Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Canisius
Women's Basketball Cruises Past Canisius
12/30/2005 9:19:25 PM | Women's Basketball
Senior Ryan Coleman paces Eagle attack with 20 points and six rebounds
Box score.
YPSILANTI, Mich.--The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team rolled past a visiting Canisius College team, 70-44, here Friday night in the Convocation Center. The Eagles, playing one of its most complete performances of the season, used a 19-8 run to open the second half and put the game out of reach.
Senior guard Ryan Coleman (Detroit, Mich.-CMA) led three Eagles in double figures with 20 points, including connecting on 7-of-16 from the field. Senior Nikki Knapp (Blue Springs, Mo.-Blue Springs South) added 15 points with eight rebounds while sophomore Patrice McKinney (Lansing, Mich./Everett (Michigan State)) turned in a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. The win boosted EMU to 5-5 on the year.
Canisius, now 5-6 on the year, was paced by Becky Zak and Abby Radunske with eight points each. Megan Lyte led the Golden Griffins with seven rebounds while Jessica Steeves grabbed six.
Head Coach Suzy Merchant’s Eagles held Canisius to just 32.6 percent shooting from the field (15-of-46) and also out-rebounded the visitors by a whopping 15 boards (48 to 33).
The Eagles opened the game with plenty of offensive firepower, as Coleman and McKinney connected on their first two shots to put the Eagles up by a 4-0 score after two minutes. The Golden Griffins struggled out of the gate, missing two shots and turning the ball over three-times in its first five possessions, until Becky Zak drained a three-pointer with 16:50 remaining in the period to pull back within two, 5-3.
After another McKinney layup, the Eastern built a 9-3 advantage, but it was quickly cut to just two as CC used a 5-2 spurt to make it 10-8. The two teams began to get in a rhythm as squads exchanged buckets, but EMU used a 10-2 run over the next four minutes to take an 11 point edge, 21-12, with just over eight minutes left in the period.
The EMU offense continued to build a lead, leading by as many as 15 points, 32-17, at the 1:31 mark on a pair of free throws by Knapp. Meanwhile, the EMU defense was also doing its part, holding the visitors to just 30.4 percent from the field in the first half (7-of-23) while connecting on 12-of-29 shots for 41.4 percent.
Knapp led all scorers in the first 20 minutes with 10 points while McKinney scored four points with six rebounds.
Eastern opened the second half with another offensive flurry, taking a 27-point lead, 51-25, with 10:39 left in the game, allowing Merchant the luxury of giving the bench more playing time. The Golden Griffins never had an answer for the Eagles tonight as Eastern saw advantage grew to as much as 33, 68-35, with 4:17 remaining in the game.
The Eagles will hit the road for the first time in over a month as the Green and White wrap up the non-conference portion. EMU travels to Rochester, Mich. Wednesday, Jan. 4, to battle the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the O’Rena.
