Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eagles and Rockets Set for Saturday Showdown
1/10/2008 1:43:36 PM | Women's Basketball
Game time set for 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center
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EAGLES AND ROCKETS SET FOR SATURDAY SHOWDOWN: The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team looks to remain perfect in conference play Saturday, Jan. 12, with a Mid-American Conference West Division tilt against the University of Toledo. The Eagles enter the game with a mark of 7-6 (1-0 MAC) while the Rockets sport an 8-5 (1-0 MAC) record. The game is part of a doubleheader with the men’s team squaring off against Western Michigan University following the conclusion of the UT-EMU contest.
THE SERIES WITH THE ROCKETS: Saturday’s contest marks the 56th meeting between the Rockets and Eagles, who first met during the 1977-1978 season. Toledo leads the overall series, 35-20. However, Eastern has won the last four consecutive meetings including a 58-53 win last season at Savage Hall, Jan. 6, 2007, and a 76-42 victory at the Convocation Center, Feb. 17, 2007.
LIFTOFFS ABORTED IN THE CONVO: The Eagles have won the last five contests versus the Rockets inside the confines of the EMU Convocation Center dating back to a 76-64 victory, Feb. 20, 2002. During the streak Eastern has won by an average of 18.6 points per game (73.4 to 54.8) and shot 48.2 percent (132-of-274) from the field. Toledo has struggled during the span, shooting just 36.4 percent (102-of-280) from the field and 28.8 percent (21-of-73) from beyond the arc.
‘TIS BETTER TO SCORE...AND STEAL: Sophomore Alyssa Pittman leads the Eagles in both scoring (15.2 ppg) and steals (2.1 spg). She posted a pair of 26 point outings versus Detroit, Nov. 14, and Wright State, Nov. 17, and then notched a career-best eight steals against Northern Illinois, Jan. 9. She currently is the Mid-American Conference’s sixth leading scorer as well as being fourth in steals.
STEPPIN’ UP SENIOR: Senior Colleen Russell is averaging 8.2 points this season. This is up over five points per game from her career total of 2.6 ppg entering the season. Russell set a personal-best with 17 points versus Dayton, Dec. 21, and has posted double figures six times this season.
EMU VERSUS THE MAC: This is EMU’s 27th season competing in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles hold a 183-250 record against conference foes and have posted seven straight winning seasons in the MAC. EMU has had the most success against Northern Illinois, going 20-8, and the least versus Miami, 11-33. Western Michigan has been the Green and White’s most frequent opponent with 61 meetings while Buffalo holds the distinction of the fewest conference games against the Eagles with 12.
CONFERENCE SUCCESS: Eastern Michigan has been one of the most successful teams in Mid-American Conference over the last five years (2003-07) winning 57 league games. Kent State has also posted 57 wins over the same span to tie for second place while Bowling Green leads the way with 60 MAC victories.
ONE OF THE BEST IN MICHIGAN: Over the past five seasons the EMU women’s team has posted the second best conference mark of the 14 Division I program’s – men’s or women’s – in the state of Michigan. During the past five years EMU has combined for 57 league wins and just 23 setbacks. That is one less conference win than the Michigan State University women’s team (58-22) and two more than the Western Michigan University men (55-33).
EMU RELIES HEAVILY ON SOPHOMORES: The Eagles are very dependant on its sophomore class. As a group, EMU’s sophomores are averaging 23.6 points per game, which accounts for 36 percent of the offense.
HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS: The Eagles have won 62 of the last 78 home games dating to the 2001-02 campaign. EMU out-scored its opponents by 10.3 points per game at the Convo last season.
HOLD ON TO YOUR RED POP, THIS ONE IS GOING TO THE WIRE: For the first time in nearly eight years the Eagles needed double overtime to decide the outcome of a game. In a hotly contested non-conference battle the Eagles escaped with a 79-77 non-conference victory over Duquesne, Dec. 29, at the A.J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. Prior to that, the last time Eastern played in a two overtime game was March 3, 2000, versus Kent State University in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Public Hall in Cleveland , Ohio. Additionally, the game marked EMU’s first overtime contest since Jan. 28, 2003, when Miami and EMU needed an extra session at the EMU Convocation Center.
WORKING OVERTIME: EMU’s 79-77 double-overtime win over Duquesne marked the first time the Green and White had won an overtime contest since Jan. 8, 2003 versus Central Michigan University at the EMU Convocation Center (W, 65-61). Additionally, it is EMU’s first road overtime win since Jan. 23, 1998 in Kalamazoo, Mich. versus Western Michigan University (W, 75-66). In the 32-years of women’s basketball at EMU the program is 13-8 overall in overtime, including 3-1 in double overtime contests.
PILING UP THE MINUTES VERSUS DUQUESNE: The 50 minutes of game action in the 79-77 double overtime victory of Duquesne, Dec. 28, marked the most minutes logged by an EMU team to play since 2000. Junior guard Canea Williams played 48 of those minutes while freshman Cassie Schrock was on the floor for 47 minutes.
Jessica Henry was the last EMU player to be on the court longer than either Williams or Schrock. Henry played all 50 minutes as the Green and White came up just short versus Kent State, 96-94, in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Public Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, March 3, 2000. On that day four Eagles recorded 40-or-more minutes of work.
YAMANOGLU PROVIDES A "SPARK" OFF THE BENCH: Her teammates might call her Spark for short, but she really was a spark off the bench for the Eagles versus Duquesne, Dec. 28. Senior Kivilcim Yamanoglu turned in a career day in Eastern’s 79-77 double-overtime victory. The Antalya, Turkey native posted a personal best 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, to go along with six rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes of work. Thirteen of those points came in the second half when the Eagles overcame an 11-point deficit to force overtime. In the extra 10 minutes of overtime, Yamanoglu chipped in six of the team’s 19 points.
LOOK MOM, I’M ON TV: The Eagles are slated for at least four television appearances during the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule. EMU will tangle with Ohio, Feb. 9, and Northern Illinois, March 1, as part of the MAC Game of the Week package while playing Akron, Feb. 12, and Central Michigan, March 5, on Comcast Local. Eastern has posted a 7-7 record the past three seasons while playing on the small screen, including a 3-3 mark in 2006-07, a 3-1 record in 2005-06 and a 1-3 record in 2004-05.
GETTING SOME NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Sophomore guard Alyssa Pittman is second in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (3.4) according to the most recent NCAA Statistics as of Jan. 3. The Elkhart, Ind. native is also ranked 65th in points per game (17.1) and 40th in three-point field goal percentage (41.6). As a team the Eagles are ranked 25th in three-point field goal percentage (38.1), 46th in three-pointers made (6.5) 47th in scoring defense (57.5), 68th in steals (10.5) and 66th in field goal percentage (43.4).
