Late Run Gives Eagles Win, 57-50

Box score.

Kraft MAC Tournament Bracket.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – With a first-round bye in the upcoming Mid-American Conference tournament on the line, the Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team entered Rose Arena riding a 13-game winning streak against the Central Michigan Chippewas. After a slow start and a sluggish first half, the Eagles were able to turn it around in the second half, putting together an 11-4 run to close out the game and earn the 57-50 victory.

With the win EMU improves to 15-12 (10-6 MAC) while CMU falls to 11-18 (3-13 MAC). The victory extends the Eagles dominance over the Chippewas, as they have won the past 14 meetings.

Eastern Michigan was led by senior Patrice McKinney, who would score 11 of the last 14 Eagle points for a game-high mark of 18. Also, scoring in double figures for EMU was freshman Kelly Watts, who tied a career-high with 16 points.

CMU was paced by Sharonda Hurd with 14 points and Latisha Lucketts with 12 points.

For the game EMU connected on 43.4 percent (23-of-53) of its shots while CMU managed to connect on 40.7 percent (22-of-54) of its attempts. Eastern controlled the glass 36 to 29 and from beyond the arc, connecting seven times compared to just two for CMU.

Eastern came out on fire as they jumped to an early 5-0 lead less then two minutes into the game. Keying the 5-0 run for the Eagles was senior Sarah VanMetre, knocking down a three pointer after a steal at the 18:08 mark. Central would answer back, going on a 7-0 run of their own, allowing them to take a 7-5 advantage. The two teams would trade baskets over the next nine minutes, with neither team being able to pull away from the other.

The Eagles would experience a scoring drought, going more than four minutes without a basket, but stellar defense and a bevy of CMU turnovers would allow EMU to remain just a point behind, 13-12 . The Chippewas’ largest lead of the first half was four, 19-15, but EMU would end the half on a 10-6 run. Following an Emily Hanley bucket in the paint, the Green and White would go up 25-23 with 1:01 remaining, however Latisha Luckett would hit a buzzer beater to send the teams to the locker room tied at 25-25.

Following the intermission things remained tight, until around the 13 minute mark when the Chippewas were able to string a 4-0 run together to take a 39-35 edge off a pair of Luckett free-throws. Following the media timeout Eastern was able to respond with a 5-0 run of its own that was setup by Canea Williams’ long-range trey.

With EMU up three, 42-39, Central Michigan would regain control via a layup by Luckett and a three-pointer by Candace Wilson with 7:19 showing. Then the scoring went silent for both sides as just a put-back by Watts was the lone points for nearly four minutes.

CMU would take its final lead of the game on a pair of charity tosses by Hurd with 3:35 remaining, which was promptly followed by a McKinney jumper to knot the game at 46. With the game still in doubt, McKinney would score six consecutive points for Easter to push the margin to four, 50-46, with 2:10 to play. A Wilson layup cut the lead to a pair, but with the shot clock winding down Watts was able to drain a three-pointer to push the edge to five, 53-48, with 1:13 left and seal the season sweep of the instate rival.

The Eagles will next be in action Tuesday, March 6, at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena in the Quarterfinals of the Kraft MAC Tournament. Eastern, the second-seed in the West, will play the winner of Central Michigan/Ohio with tipoff set for 7 p.m.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos