Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
OGBR Legends (Exhibition)
Eagles Win Exhibition Opener in Overtime
11/9/2006 10:17:04 PM | Women's Basketball
McKinney and VanMetre lead the way for the Eagles
YPSILANTI, Mich.- The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team shot 47.6 percent from the field (30-of-63) and placed two players in double figures in an 79-75 exhibition win over the Ohio Girls Basketball Report Legends Thursday, Nov. 9, here at the Convocation Center.
Junior Patrice McKinney (Lansing, Mich.-Everett-Michigan State) led the Eagles with 21 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks. Senior Sarah VanMetre (Noblesville, Ind.-Noblesville) added 19 points and seven boards, including seven in the first half. Junior Brittany Tyson (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Huron-WMU) turned in nine points in here EMU debut and Canea Williams (Mansfield, Ohio-Mansfield Senior) scored eight.
Former Ohio State players Larecha Jones and Courtney Coleman led the Legends with 25 and 21 points.
The Legends netted the first four points of the game. Tyson downed a two followed by a three-pointer from VanMetre at the 17:20 mark of the opening half, giving the Eagles a 5-4 advantage. With just over six minutes remaining in the half, the Eagles jumped out to its biggest lead of the contest at 12-points, 28-16.
OGBR pulled would but the margin to just two, 35-33, just before the intermission but Williams drained a trey with :23 seconds left to send EMU into the locker room with a 38-33 lead. In the opening half, both teams forced 13 turnovers and scored 16 points a piece from the paint.
Following the break, the Eagles’ advantage was cut to three, 42-39. Despite the Legends’ 0-for-5 effort on three-point attempts, they refused to go away and let Eastern Michigan take control of the game. A key three-pointer from VanMetre with 10:37 remaining pushed the EMU edge back to six, 51-45.
OGBR tied the score at 59 with 5:07 remaining when Jones hit a two-point shot off of her own rebound. She then struck again :30 seconds later to give the Legends their first lead of the game, 61-59 with 4:19 left on the clock.
The game was deadlocked at 64 with 1:34 to go and the Legends hits a crucial basket to go back up a pair, 66-64 with under one minute to play.
McKinney would be clutch down the stretch added the tying basket for the Eagles with :28 seconds left. With only three ticks left on the clock, McKinney had a breakaway to the basket to win the game for the Eagles. Unfortunately, she missed the lay-up, thus sending the game into overtime tied at 66.
In overtime, the two teams were in a 72-72 stalemate until McKinney added her third two-pointer of the extra period to put the Eagles back up by two, 74-72. The Eagles would go up for good as sophomore Kendra Gallert (Lowell, Mich.- Lowell) added a shot from downtown to stretch the lead to 77-72. McKinney would drown two from the line to post the last points of the game and give the Eagles a 79-75 victory.
EMU opens the 2006-07 campaign when it hosts the University of New Orleans in the Eagle Classic, Nov. 17, at the Convocation Center.
