AKRON, Ohio – Coach Heather Oesterle called for it.
Her team delivered.
Sophomore guard Molly Davis scored a career-high 32 points as the Central Michigan women's basketball team came out of the chute on fire Saturday, building a 20-point first-quarter lead en route to a 92-69 Mid-American Conference victory over Akron at the Zips' Rhodes Arena.
The four-time defending league-champion Chippewas snapped a three-game losing skid in improving to 8-5, 6-3 MAC. Akron is 4-7, 1-7.
The 92 points were a season high for CMU, which extended its win streak over the Zips to eight games. The Chippewas have won five straight in the Zips' Rhodes Arena.
The Chippewas built a 32-12 first-quarter lead, getting the fast start that Oesterle has coveted and has been absent in the losing streak. CMU was outscored by an average of 12 points in the first quarters of those three games.
The Chippewas scored the game's first nine points, extended their lead to double digits less than four minutes into the game, and were up 21 with just over two minutes to play in the first quarter.
"I thought they responded," Oesterle said. "They responded to our plea to have more energy at the beginning of the games. I thought the last two days of practice we got our mojo back, and I told them I think we're on our way now.
"We learned a lot from those three games and now they've really responded, and I love the way they came out in this game."
Leaders
Davis made 12 of her 18 field goal attempts including a 6-for-11 performance from 3-point range. The six triples ties her career high. It was Davis' first career 30-point game.
"She came out with a ton of energy," Oesterle said. "She's unbelievable. She can take over a game and she did that today. Just overall I thought it was a good team win."
Micaela Kelly added 17 points and six assists and matched her career high with five steals, while sophomore guard Anika Weekes posted her first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
How It Happened
The Chippewas made 65 percent of their first-quarter field goal attempts; five of their 13 makes in the quarter were 3-pointers.
Akron made three 3-pointers in the second quarter in drawing to within 13, 46-33, at halftime and then crept to within 10, 53-43, midway through the third quarter. The Chippewas went on a 10-0 run to re-establish order, upping their lead to 20, 63-43, with just over a minute to play in the quarter.
Akron never got closer than 17 points the rest of the way and the Chippewas led by as many as 30 in the fourth quarter.
Numbers
• The Chippewas were dominant in the rebounding department, finishing with a 42-26 advantage. The 42 rebounds marked CMU's second-highest total of the season. CMU had 11 offensive rebounds to the Zips' three, and the Chippewas outscored the Zips, 48-34, in the paint.
• CMU made 10 of its 23 3-point attempts (43.5 percent) and finished 36 of 69 (52.2 percent) from the field overall. Both percentages were season bests.
• The Chippewas finished with 19 assists, their fourth-highest total of the season. They had just four on Wednesday in their loss to Eastern Michigan. Kelly and Davis finished with six assists apiece.
Next
The Chippewas go to Toledo on Wednesday, Jan. 27. The Rockets are 8-5, 4-5 after a 74-65 loss at Buffalo on Saturday.
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January 24, 2021 at 04:12AM
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CMU Women Strike Early, Roll Past Akron - Central Michigan University Chippewas
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