Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eagles Look to Stay Perfect Versus Wright State
11/16/2007 6:07:45 PM | Women's Basketball
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EAGLES LOOK TO STAY PERFECT VERSUS WRIGHT STATE: The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team returns to the Convocation Center Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. contest versus Wright State University. The Eagles are 2-0 on the young season with victories over Temple Baptist and Detroit, while the Raiders are 0-2 with losses to Boston College and Ball State. Saturday’s game will be the last time the Green and White will play in Ypsilanti until Sunday, Dec. 2, when Illinois State invades the Convocation Center. After that EMU will next return to the Nest for Education Day, Dec. 21, when Dayton comes to town.
THE SERIES WITH WRIGHT STATE: The Eagles and Raiders are squaring off for just the second time since the 1997 campaign. EMU leads the all-time series, 6-0, including a 76-59 decision last year at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, Dec. 9, 2006. Saturday’s meeting will be just the second game in Ypsilanti, last time the school played here was Dec. 3, 1988 at venerable Bowen Field House with the then-Hurons posting a 65-49 victory. For the complete series results turn to page 52 of the EMU 2007-08 women’s basketball media guide.
EMU VERSUS THE HORIZON LEAGUE: Eastern is 41-28 all-time versus the Indianapolis, Ind. based conference, having played against all 10 member institutions. EMU has faced the University of Detroit Mercy more times than any other league member, with the Titans holding a 10-7 lead in the series.
I WOULD WALK 10,000 MILES, OR 12,171 TO BE EXACT: Pack your bags and grab some information about frequent flyer programs because the Eagles will earn plenty of mileage over the next month. The team will make stops in the Bahamas, Utah, Florida, Pennsylvania and then back to Utah. All together the EMU road trips will tally over 12,171 miles during the non-conference season.
EMU COACHING DEBUTS: AnnMarie Gilbert, the seventh women’s basketball coach in program history, became the third coach at EMU to win their first game in her Eagle debut. Gilbert is also just the second coach to pick her first victory at home, joining Dana Munk as the other to accomplish the feat. Here’s how Eastern Michigan’s six previous head coaches fared in their first game:
• Kathy Hart - Jan. 11, 1977 at Michigan (L, 52-63)
• Cheryl Getz - Nov. 28, 1987 at Robert Morris (W, 65-50)
• Dana Munk - Dec. 1, 1992 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (W, 78-76)
• Paulette Stein - Nov. 30, 2007 at Michigan (L, 52-76)
• Suzy Merchant - Nov. 15, 1998 vs. Saint Peter’s (L, 64-75)
• Shane Clipfell - Dec. 1, 2006 vs. Northern Arizona (L, 69-89)
RECORDS FALL VERSUS TEMPLE BAPTIST: The AnnMarie Gilbert’s era got started on a high note as the Eagles cruised to a 108-22 non-conference win over the visiting Temple Baptist Runnin’ Rams Sunday, Nov. 11, at the Convocation Center. The win set a number of Convocation Center records, including most points scored in a game (108), fewest points scored (22), margin of victory (86), most points in a half (62-first half), fewest points in a half (10-first half), steals (29), field goals made (46) and field goals attempted (81).
108 SETS SCHOOL’S RECORD FOR POINTS IN A GAME: EMU’s 108 points against Temple Baptist, Nov. 11, surpassed the school-record for most points in a single game. Previously the record was 106 against Windsor, Jan. 18, 1978.
THE KIDS CAN PLAY: The average 2007-08 EMU women’s basketball player stands 5-feet-9 tall and is 19.9 years old. The youngest Eagle is Cassie Schrock, who turned 18, Oct. 13, 2007. Canea Williams is the oldest Eagle having turned 22, March 24, 2007.
GILBERT BEGINS A NEW ERA OF EMU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: First-year EMU head coach AnnMarie Gilbert and her staff of Leonard Drake, LaTonya Tate and Darin Thrun bring 58 years of coaching experience to the Eagles that include stops along the way in the Big Ten, Big East, Big XII, MAC and the Horizon League, to name a few. Gilbert spent the last five years helping turn Michigan State University into a national championship contender under head coach Joanne P. McCallie.
In five years as an assistant coach at Michigan State, she helped the Spartans compile an impressive 120-44 record, good for a .732 winning percentage. During her time in East Lansing, the Spartans made it to five consecutive NCAA tournaments and to the 2005 national championship game.
EMU COACHES IN THEIR FIRST YEAR: First-year EMU head coach AnnMarie Gilbert is the seventh head coach in the program’s 32-year history. Gilbert is out to become the fourth first-year head coach to post winning records in their inaugural campaign joining Kathy Hart, Suzy Merchant and Shane Clipfell. Hart recorded a 13-8 mark in 1976-77, Merchant turned in a 14-13 record in 1998-99 and Clipfell added a 13-11 mark in 2006-07.
GALLERT LED THE MAC IN ASSIST-TO_TURNOVER RATIO: Junior Kendra Gallert led the Mid-American Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio during the 2006-07 campaign at 2.77. The Lowell, Mich. native tallied 125 assists compared to just 55 turnovers in 29 games.
Gallert was the second EMU player to lead the league in assist-to-turnovers, joining Erika Ford who paced the MAC during both the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. However, Gallert will not get the opportunity to repeat this season as she will redshirt the 2007-08 season following offseason knee surgery.
WHAT’S IN A NUMBER: After three seasons of wearing the No. 11, senior Kivilcim Yamanoglu has switched to the No. 24 that was opened by the graduation of teammate Sarah VanMetre. Yamanoglu made the change in honor of her boyfriend Melvin Jenkins, who lost his battle with cancer over the summer.
Jenkins was a basketball player at Concordia University of Ann Arbor. He came to Concordia after a stellar prep career at Dearborn Crestwood High School where he was named first team Mega Gold All-Conference for his junior and senior seasons, as well as being a member of the All-Conference Defensive team his senior year and earning the distinction of All-State Third Team his final year as a prep.
After a freshman season for Concordia that saw limited action, Jenkins received the news that he had cancer. The last two seasons, Jenkins played regularly on the junior varsity as he was regaining his physical ability to endure the action on the court. His heart and desire paid off as he appeared in 10 games this past season as a red-shirt junior on the varsity squad.
BIG SIS CAN NOT ONLY PLAY, BUT SHE CAN TALK ABOUT IT: A junior college transfer from Jacksonville College, Mary Lawson is out to make her a name for herself here at EMU and throughout the Mid-American Conference. The game of basketball runs heavily in the Lawson family, as sister Kara Lawson played for the University of Tennessee and currently plays for the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs. In recent years, Lawson has been involved in broadcasting during the off-season, doing commentaries for ESPN during men’s and women’s college basketball games.
