Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ball State
Women's Basketball Cruises Past BSU
2/25/2006 10:07:49 PM | Women's Basketball
The win puts the Eagles at the 20 win pleateu for the third consecutive season.
YPSILANTI, Mich.-- The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team extended its winning streak to seven with a 69-58 victory over a visiting Ball State squad Saturday in the Convocation Center The Eagles, who have won the last seven meetings against the Cardinals, jumped out to a 37-22 lead at halftime and never looked back to improve to 20-6 overall and 14-1 in Mid-American Conference play.
The win puts the Eagles at the 20 win pleateu for the third consecutive season. EMU was led by junior forward Sarah VanMetre (Noblesville, Ind.-Noblesville) with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Patrice McKinney (Lansing, Mich.-Everett-Michigan State) turned in a balanced game posting 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, while senior Ryan Coleman (Detroit, Mich.- CMA) added 10 points.
Ball State, now 15-11 overall and 8-7 in league player, was led by Raechelle Hampton with 16 points. Kelsey Corbin and Julie DeMuth both reach double figures with 10 points respectively.
For the game, the Eagles shot 51.1 percent from the floor (24-of-47) while holding the Cardinals to just 45.1 percent (23-of-51). EMU also won the battle of the boards, 33-25.
For most of the first seven minutes, the teams matched basket for basket. Eastern Michigan took a lead that it would not surrender on a VanMetre jumper in the paint just 2:40 into the game. The Eagles saw their advantage grow to seven points after two back-to-back buckets by Melis Ulker (Istanbul, Turkey) and McKinney with 8:55 left in the half. The Cardinals would use a quick 5-0 spurt of their own to cut the deficit to just three points, 21-18, with 6:36 left.
That would be all the closer Ball State would get the rest of the way as the Eagles would score 16 of the final 20 points of the half to take a 37-22 lead into the lockerroom at the half. Eastern shot a sizzling 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from the field over the first 20 minutes, including a pair of three-point field goals. The Green and White also went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe to increase the advantage. The defense was doing its part, holding Ball State to 39.1 percent (9-of-23) plus a 4-of-6 showing from the line. VanMetre had 11 points to pace EMU, which dominated the the boards by a 16 to 8 margin. Hampton had 10 points to lead BSU.
Following the intermission, EMU continued to light up the rims, as the lead ballooned to 22 points as Coleman laid one off the glass with 12:19 left in the contest. The Eagles’s offense then went silent for the next three minutes and the Cardinals took advantage by cutting the deficit to 11, 56-45, with a DeMuth free throw at the 4:46 mark.
A VanMetre triple from the left post with 4:21 remaining ended the drought and any chance of a comeback from the Cardinals. The closest BSU would get from that point was 11 points for the final margin of defeat.
The Eagles close out the regular season Wednesday, March 1, when they play host to instate rival Central Michigan. Prior to the 7 p.m. tip-off, the Eagles will honor their three seniors Ryan Coleman, Nikki Knapp and Melis Ulker.
