GAME #19 • Saturday, Jan. 25 • 2 p.m.
Western Michigan Broncos (8-9, 4-2 MAC)
vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (10-8, 6-0 MAC)
Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Site: University Arena (5,421)
All-Time Series Record: WMU leads, 47-41
Radio: Joe Roberts, 1660 AM The Fan
THE TIP-OFF
Western Michigan concludes a three-game homestand today, hosting rival Central Michigan ... WMU enters with a 4-2 MAC record, while the Chippewas lead the conference with an unblemished 6-0 MAC record ... the Broncos are off to their best conference record since 2008 when the team lost its MAC opener and then won its next six games ... WMU's eight overall wins in the first 17 games is also the most for the program since the 2003-04 season.
SERIES NOTEBOOK
This will be the 89th ever meeting between Western Michigan and Central Michigan, and the Broncos lead in the all-time series, 47-41 ... the Chippewas however have won the last six straight against the Broncos and nine of the last 10 ... Western Michigan's last win over CMU was in Kalamazoo on Feb. 27, 2010, 64-56 ... CMU swept last year's contests with a 72-58 win in Mount Pleasant on Jan. 16 and a 77-53 victory in Kalamazoo on Feb. 20.
BRONCOS HOLD OFF MIAMI IN OT
Western Michigan weathered a late rally by Miami, defeating the RedHawks in overtime Wednesday at University Arena, 86-75 ... sophomore Miracle Woods led Western Michigan with her second double-double of the season, scoring a career-high 31 points while hauling in 12 rebounds and recording three blocks ... Marquisha Harris finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists and A.J. Johnson's final line read 15 points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals ... the Broncos led by nine at halftime and by as many as 17 in the second half before the RedHawks put together a comeback and hit a three-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime ... the Broncos made a season-high 32 free throws on 39 attempts.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan (8-9, 4-2 MAC) is in its second season under head coach Shane Clipfell ... WMU returns 11 players from last year's roster and welcomes two freshmen and one walk-on ... WMU is led by the low-post duo of Miracle Woods and Marquisha Harris ... Woods is averaging 17.2 ppg and 8.2 rpg in MAC games, while Harris is contributing 16.2 ppg and 9.0 rpg ... three other players are averaging over nine points - A.J. Johnson (9.8), Michelle O'Brien (9.3) and Alex Morton (9.3) ... as a team, WMU averages 68.8 ppg during all games combined and 77.3 in MAC contests.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan (10-8, 6-0 MAC) is led by Sue Guevara in her seventh season at CMU ... Guevara has led the Chippewas to three consecutive 20-win seasons and last year's MAC Tournament Championship title ... CMU is led by one of the top players in the league, 6-0 junior forward Crystal Bradford ... in MAC games, Bradford is averaging 19.8 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 5.1 apg, 3.8 spg and 2.0 bpg ... in a balanced attack, three other players are averaging double figures, and the Chippewas lead the league in scoring, averaging 83.3 ppg in all games combined and 84.8 in MAC contests.
MORTON EMERGING AS LEADER
Sophomore point guard Alex Morton has emerged as the Broncos' floor general and has had the biggest jump in productivity from last season to this season ... as a freshman, Morton averaged 3.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg and had 31 assists in 29 games, averaging 19.4 minutes ... this season overall, Morton is averaging 8.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg and has 60 assists, while leading WMU with 31.6 minutes per game.
MAC SCHEDULE
For the first time since the 1997-98 season, the Mid-American Conference has returned to an 18-game format, it previously was a 16-game schedule ... each team will play opponents in their division both home & away, as well as face opponents from the opposite division at least once, with two extra games, which are determined by a computer draw ... WMU's extra two games from the East are Miami and Ohio, who Western Michigan will also face twice, in addition to those opponents from the MAC West.
