KALAMAZOO-- Western Michigan University's women's basketball team whittled a 19-point deficit down to as little as six in the closing minutes but was unable to get any closer, falling 72-62 to the Chippewas at University Arena Wednesday night.
With the loss, WMU fell to 0-1 in the MAC and 4-10 overall. Ebony Cleary notched the 14th double-double of her career and fourth of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Taylor Manley also reached double figures for WMU, scoring 14 points and connecting on 4-of-10 attempts from long distance. Five Broncos grabbed five or more rebounds, as the Broncos outrebounded the Chippewas by a 48-30 margin, including a 19-7 advantage on the offensive end.
CMU (9-4, 1-0 MAC) opened up a 42-25 halftime lead, keyed by a pair of 7-0 runs in the first half. The Chippewas pushed the lead to 19 early in the second half before the Broncos began to rally back. CMU shot 45.5 percent for the game (25-55), including 50 percent on 15-of-30 shooting in the first half. WMU shot 35.5 percent on 22-of-62 shooting.
Defense was a key to the Broncos run back into the game, as WMU held the Chippewas without a field goal between 18:39 and 12:09 of the second half. That stretch allowed the Broncos to pull within 10, 48-38, on an Aurielle Anderson pull-up jumper with 13:00 to play. WMU pulled within seven just minutes later after a couple post-up moves by Cleary and a stick-back by DeAirra Goss.
CMU responded with an 8-2 run to push the lead back to 60-47 with 5:10 to play. Anderson scored five of the Broncos' next seven points to cut the deficit to 60-54 with 2:54 to play. However, that was as close as WMU would get the rest of the way. Anderson filled the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds and three assists on the night for WMU.
CMU was led by Niki DiGuilio, who scored 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 on three-point attempts. Brandie Baker and Shonda Long added 17 apiece for the Chippewas.
Turnovers plagued WMU throughout the night, with the Broncos committing 22 turnovers while forcing the Chippewas into just 13.
WMU will look to bounce back and even its conference record when they host MAC West rival Toledo at University Arena Saturday, Jan. 8. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m., with live coverage being provided by the Bronco Radio Network and Bronco Insider.
