Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Remains on the Road with a Swing Through Cleveland
11/15/2008 6:01:18 PM | Women's Basketball
EMU to battle Cleveland State Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m.
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EMU REMAINS ON THE ROAD WITH A SWING THROUGH CLEVELAND: The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team remains on the road with a non-conference contest Tuesday, Nov. 18, versus Cleveland State University. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Both teams are in search of their first victory of the season, as the Eagles dropped at 80-71 decision to North Dakota (Nov. 14) while the Vikings were downed 76-59 by Arizona State in the first round of the WNIT (Nov. 14).
This game will be a homecoming of sorts for second year head coach AnnMarie Gilbert. A native of nearby Elyria, Ohio, Gilbert began her collegiate career at Ohio University, playing two seasons (1986-88) before transferring to Oberlin College. She transferred to Oberlin for her junior and senior seasons (1989-91), where she was a two-time Kodak first team All-American, a two-time NCAC Player of the Year, the Honda Division III Athlete of the Year.
OPENING ON THE ROAD A BIT OF A SWITCH: The Eagles’ two-game opening road swing between marks the first time since the 1997-98 campaign that the Green and White have begun a season with a pair away from Ypsilanti. That season the Eagles split a pair of decisions versus Canisius (W, 84-46) and Idaho State (L, 74-75) at the ISU Tournament in Pocatello, Idaho, Nov. 21-22, 1997.
TIES WITH CLEVELAND STATE: Even though the two schools have not met on the court since Dec. 11, 1991, the ties between the athletic departments run deep. Cleveland State Athletic Director Lee Reed spent seven years at EMU (1995-2002), the last four as the Associate Athletic Director for Internal Affairs. Meanwhile, the Vikings’ men’s basketball head coach Gary Waters spent seven seasons (1989-96) in Ypsilanti as a part of Ben Braun’s staff. He served as the assistant head coach from 1989-93, and was associate head coach for the final three seasons. During that time, the EMU men’s basketball team compiled a 127-87 record and captured two Mid-American Conference titles. EMU earned two NCAA Tournament bids during his tenure, defeating Mississippi State and Penn State to advance to the Sweet 16 in 1991 and knocking off Duke in the opening round in 1996.
LONGEST STREAK IN THE MAC: EMU currently holds the longest streak in the Mid-American Conference for most consecutive non-losing league campaigns at 10. Kent State had held the standard for above .500 campaigns at 17 dating back to 1990-91, but the Golden Flashes’ streak ended last season.
EMU VERSUS CLEVELAND STATE: The Eagles and Vikings are squaring off for the 12th time with Eastern Michigan holding an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series. The meeting will be the first since 1991, when Eastern posted an 81-59 victory at venerable Bowen Field House, Dec. 11. EMU won seven of the first eight meetings to open the series before CSU notched back-to-back wins in 1987 and 1991. For the complete series results, turn to page 48 of the 2008-09 EMU women’s basketball media guide.
EMU VERSUS THE HORIZON LEAGUE: Eastern is 43-29 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.
YOUTH BEING SERVED: Heading into the 2008-09 campaign head coach AnnMarie Gilbert knew she would be leading a very young team this season. The six returning players have combined for just 31 starts and a total of 141 games in their careers. Eastern returned a total of 15.6 points and13.8 rebounds per game from the 2007-08 squad that went 17-12 and won a share of the Mid-American Conference West Division championship. Sophomore Cassie Schrock leads all returners with 6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 25.3 minutes per game.
HITTING FROM LONG RANGE: EMU’s women’s basketball team has shown it can hit from long range and has for quite a while now. Eastern has made at least one three pointer in the last 188 games, dating back to Jan. 31, 2002. EMU totaled 10 treys in the 2008-08 season opener at North Dakota, Nov. 14. The last time the Eagles did not make one was on Jan. 26, 2002, in a 52-43 road victory over Central Michigan.
EMU VERSUS THE MAC: This is EMU’s 28th season competing in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles hold a 193-254 record against conference foes and have posted eight straight winning seasons in the MAC. EMU has had the most success against Northern Illinois, going 21-8, and the least versus Miami, 11-34. Western Michigan has been the Green and White’s most frequent opponent with 63 meetings while Buffalo holds the distinction of the fewest conference games against the Eagles with 13.
THE ROAD WARRIORS ARE COMING BACK: The Eagles have been a good road team under head coach AnnMarie Gilbert. In one year under Gilbert, EMU is 9-6 in road contests. This trend continues in the MAC, as the Eagles are 6-2 in conference road games.
CLOSE GAMES FELL IN FAVOR OF EMU IN 2007-08: EMU posted a 4-1 record last season in games decided on the final possession of the contest. EMU survived for road wins at Toledo (Feb. 27), Buffalo (Jan. 26), Central Michigan (Jan. 19) and Duquesne (Dec. 28). The lone setback occurred on the Eagles’ home court versus Dayton (Dec. 21).
EMU WINS MICHIGAN MAC TITLE: For the third consecutive year, the Eagles won the Michigan Mid-American Conference Women’s title, by defeating rival Central Michigan, March 5, 2008, by a score of 73-65. The award, sponsored by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, is awarded annually to the team that wins the season series among EMU, Western Michigan and CMU. EMU finished with a 3-1 record, while WMU went 3-1 and CMU 0-4. But since the Eagles previously held the title, EMU retains the title despite the tie with WMU.
THE BEST IN MICHIGAN: Beginning with the 2003-04 campaign, the EMU women’s team has posted the 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 59 league wins and just 21 setbacks. That win total is one more than Suzy Merchant’s Michigan State University women, two more than Steve Hawkin’s Western Michigan University men and five more than Beckie Francis’ Oakland University women’s team.
THE KIDS CAN PLAY: The average 2008-09 EMU women’s basketball player stands 5-feet-10 inches tall and is 20 years and 70 days old. The youngest Eagle is Paige Redditt, who turned 18, Sept. 5, 2008. Amber Land is the oldest Eagle having turned 23, Nov. 9, 2008.
CHANGING IT UP: Sophomore Cassie Schrock wore number 11 last year, but instead will wear number 22 this year as a sophomore. Now wearing number 11 will be junior college transfer Amanda Tretheway.
