North Canton, Ohio, is shooting 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from 3-point range this season.

Freshman Rachel Tecca joined Baumgartner and Murphy in double figures with 10 points as the Zips battled all the way back from a 10-point, second-half deficit. After shooting 35.7 percent (10-for-28) in the first half, UA rebounded by connecting on 43.3 percent (13-for-30) of its attempts - including 42.9 percent (3-for-7) from 3-point distance after halftime.

"I thought we played really well in the second half," Kest said. "But we've still got to find a way to play hard for 40 minutes."

IPFW (1-4) was led in scoring by Eva Ivanova, who recorded 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Jordan Zuppe also hit double digits with 14 points, followed by Stephanie Rosado, who finished with 10.

Akron had the hot hand early, connecting on six of its first 11 attempts, including a three-pointer by Baumgartner that gave the Zips a 9-4 lead at the 15:28 mark. Tecca connected on a pair of free throws to piush UA out to its largest lead of the half, 17-10, with 11:48 to play.

It was the first of three ties over the next minute as the game was tight the rest of the way. A steal by Tamboue led to a fast-break lay-up by Guzzardo with :15 left to give the Zips a 65-64 lead.

But the Mastodons answered with 12-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 22-19 lead and took a 33-28 advantage into the locker room. After its fast start, UA cooled off considerably, shooting 35.7 percent (10-for-28) from the floor for the half.

A 6-0 spurt by IPFW early in the second half gave the Mastodons a 10-point lead, 43-33, but an 8-0 run by Akron, capped off by four straight points from Tecca, pulled the Zips even, 47-all, with 9:57 to play.

The Zips will continue their three-game homestand Saturday afternoon when old rival Youngstown State comes to Rhodes Arena for a 2 p.m. (EST) tip.

Providence 86, Buffalo 63
PROVIDENCE, RI - The University at Buffalo women's basketball team was unable to overcome a 32-turnover performance as the Bulls fell to Providence, 86-63, Wednesday night at Alumni Hall. The two teams were locked into a tight affair in the first half, but the Friars outscored the Bulls 49-32 in the second half.

Providence scored the first five points of the game, but the Bulls kept it tight and took their first lead of the game at 11-9 on a Kourtney Brown layup with 14:09 left in the half. The Friars then went on a 15-3 run to take an 11-point lead, their largest of the half. The Bulls would cut the lead to three, but Providence responded by retaking an 11-point advantage with 2:00 left in the opening half. The Bulls would go on to score the last five points of the half and were down just six, despite 19 first-half turnovers. The Bulls shot the ball extremely well in the half, converting on 11-of-21 from the field.

The Bulls cut the Providence lead to four before a 22-7 Friar run put them ahead by 19 with 11:57 left in the half. A three-pointer by Nicki Hopkins at the 7:55 mark capped a 13-2 UB run as the Bulls trailed by just eight, but the Friars responded with eight straight points. Providence would go on to lead by as many as 23, their final margin of victory.

"I thought we had our chances to take the lead in the first half, but we turned the ball over way too much," said Linda Hill-MacDonald. "We have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball if we want to win."

The Bulls were led by 22 points from Brown, her second 20-point performance of the season. Brown added nine rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Hopkins had nine points on three treys, while junior Jessica Fortman also added nine points. Bridgette Kendricks had eight rebounds on the night, while sophomore Ephesia Holmes played a season-high 15 minutes, spelling the UB point guards who were in foul trouble for most of the night.

Providence was led by 31 points from Chelsea Marandola, while Mi-Khida Hankins added 21 points and nine rebounds. Hankins also had five steals on the night.

After playing five of their first six games away from home, the Bulls return to Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon as they host cross-town rival Canisius at 4:00 pm.

Notre Dame 69, Eastern Michigan 59
NOTRE DAME, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team's first trip to the University of Notre Dame in 27 years was a memorable one, as the Eagles gave the nationally ranked Fighting Irish everything they could handle in a 69-59 setback Wednesday evening, Dec. 2, here at the Purcell Pavillion. The Fighing Irish, ranked fifth in the latest Associated Press poll and sixth in the current ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, needed a 19-7 run mid-way through the second half to escape with the hard-fought victory.

The EMU's athleticism and speed wrecked havoc on Notre Dame, as the Eagles out-rebounded the Irish (45 to 43) while blocking six shots and forcing 19 turnovers. The Green and White held an early 14-11 lead before UND rallied back to take an eight-point lead at halftime. In the second half, EMU again used tenacious defense to open the second half on an 11-1 run to retake a 38-36 advantage. However, an 11-0 run ensued for Notre Dame to push the edge back to nine points, 51-42, as Eastern was unable to get any closer than four points the rest of the way.

With the loss the Eagles drop to 5-2 on the young season, while the Fighting Irish remain perfect at 7-0. Eastern Michigan has now played 10 nationally ranked opponents in the program's 34-year history, but has yet to knocked off a team ranked in the top 25.

Sophomore Tavelyn James (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) again led the way with a 21 point effort to lead all scorers. James was 8-of-21 shooting on the night along with a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Junior Sydney Huntley (Cincinnati, Ohio-Purcell Marian) chipped in 10 points and freshman Lindsey Mahone (Corpus Christi, Texas-Mary Carroll) nearly turned in a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Lindsay Schrader and Skylar Diggins each scored 15 points for Notre Dame, while Becca Bruszewski notched 14 points. On the night, UND shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) but committed 19 miscues leading to 14 EMU points.

The defensive intensity out of the gate was ratcheted up for both teams but it was the Eagles holding a 6-4 edge via a James fast-break layup with showing on the clock. UND turned the ball over five times in the opening 11 minutes, leading to seven EMU points as the advantage grew to its largest of the game at three, 14-11.

However, the Eagles' offense would go silent allowing the Irish to serge into control with a 9-0 run over the next 2:06 to go on top 20-14. A Melissa Lechlitner free throw with 1:25 to go in the period gave the Irish the biggest lead of the stanza at 12, 33-21. Not to be outdone though, James and Mahone combined for six points in the final minute to pull the Green and White back within eight, 35-27, as the teams headed into the lockerroom at the break.

UND was paced in the half by Bruszewski with 10 points, while James keyed the EMU offense with 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting. EMU held a slight 23-22 advantage on the glass, but UND posted a better shooting percentage (40.0 to 32.4).

The second half began much the same way as the first for Eastern Michigan, this time an 8-0 run to open the period gave the Eagles the lead back at 38-35. Notre Dame was finally able to get on the board with a free throw with nearly three minutes gone and then picked up its first field goal at the 14:33 mark when Schrader laid one off the glass to tie it at 38.

The back-and-fourth contest continued, as Huntley tossed in a pair of free throws to give Eastern its final lead of the contest at 42-40 with 12:58 yet to play. But again the gritty Irish bounced back when Natalie Novosel scored inside to spark an 11-0 run highlighted by a three-point play by Diggins.

The Eagles closed to within four, 53-49, when junior Kristin Thomas (Winter Park, Fla.-Edgewater) scored on a layup with 3:53 left. But another 8-0 run by the Irish put the game out of reach.

Eastern Michigan returns to the hardwood Saturday afternoon, Dec. 5, to renew the rivalry with the University of Detroit Mercy. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. from Calihan Hall in Detroit. An audio only broadcast will be exclusively on Eagle All-Access beginning at 3:20 p.m. with Chad Bush calling the action.