Story Courtesy of CMU Sports Information
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – It's off to San Antonio for the Central Michigan women's basketball team. The opponent: Iowa.
The Chippewas are seeded 12th in the NCAA Tournament's River Walk Region and will take on the fifth-seeded Hawkeyes on Sunday, March 21 (noon). The winner will play either Kentucky or Idaho State for a spot in the Sweet 16.
"Right now, we're just excited and enjoying the moment," senior guard Maddy Watters said. "This is the goal; this is always the goal every year. We're happy to be here and we'll get to work on Iowa. Very exciting, very rewarding."
It is the Chippewas' third-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and several players on this year's team have been in the pressure cooker of the tournament, including Watters and fellow seniors Micaela Kelly and Kyra Bussell.
"We've been there, we've been on the big stage, and we're excited to compete," second-year CMU coach Heather Oesterle said. "I'm excited about where we are as a program. The Big Dance is something everybody strives for and we're excited to be going down to Texas and playing against Iowa.
"It's all about making sure that you're fresh at this point in the season and playing your best basketball and I think we're there right now."
The Chippewas earned their tournament berth by winning the MAC Tournament on Saturday, knocking off top-seeded Bowling Green, 77-72, behind 29 points from Kelly, who was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.
The Chippewas (18-8) have won five-consecutive games, a streak that started with a double-overtime victory at Ball State. They beat Ohio in overtime in a MAC Tournament semifinal game and they are playing their best basketball of the season, remarkably with just eight healthy players.
"I saw a complete change in us when we went to Ball State and won in two overtimes," Oesterle said. "Just the fight we saw out of our team. We got down, we were up, and we just battled, and we've been battling ever since. I really do feel good about where we are right now.
"I got really emotional after the MAC Tournament championship because we've been through a lot of adversity this year. Like everybody. We went through some slumps, we went through some tough times; we finally came together and it's that much more rewarding to be able to cut down the nets.
"There's times where we could have folded this year; times where we lost three games in a row or two games in a row and tough ones at home that we don't usually lose. They handled that adversity really well. Really came together as a team handling those situations."
