KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Clutch shooting by Hannah Spitzley helped the Western Michigan women's basketball team to a 74-65 win over Central Michigan, Wednesday at University Arena. With the win, the Broncos completed the season sweep of the Chippewas and improved their record to 12-16 overall and 7-10 in the Mid-American Conference. 
 
Spitzley finished a career night registering a new career-high 11 rebounds and  26 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter to help the Brown & Gold fight off a late surge by the Chippewas. Maddie Watters added nine points, while Abby Voss, Lauren Audino, and Taylor Williams tallied eight points apiece. Alli Carlson added six points.
 
Voss got the scoring started with a driving layup in the opening minutes and led 9-6 at the first media timeout. Following the media timeout, Watters downed two three-pointers and Spitzley one. The lead reach six with one minute remaining in the first quarter when Audino sank two free throws to lead WMU into the second, 21-13. 
 
WMU scored 15 points in the second to outscore CMU by just three points. Western Michigan shot 4-9 from the field and 50 percent from the line in the second and tallied four steals and one block. With 7:30 to play in the first half, Saxman netted an impactful three-pointer to surge the Broncos to 28-17 which created more momentum to finish the first half strong. Saxman then sealed the deal with a last-second made a jumper off a fast break from a Chippewas turnover. WMU headed into the locker room 36-26. 
 
The Broncos maintained their double-digit advantage throughout the third quarter, but the Chippewas scored twice late in the quarter to narrow the game to seven (54-43).
 
The biggest lead for Western Michigan came in the fourth with 12 points, despite the fourth being the only quarter to see CMU outscore the Broncos 22-20. As the clock ran down, the WMU victory was made concrete as the Broncos went a perfect 6-of-6 from the line and added 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-4 from deep. 
 
The two teams broke even on the boards at 37 each, CMU held the advantage offensively while Western Michigan overtook the defensive charts.  Neck in neck with 16 turnovers each, Central Michigan edged the Broncos in the paint 30-24, while WMU surpassed the Chippewas by just four in bench points. 
 
Overall, Western Michigan shot 51 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from three-point range, and was 16-for-29 from the line. WMU dished out 14 assists and grabbed 12 steals to Central Michigan's seven. 
 
Sydney Harris (18 points), Bridget Utberg (14 points), and Jahari Smith (10 points) led the charge for the Chippewas who are now 6-22 overall and 4-13 in league play.
 
The Broncos prepare for their next MAC contest which will be against Buffalo at 2 pm on Saturday, March 4 at Alumni Arena. Saturday's matchup will conclude regular season play for Western Michigan and can be streamed on ESPN+.