Women's Basketball Drops Season Opener, 80-71, to North Dakota

Box score.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Despite scoring four players in double-figures and shooting 86.7 percent from the free throw line, the Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team dropped its season opener, 80-71, to the Fighting Sioux from the University of North Dakota Friday night, Nov. 14, at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Sophomore guard De’Ja Wills (Anderson, Ind.-Anderson) was 5-of-11 from the field, including four three-pointers, to lead the Eagles (0-1) with 14 points, while Mallory Youngblut led the Fighting Sioux (1-0) with a game-high 17 points.

Down eight points with 9:05 remaining in the half, the Eagles clawed their way back in the game, as two three-point bombs by freshman guard Tavelyn James (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) and one by senior forward Amber Land (Kulm, N.D.-Kulm) made it a 28-all game with 6:43 remaining. In her return home to the Peace Garden State, Land was a perfect from the field and from the charity stripe in the first half, as she paced the Eagles with nine points at intermission, but the Fighting Sioux hung on to a 40-37 lead.

The Eagles shot 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from the field in the first half, but made 10-of-11 free throws, while the Fighting Sioux shot 50 percent (16-of-32) from the field, but made just three-of-seven from the free throw line.

The Fighting Sioux extended their lead to 11 with 15:21 remaining in the game, as four turnovers and poor shooting by the Eagles gave North Dakota a 50-39 advantage. However, the Eagles would manage erase the deficit and pull within three points with 10:57 remaining, as sophomore guard Cassie Schrock (Wadsworth, Ohio-Wadsworth) picked North Dakota’s Jossy Bergan and took it coast-to-coast for the layup, making it a 55-52 game. Schrock finished with 11 points (5-of-14 from the field) and a team-high nine rebounds in the loss.

With 4:30 remaining, the Fighting Sioux would take an 18 point lead to all but seal the victory, handing EMU their first loss of the season.

Land finished with 11 points and made 6-of-6 free throws, while junior guard Mary Lawson (Alexandria, Va.-West Potomac-Jacksonville College) tallied 11 points, including three buckets from beyond the arc.

The Eagles shot 42.1 percent (24-of-57) in the game and 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from long-distance, while North Dakota shot 50 percent (29-of-58) in the game and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from long-distance.

The Eagles will be in action again Tuesday, Nov. 18, when they head to Cleveland, Ohio to take on the Vikings from Cleveland State University at 7 p.m. The two squads have not met since Dec. 11, 1991, when the Eagles claimed an 81-59 victory in Ypsilanti.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Women's Basketball Drops Season Opener, 80-71, to North Dakota

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