Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Travels to Toledo Wednesday
2/25/2008 12:23:33 PM | Women's Basketball
Game time is set for 7 p.m. in the Glass City.
Click Here for the Complete Release (PDF).
Click Here to Listen via WEMU.
Click Here for Live Stats.
EASTERN TRAVELS TO TOLEDO FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT TUSSLE: The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team hits the road for a pair of Mid-American Conference West Division tilts, traveling first to John. F. Savage Hall in Toledo, Ohio for a Wednesday evening, Feb. 27, contest with the Rockets of Toledo. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in the Glass City. The Eagles enter the game with a record of 14 (8-5 MAC) after falling to Ball State, 64-53, Saturday, Feb. 23, at the Convocation Center. Meanwhile, the Rockets are 10-14 (3-9 MAC) on the year and have dropped six consecutive games, including a 76-49 setback Tuesday, Feb. 19, at Ball State University.
WEST RACE HEADING INTO FINAL STRETCH: Heading into Wednesday’s contest at Toledo, the Eagles (14-11, 8-5 MAC) are deadlocked with Ball State (12-14, 8-5 MAC) for second place in the West Division, one game back of frontrunner Western Michigan (12-14, 9-4 MAC) with three games left in the regular season.
THE SERIES WITH TOLEDO: Wednesday’s contest marks the 57th meeting between the Rockets and Eagles, who first met during the 1977-1978 season. Toledo leads the overall series, 35-21. However, Eastern has won the last five consecutive meetings including a 65-59 win earlier this season at the Convocation Center, Jan. 12. Historically, UT’s Savage Hall a has been a building that Eastern teams have struggled in. The Green and White have posted an all-time record of 7-20 in the 32-year old building. Last season, Eastern posted a 58-53 victory for its second straight win in the Glass City. Prior to the current streak EMU had only won consecutive games at Savage Hall one other time, Jan. 21, 1985, to Jan. 13, 1987 when the then-Hurons posted three consecutive decisions.
MAC STREAK CONTINUES: With the Eagles’ 67-61 victory over Western Michigan, Feb. 19, Eastern Michigan secured its 10th consecutive season with a .500-or-better record during Mid-American Conference play. The streak dates back to 1998-99 when Eastern posted an 8-8 league mark. Prior to the current streak, EMU had only posted five .500-or-better campaigns in 17 years of MAC play.
MAC STREAK, PART DEUX: EMU currently holds the second longest streak in the Mid-American Conference for most consecutive non-losing league campaigns at 10. Kent State holds the standard for above .500 campaigns at 17 dating back to 1990-91, but the Golden Flashes’ streak is in jeopardy. KSU has a 5-8 mark this season in MAC action with just three games left.
GILBERT EQUALS THE MARK FOR MOST WINS BY A FIRST YEAR EMU COACH: Head coach AnnMarie Gilbert’s 14 victories are tied for most wins for a first-year mentor in EMU history. Her 14 wins equal the coaching debut of Suzy Merchant in 1998-99. The 14 victories are tied for the 17th most wins for a first year coach in Mid-American Conference history. The MAC standard for wins by a rookie head coach is 25 set by Toledo’s Mark Ehlen (1996-97) and Mark Fennelly (1989-90).
COUNTDOWN TO 400: The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team is counting down to the program’s 400th victory in the program’s 32-year history. The Green and White have posted a 398-449 since the school began awarding scholarships in 1976-77 as a part of Title IX legislation.
MAC TOURNAMENT CHANGE: The 2008 Kraft Mid-American Conference Tournament format has been changed slightly, the MAC office announced Feb. 15. The first round of the tournament, which will be held at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, has had its first round games adjusted. Two first round games will be played at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday, March 9, while the final two first round games will be played at noon and 2:30 p.m. Monday, March 10. The quarterfinals will still be played Tuesday, March 11, while the semifinals and championship will be played Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15, respectively.
SWARMING DEFENSE: The Eagles have forced their opponents into committing at least 10 turnovers in each of the team’s 25 games this season. EMU has forced 15-or-more turnovers in 20 games this season.
RUSSELL SELECTED MAC WEST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Colleen Russell was named Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the conference office announced Feb. 18. It marks the first time she has won the award in her career. The 6-foot-5 Russell turned in a stellar week as the Eagles split of pair of cross-divisional contests versus Akron, Feb. 12, and Bowling Green, Feb. 16. During the span, the MAC’s tallest player averaged 27.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while notching a 51.5 percent (17-of-33) shooting percentage and a 74.1 percent (20-of-27) clip from the free throw line. Her 54 cumulative points on the week accounted for 45.4 percent (54-of-119) of the Eagles’ total offense.
JUST ONE HOME GAME LEFT: The Eagles return to the Convocation Center just once more in the 2007-08 regular season. The Green and White head to Toledo (Feb. 27) and Northern Illinois (March 1) before wrapping up the home schedule on March 5 by honoring its three seniors against Central Michigan.
EMU LOOKING FOR THIRD MICHIGAN MAC TITLE: For the third consecutive season the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is sponsoring the Michigan Mid-American Conference Women’s Trophy. The trophy is awarded annually to the team that wins the season series among Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, and Central Michigan. Eastern Michigan has won the trophy the previous two seasons, finishing 2006-07 with a 4-0 record, while CMU and WMU both went 1-3. Already this season WMU is 3-1, EMU is 2-1and CMU is 0-3.
RUSSELL’S 36 POINTS HELP ZAP THE ZIPS: Senior center Colleen Russell scored a career-high 36 points as EMU upended Akron, 76-71, at the Convocation Center, Feb. 12. Russell was 11-of-18 from the field and 14-of-20 from the free-throw line and set a Convocation Center and an EMU team record for free throws made and attempted in a game. Her 36 points were the most since LaTonya Watson scored 36 against Ball State in 1991. Russell’s 36 points are also just one shy of equalling Laurie Byrd’s school-record 37 points in a single-game versus Miami, Dec. 12, 1981. Russell’s scoring has increased dramatically this year, surpassing 400 career points versus Bowling Green, Feb. 16. During her freshman year, the 6-foot-5 senior tallied just 43 points on the season. As a sophomore she accumulated 56 points, followed up with 46 points as a junior. Russell, MAC’s tallest player, has nearly doubled those first three campaigns this season, pouring in 286 points through 23 games.
EAGLES VERSUS THE EAST DIVISION: Eastern Michigan has posted a 16-8 record versus MAC East Division opponents since the 2004-05 campaign. Eastern finished 4-2 this season and was 3-3 in cross-divisional games in 2006-07, 5-1 in 2005-06 and 4-2 in 2004-05.
THE WILD AND WACKY MAC: The Eagles have been searching for consistency during the Mid-American Conference portion of the 2007-08 schedule. Through 13 league games, Eastern holds an 8-5 mark. In the wins, EMU is out-scoring the opposition by more than seven points per game (68.0 to 60.6) along with shooting 42.4 percent (194-of-458) from the floor. In those eight victories Colleen Russell is chipping in 18.5 points and grabbing 5.3 rebounds per game to go along with Alyssa Pittman’s 10.5 points. On the flip side, in the setbacks the Green and White are falling by almost 11 points a game (60.4 to 71.2) and managing just a 37.1 percent (115-of-310) shooting clip. Colleen Russell leads the way in these game at 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game to go along with Kelly Watts’ average of 9.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest.
THE KIDS CAN PLAY: The average 2007-08 EMU women’s basketball player stands 5-feet-9 inches tall and is 19.9 years old. The youngest Eagle is Cassie Schrock, who turned 18, Oct. 13, 2007. Canea Williams is the oldest Eagle having turned 22, March 24, 2007.
