Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Toledo
Eagles Fall to Toledo, 80-67
1/14/2009 9:18:03 PM | Women's Basketball
The Eagles head to DeKalb, Ill. Saturday, Jan. 17, to face Northern Illinois University.
Box score.
YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team dropped a Mid-American Conference West Division tilt tonight, Jan. 14, at the Convocation Center, as the Rockets of the University of Toledo handed the Eagles an 80-67 loss.
The loss snaps a six-game winning streak against the Rockets and drops the Eagles to 4-11 (0-3 MAC) this season, while UT improves to 9-7 (3-0 MAC) with the win.
The Eagles forced UT into 18 turnovers, but the Rockets won the battle on the glass, out-rebounding the Eagles, 47-26.
Sophomore guard Cassie Shrock (Wadsworth, Ohio-Wadsworth) and freshman forward Paige Redditt (Belton, Mo.-Belton) each scored a team-high 12 points for EMU, while Tanika Mays tallied a game-high 17 points for the Rockets.
Facing a nine-point deficit with under 10 minutes remaining in the first frame, the Eagles managed to pull within one, as back-to-back layups by sophomore guard De'Ja Wills (Anderson, Ind.-Anderson) and Redditt forced a UT timeout with 7:04 left and made it a 15-14 game. Schrock drilled a jumper with 6:46 remaining to give EMU its first lead of the game at 16-15, but the Rockets managed to cling to a 32-21 lead at intermission.
The Eagles shot 38 percent in the first half on 10-of-26 shooting from the field, while the Rockets shot 44 percent on 14-of-32 shooting from the field and dominated the Eagles on the glass, 23-13.
Eastern found itself down 15 points early in the second half, as a Lisa Johnson jumper with 17:47 remaining made it 42-27, giving the Rockets their largest lead of the night. But EMU's resilience would pay off, as a Shrock three-pointer with 10:37 remaining made it a 51-49 game, forcing UT first-year head coach Tricia Cullop to call for a 30-second timeout.
However, the Rockets would keep the Eagles at arm's length for the remainder of the game, going on a 29-18 run in the final 10 minutes to secure the win and hand EMU the loss.
The Eagles shot 43 percent (21-of-49) from the field and 75 percent (21-of-28) from the free throw line in the loss, while the Rockets shot 46 percent (30-of-65) from the field and 63 percent (14-of-22) from the free throw line.
The Eagles will be back in action Saturday, Jan. 17, when they travel to DeKalb, Ill. for a Mid-American Conference match-up with the Huskies of Northern Illinois University at 2 p.m. The two teams last met March 1, 2008 when EMU registered a 65-57 victory in DeKalb to clinch a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament. The Eagles hold a 21-8 all-time record against the Huskies and have been victorious in 16 out of the last 18 contests.
