# 2018–19 Central Michigan Chippewas women's basketball team

The 2018–19 Central Michigan Chippewas women's basketball team represented Central Michigan University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Chippewas, led by twelfth-year head coach Sue Guevara, played their home games at McGuirk Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 25–8, 15–3 in MAC play to win the MAC West Division. The Chippewas advanced to the semifinals of the MAC women's tournament, losing there to Buffalo. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA women's tournament, losing to their in-state rival Michigan State in the first round.
This proved to be the final season for Guevara as head coach, as she retired during the 2019 offseason. At the same time that CMU announced her retirement, it announced that Guevara's top assistant Heather Oesterle would succeed her as head coach.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 1, 2018* 12:00 pm | | Northwood | W 74–61 | | McGuirk Arena Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 8, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Oakland | W 104–61 | 1–0 | McGuirk Arena (1,835) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Nov 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | South Dakota State | L 71–80 | 1–1 | McGuirk Arena (1,679) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Nov 17, 2018* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Western Kentucky | W 108–90 | 2–1 | McGuirk Arena (1,696) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Nov 21, 2018* 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UCF | W 75–68 | 3–1 | McGuirk Arena (1,676) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Nov 24, 2018* 2:00 pm, ACCNE | | at Virginia Cavalier Classic | W 74–61 | 4–1 | John Paul Jones Arena (2,572) Charlottesville, VA |
| Nov 25, 2018* 1:00 pm | | vs. Chattanooga Cavalier Classic | W 73–50 | 5–1 | John Paul Jones Arena (216) Charlottesville, VA |
| Nov 30, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Iona | W 82–39 | 6–1 | Hynes Athletic Center (608) New Rochelle, NY |
| Dec 2, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Quinnipiac | W 67–52 | 7–1 | People's United Center (872) Hamden, CT |
| Dec 15, 2018* 6:00 pm | | at Vanderbilt | W 66–57 | 8–1 | Memorial Gymnasium (2,064) Nashville, TN |
| Dec 20, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | No. 3 Louisville | L 68–72 | 8–2 | McGuirk Arena (2,833) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Dec 29, 2018* 12:00 pm | | vs. Tulane Miami Holiday Classic | L 57–68 | 8–3 | Watsco Center (217) Coral Gables, FL |
| Dec 30, 2018* 4:00 pm, ACCNE | | at No. 24 Miami (FL) Miami Holiday Classic | W 90–80 | 9–3 | Watsco Center (727) Coral Gables, FL |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 5, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Akron | W 94–71 | 10–3 (1–0) | McGuirk Arena (2,188) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Jan 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Ohio | W 88–70 | 11–3 (2–0) | Convocation Center (866) Athens, OH |
| Jan 12, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Illinois | W 89–66 | 12–3 (3–0) | Convocation Center (431) DeKalb, IL |
| Jan 16, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | L 67–70 | 12–4 (3–1) | McGuirk Arena (2,054) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Jan 19, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kent State | W 82–75 | 13–4 (4–1) | MAC Center (1,552) Kent, OH |
| Jan 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Toledo | L 59–62 | 13–5 (4–2) | Savage Arena (3,603) Toledo, OH |
| Jan 26, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 71–61 | 14–5 (5–2) | McGuirk Arena (2,573) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Feb 2, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Buffalo | W 76–65 | 15–5 (6–2) | McGuirk Arena (2,228) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Feb 6, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ball State | W 81–63 | 16–5 (7–2) | McGuirk Arena (1,879) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Feb 9, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ohio | L 75–78 | 16–6 (7–3) | McGuirk Arena (2,152) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Feb 13, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 87–53 | 17–6 (8–3) | University Arena (721) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Feb 16, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Buffalo | W 100–95 | 18–6 (9–3) | Alumni Arena (3,369) Amherst, NY |
| Feb 20, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green Rescheduled from January 30 | W 92–54 | 19–6 (10–3) | Stroh Center (1,163) Bowling Green, OH |
| Feb 23, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | W 76–52 | 20–6 (11–3) | McGuirk Arena (2,157) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Feb 27, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Ball State | W 81–64 | 21–6 (12–3) | Worthen Arena (1,100) Muncie, IN |
| Mar 2, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Eastern Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 87–60 | 22–6 (13–3) | Convocation Center (1,457) Ypsilanti, MI |
| Mar 6, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Western Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 80–57 | 23–6 (14–3) | McGuirk Arena (1,942) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Mar 9, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Toledo | W 78–45 | 24–6 (15–3) | McGuirk Arena (2,619) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| MAC Women's Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (9) Eastern Michigan Quarterfinals | W 88–80 | 25–6 | Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, OH |
| Mar 15, 2019 11:00 am, ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (4) Buffalo Semifinals | L 77–82 | 25–7 | Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, OH |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/23/2019* 1:30 pm, ESPN2 | (7 C) | vs. (10 C) Michigan State First Round | L 87–88 | 25–8 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,885) South Bend, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. C=Chicago Region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.