Central Michigan had four players score in double figures and the Chippewas shot 54.5 percent from the field in the second half to pull away from Bradley in the final 20 minutes and top the Braves 73-58 Friday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum. Junior guard Catie O’Leary scored a game-high 17 points and senior Katie Yohn turned in her first career double-double with 13 points and career-high 14 rebounds to lead Bradley (0-1 overall). Junior Alyson Spinas-Valainis matched a career-best with eight points in her first career start and fellow junior Kelly Frings chipped in with nine points off the bench. Central Michigan scored on 10 consecutive possessions, extending the advantage to 15 points (64-49) with just under six minutes left on the clock and held a 16-point advantage with four and a half minutes remaining. Bradley cut the CMU advantage to 10 points on a Frings’ three-pointer with 58 seconds left, but got no closer down the stretch as the Chippewas took the opener 73-58. Bradley shot 26.8 percent from the field in the second half and finished the contest shooting 29.9 percent. The crowd of 1,474 on hand as part of Field Trip Day presented by Applebee’s was the largest crowd for a Bradley home opener since drawing 2,068 fans for the 2005-06 season opener. Final game stats.
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-Bob
