Wednesday’s Women’s Basketball Results
Central Michigan 87, Detroit Mercy 54
Northern Kentucky 70, Toledo 61
St. Bonaventure 64, Buffalo 57
Ohio State 88, Kent State 68
Purdue Fort-Wayne 67, Eastern Michigan 52
Story Courtesy of Central Michigan Athletic Communications
Central Michigan 87, Detroit Mercy 54
Box Score
DETROIT — If you thought it was a fun game to watch, Central Michigan Head Women's Basketball Coach Kristin Haynie would tell you, "it was fun to coach, too."
The Chippewas used a first-half barrage from beyond the arc and a balanced attack throughout to put away Detroit Mercy, 87-54, in the programs' first matchup in over two decades.
Wednesday's result led to the most points scored (87) and largest margin of victory (33) in Coach Haynie's tenure. The total stands as the most in regulation since Jan. 23, 2021 while the margin ties the widest since Feb. 20, 2019.
"It takes time to build. Credit to the coaching staff and the players. They're the ones that got this done. It's very encouraging to see that we've put together a full 40 minutes against Butler and now Detroit."
CMU opened the game eight-for-10 from long range, finished 13-for-25, the most in a regulation contest since
"We talk all the time that you can't just work in practice; you have to work outside too. I think our players are getting into the gym and they're getting shots up outside of practice. The extra time they've spent paid off tonight."
Madi Morson (Canton, Mich. / Salem), Nekhu Mitchell (Baltimore, Md. / McDonogh) and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass) led the way with 21, 17 and 16 points, respectively.
Each of the trio posted a double-digit quarter: Morson with 10 in the first, Mitchell had 11 in the second, Darrington 14 in the third.
One factor stayed consistent throughout, ball movement.
"I liked that we had 22 assists. We shared and moved the ball and it led to a well-rounded game for the team."
The 22 assists are the most since Dec. 9, 2020, an 82-71 victory over Western Michigan.
Central Michigan Women's Basketball returns to host Eastern Illinois Saturday (Nov. 22; 1 p.m. ET) before it opens a four-game power-conference gauntlet at No. 24/23 Notre Dame the following Monday.
The Chippewas battle the Fighting Irish, host Purdue (Nov. 30), then visits No. 6/9 Michigan (Dec. 3) and No. 20/18 Kentucky (Dec. 7). Wednesday's victory in Detroit will set a new level of confidence as the upcoming stretch looms.
"It was nice to see the ball go through the hoop. We shot very well from the field and from three. Having that confidence going into Eastern Illinois and then that stretch will be huge.
"I think we've been pretty locked in on the defensive end, just needed to get the offense going a little bit. Super happy and super proud we got that today."
