After a comeback 80-76 win at Ball State on Saturday, the BG women's basketball team will look to carry some of that momentum to Mount Pleasant tonight, where the Falcons will take on Central Michigan at 7 p.m. to conclude cross-divisional play.
BG (19-5, 9-1 Mid-American Conference) has dominated the overall series against the Chippewas (8-14, 5-5 MAC), holding a 42-12 advantage, and winning the last nine meetings.
The Falcons cruised to a 94-79 win at home last season against CMU, led by Lauren Prochaska, who finished with a school-record 43 points.
Both teams met again in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament, and again, BG easily won, 82-65.
The Falcons are 17-6 all-time in road games against the Chippewas, winning the last three at the Rose Center.
If history is any indication of BG's success in the state of Michigan, the Falcons are in a good position to win their fourth straight game at the Rose Center.
BG has won four consecutive games in Michigan, and the team has won 13 of the last 14 matchups.
Since the start of the 2005-06 season, the Falcons have compiled three road wins against Detroit, and two wins apiece against Oakland, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and CMU.
The Falcons also earned victories against Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt in the first and second rounds of the 2007 NCAA tournament in East Lansing.
The last time the Falcons won in Mount Pleasant was Feb. 13 2008, which was one of the closer games between both teams, as BG won 87-82.
Despite the Chippewas' subpar record this season, they own a 6-2 record at home, including a 4-0 mark in MAC play.
Junior guard Shonda Long leads CMU in scoring, averaging 14.6 points per game. Long also leads the team in three-point field goals, having made 52 on the season so far.
Her teammate, senior guard Britni Houghton, is averaging 13.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while leading the Chippewas in assists (2.9 apg).
As with the Falcons, CMU has a lot of depth in terms of point production.
Kaihla Szunko, a forward for the Chippewas, is posting 11.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. She leads CMU in rebounding, as well as field-goal percentage (.534) and steals (2.7 spg).
Not to be undone, the Falcons have five players averaging 6.5 points per game or more, with Prochaska and Tracy Pontius leading the way with 18.3 and 12.5 points per game, respectively.
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