MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH. – The College of Charleston women's basketball team (1-2) played Central Michigan (2-1) tight for the first 20 minutes of the game, but an 18-2 Chippewa run to start the third quarter moved them ahead for good as the Cougars fell 79-58 on Friday.
 
• The College got the best start to the game it could have hoped for, blitzing out to a 7-0 lead and forcing CMU into a very early timeout to calm things down. No one player dominated the offense for the Cougars in the first half, as the team adopted a balanced approach to go up early. Nonetheless, ten Chippewa first-half threes moved them into a 45-38 lead after 20 minutes of action.
 
• Darien Huff led the action for the Cougars with 14 points, going 4 of 6 from long range while adding four rebounds. Shiclasia Brown pawed away a game-high four steals, but struggled to find a rhythm on offense, shooting 3 of 17 from the field.
 
• The Cougars were able to force their way into a golden opportunity in the second quarter, getting into the bonus just four minutes into the period. However, the Cougars struggled to capitalize on their trips to the line, shooting 37.5% (6 of 16) from the charity stripe.
 
• Central Michigan had four players reach double-digit scoring, led by Presley Hudson's 27-5-5 performance. Reyna Frost had a monster day on the boards, pulling down 17 to go with two blocks and three steals. She proved to be the difference in the rebounding battle, a category CMU prevailed in 47-34.
 
• It was truly a tale of two halves for the Cougars, who shot the ball at a 47% clip in the first before falling to 25% in the second half. CMU's shooting also took a hit, but shot it at 48% and 36% respectively.
 
The Cougars will look to bounce back on Sunday, when they visit the Michigan State Spartans for a noon showdown.