Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Returns to the Beehive State to Wrap Up the Non-Conference Schedule
1/2/2008 11:47:17 AM | Women's Basketball
Game time set for 4 p.m. MST in Salt Lake City, Utah
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EMU RETURNS TO THE BEEHIVE STATE TO WRAP UP THE NON-CONFERENCE PORTION OF THE SCHEDULE: For the second time in 38 days the Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team returns to the state of Utah, this time to tangle with the University of Utah Saturday, Jan. 5. Both sides will be closing out the non-conference portion of the schedule, as the Eagles sport a 6-5 record while the Utes are 10-3 on the year. Earlier this year Eastern Michigan made its initial venture into the Beehive State traveling to Ogden, Utah, Nov. 29, 2007, to face Weber State University. The Wildcats came away with the 61-49 decision to drop EMU’s all-time record to 0-2 versus teams from the state.
EMU VERSUS UTAH: Saturday’s contest will be the second meeting between the Eagles and Utes. Utah holds the a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series, a 72-67 decision Dec. 21, 2005 at the EMU Convocation Center in Ypsilanti. On that day Eastern gave nationally ranked Utah (No. 21/22) all they could handle. After trailing by as many as 10 points in the second half, 63-53, with just 4:00 left, the Eagles put on a charge and cut the Utes’ advantage to two, 68-66, with only 32 ticks on the clock. EMU was forced into a fouling situation at that point and after Utah’s Shona Thorburn made the first of two free throws for a 69-66 lead, EMU guard Ryan Coleman grabbed the rebound and raced up court to attempt a lay-up. Coleman missed the shot but teammate Nikki Knapp rebounded and was fouled on the play. Knapp made the first shot but missed the second and Utah was awarded the ball out of bounds with a 69-67 lead and :17 seconds left. The Eagles once again found themselves in a fouling situation and Utah’s Morgan Warburton made both free throws with :14 seconds remaining for a 71-67 advantage. Heidi Carlson added a free throw with :01 second left for the 72-67 final.
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, 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.
EDUCATION DAY x3: For the third time the Eastern Michigan University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics hosted Education Day at the Convocation Center, Dec. 21, versus the University of Dayton. The 800 elementary and middle school students were treated to a pregame program of guest speakers from throughout the community. This was the second time the day was part of a women’s basketball game, with the men’s basketball team having played host to Brown University, Nov. 9, earlier this season. Prior to the Dayton game, the last time the women’s basketball team hosted the matinée affair was 2005, when the Green and White posted a 67-59 win over Saint Louis, Dec. 13, 2005, in front of 1,627 at the Convocation Center.
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 Dec. 16. The Elkhart, Ind. native is also ranked 44th in points per game (18.2) and 49th in three-point field goal percentage (41.9). As a team the Eagles are ranked 22nd in three-point field goal percentage (38.4), 30th in three-pointers made (6.8) 31st in scoring defense (55.1), 50th in steals (11.2) and 54th in scoring margin (+11.3).
EMU RELIES HEAVILY ON SOPHOMORES: The Eagles are very dependant on its sophomore class. As a group, EMU’s sophomores are averaging 26.2 points per game, which accounts for 39 percent of the offense.
HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS: The Eagles have won 61 of the last 77 home games dating to the 2001-02 campaign. EMU out-scored its opponents by 10.3 points per game at the Convo last season.
WILLIAMS SELECTED MAC WEST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Redshirt junior Canea Williams was named Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the conference office announced Dec. 10. It marks the first time she has won the award in her career. Williams led the Eagles to a 1-1 week in the state of Florida with a 77-58 victory over Florida International, Dec. 8, and a 75-71 setback to Florida Atlantic, Dec. 6. On the week the redshirt junior averaged 17.0 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and a 50.0 percent shooting percentage in 36.0 minutes at the point guard spot. Against FAU, the Mansfield, Ohio native posted a career-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting to go along with four rebounds and four assists. The 26 points bests her previous high of 24 versus Ohio University, Feb. 25, 2004. She followed it up at FIU with eight points, six assists and four rebounds in 34 minutes of work.
Free Throws CLutch Versus FIU: During the Eagles’ 77-58 victory over Florida International, Dec. 8, the Green and White were a stellar 17-of-18 from the charity stripe for a 94.4 percent clip. The percentage is one of the best in the program’s history. It won’t make the all-time list which, because its falls short of the minimum 20 attempts. The school-record for a single game is .952 (20-of-21) versus Western Michigan, Jan. 11, 1995. Freshman Cassie Schrock also had a solid afternoon, turning in a perfect 10-of-10 from the line. The performance is tied for the 11th best single-game performance in school history and the best since Patrice McKinney made 10 free throws last season versus New Orleans, Nov. 17, 2006.
