Eagles Win Third Straight with 65-53 Victory at Canisius

BUFFALO, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com)—The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team won its third consecutive game Sunday afternoon, Nov. 27, here at the Koessler Athletic Center against Canisuis College, 65-53. The Eagles trailed by two at halftime, but outscored the Golden Griffins, 42-28, in the final half to win by 12.

The Eagles (5-1) finished with three players in double figures including sophomore forward Natachia Watkins, who notched 16 points over the final 20 minutes to finish the day with a game-leading 21 points. Senior guard Tavelyn James recorded 14 points and sophomore guard Desyree Thomas finished with 13.

Senior forward Paige Redditt led all rebounders with nine boards including eight on the offensive end.

After struggling offensively in the first half, EMU found its stroke in the second frame, finishing the game shooting 23-of-62 (37.1 percent) from the field and 17-of-25 (68 percent) from the free throw line.

The Golden Griffins (1-3) were led by Ashley Wilkes and Jen Morabito with 12 points apiece. As a team, Canisius shot 21-of-51 (41.2 percent) overall including 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) from three-point range.

Eastern Michigan broke out to an early 7-2 lead due largely to terrific offensive rebounding from Redditt and junior guard Taylor Bird. Redditt grabbed a trio of offensive boards through the first four minutes and filled a put-back layup off a missed three-point attempt from James to give the Eagles a five-point lead.

Despite attempting 22 shots through the first 13 minutes, the Eagles connected on just five of those tries for 15 points.

The Golden Griffins gained a 16-15 lead with 7:29 to play in the half on Morabito's second triple of the game.

Canisius grew its lead to four, 19-15, before Thomas chimed in with EMU's first three-pointer of the day to cut the deficit to one.

Thomas struck with another long ball to with 2:43 remaining to put the Eagles back ahead, 22-21. That lead would not last until halftime, however, as Canisius notched a pair of buckets for a 25-23 edge at the break.

The Eagles ended the half with 10 offensive rebounds, but translated their dominance under the glass to just 8-of-31 (25.8 percent) from the floor and 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) from three-point distance.

Thomas tallied six first-half points, going 2-of-2 from behind the arc, to enter the second period in a three-way tie for the overall scoring lead.

Morabito and Wilkes led the way in scoring with six points apiece for the Golden Griffins, who ended the first half shooting 10-of-23 (43.5 percent) overall and 2-of-7 (28.6 percent) from long range.

The Green and White opened the second half outscoring Golden Griffins, 15-6, to take a 40-32 lead with 12:29 to play. Watkins tallied the final six points of that run with a trio of buckets.

The Eagles maintained strong offensive pressure through the middle portion of the half while capitalizing on numerous Canisius turnovers. Thomas forced a mid-court turnover, rushed down the court for an easy layup, and filled a free throw after being fouled to run the EMU lead to 12, 49-37, with 7:21 remaining.

Canisius pulled back to within six, 57-51, with 3:01 to play when Lennox recorded a bucket and free throw off an EMU foul.

Eastern Michigan's defense led by Redditt stood tall for the final three minutes, forcing the Golden Griffins to make mistakes under the basket.

Watkins finished the second half with 16 points as the Eagles secured their fifth win of the season, 65-53.

The Eagles will complete their five-game road swing Saturday, Dec. 3, with a 3 p.m. matchup against Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich.

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Team Stats

Natachia Watkins

Tavelyn James

Desyree Thomas

Paige Redditt

Eastern Michigan Athletics