Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Northern Illinois
Women's Basketball Claws Past Northern Illinois
1/7/2006 10:11:14 PM | Women's Basketball
Senior Ryan Coleman paces Eagle attack with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists
Box score.
YPSILANTI, Mich.--The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team used a strong second half to claim a 73-59 victory over a visiting Northern Illinois team here Saturday night in the Mid-American Conference opener both squads. The Eagles, who trailed at one point by as many as six points in the first half, used a 25-6 run to open the second half and put the game out of reach.
Senior guard Ryan Coleman (Detroit, Mich.-CMA) led four Eagles in double figures with 19 points, including connecting on 6-of-16 from the field. Junior Sarah VanMetre (Noblesville, Ind.-Noblesville)) added 15 points with four assists while sophomore Patrice McKinney (Lansing, Mich.-Everett (Michigan State)) and freshman Kendra Gallert (Lowell, Mich.-Lowell) each turned in 12 points. The win boosted EMU to 7-5 on the year and 1-0 in league play.
Northern Illinois, now 4-8 (0-1 MAC) on the year, was paced by Kristen Wiener with 19 points and six board. Stephanie Raymond added 15 points while Mary Basic poured in 13 for the Huskies.
Head Coach Suzy Merchant’s Eagles held Northern Illinois to just 32.0 percent shooting from the field (16-of-50) and also outscored the visitors by a whopping 17 points off turn-overs (31 to 14).
The Eagles opened the game with plenty of offensive firepower, as Nikki Knapp (Blue Springs, Mo.-Blue Springs South), Gallert and McKinney each connected on three-point field goals, but each time the Huskies had an answer as the teams were tied at 9-9 after four minutes of action. The long distance connection continued in the opening minutes as all of EMU’s points came from beyond the arc, as the Eagles took a slim one-point edge, 15-14, with 13:02 remaining in the period.
The scoring streak came to a halt though as neither team managed a point until the 10:02 minute mark, when McKinney layed one off the glass to push the Green and White lead to three. After not scoring for nearly five minutes, Northern Illinois used a quick 10-2 to take its biggest lead of the game at six points, 27-21, with 6:28 left in the half.
A Kiemetha Randle (Saginaw, Mich.-Saginaw) layup stop the run, pulling the Green and White back to within three, but once again NIU had a run 7-1 to take a 29-23 advantage with 2:45 remaining. EMU once again proved to be up for the challenge, holding NIU scoreless while rolling off six consecutive points to tie the game at 29-29 heading into the locker room at the half.
NIU’s Wiener led all scorers in the first 20 minutes with 11 points, while EMU was paced by Gallert with nine points with six rebounds. The EMU defense was also doing its part, holding the visitors to just 40.0 percent from the field in the first half (8-of-20) while connecting on 12-of-23 shots for 52.2 percent.
Eastern opened the second half with another offensive flurry, taking a eight-point lead, 37-29, on three-pointers by VanMetre and Gallert and a McKinney layup forcing NIU to burn a time-out with 18:10 left in the game. The EMU edge grew to 15, 50-35, as McKinney drained another triple with 11:28 remaining which looked to have put the game out of the Huskies reach.
Northern Illinois still would not quit, as the Huskies used a 9-4 run to get back within 10 points with just over seven minutes to play in the contest. The Cardinal and Black got within eight, but Eastern quickly responded as the lead ballooned back to 18, 68-50 on a Knapp layup with 1:54 to play. Another late run by NIU got Eastern’s edge down to just 10 once more, but the clock and EMU free-throw shooting were not on the Huskies side as claimed a decisive 14 point victory.
The Eagles are next in action Tuesday, Jan. 10, when it battles the University of Toledo Rockets. Tip-off is scheduled of 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
