Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Northern Illinois
Eagles Square Off with the Huskies Saturday
1/15/2009 3:22:25 PM | Women's Basketball
Eagles have won 16 of the last 18 games versus the Huskies
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EASTERN TREKS TO DEKALB IN HOPES OF ENDING LOSING SKID: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team looks to snap a four-game losing skid Saturday afternoon, Jan. 17, versus Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill. The Mid-American Conference West Division tilt is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. CST inside the NIU Convocation Center. Eastern Michigan enters the game still in search of its first league win of the year, following an 80-67 setback to Toledo, Jan. 14, that dropped the Eagles to 4-11 (0-3 MAC). The Huskies are 7-9 (2-1 MAC) after a 71-65 overtime victory over Western Michigan.
ALL-TIME VERSUS NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Saturday afternoon's contest marks the 30th meeting between the Huskies and Eagles, who first met during the 1981-82 season. Eastern leads the overall series, 21-8, and has won 16 of the last 18 games over the Cardinal and Black. Eastern posted a dominating 61-42 victory in the team's first meeting last season, Jan. 9, 2008, at the EMU Convocation Center. Then in the season finale in DeKalb, Ill., March 1, 2008, the Green and White lead wire-to-wire in a 64-57 victory that featured 25 points and eight rebounds from Colleen Russell.
EASTERN LOOKS TO GET BACK ON TRACK: Eastern Michigan's 0-3 start to the Mid-American Conference schedule marks the team's slowest start to a league schedule since the 2001-02 campaign. That season the Eagles started 0-3 before rebounding to finish with a 10-6 record in MAC play. The Green and White have not lost four straight to open the conference slate since 1997-98, when head coach Paulette Stein's crew dropped five straight en route to a 5-14 MAC finish.
MINUTES COMING FROM THE UNDERCLASSMEN: To further illustrate the point that Eastern Michigan is a young team growing before our eyes, 76 percent of the minutes played this season have come from underclassmen who have at least two more years of eligibility remaining. Twenty-nine (29) percent is coming from freshmen.
WESTERN MICHIGAN ON THE HORIZON: Wednesday's (Jan. 21) contest marks the 64th meeting between the Broncos and Eagles, who first played during the 1976-77 season. EMU leads the all-time series, 34-29, and have won five of the last six meetings. Last year, the Eagles posted a 67-61 victory at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich., Feb. 19, 2008. Meanwhile the Broncos notched an 83-72 victory at the Convocation Center, Jan. 23, 2008. Eastern has won three straight in Kalamazoo with the last loss occurring during the 2004-05 season, when Western captured a hard-fought 85-80 decision, Jan. 15.
REDDITT POST CAREER-BEST VERSUS TOLEDO: Freshman forward Paige Redditt notched a career-high 12 points Wednesday, Jan. 14, versus the University of Toledo at the Convocation Center. The Belton, Mo. native was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. She also hauled down four rebounds in 28 minutes of work off the bench.
ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END SOONER OR LATER: EMU's 16-game winning streak over Central Michigan came to an end Saturday, Jan. 10, with a 77-56 setback at the Convocation Center. The Eagles' dominance over the Chippewas dated back to the 2000-01 season and included six different coaches (EMU – Suzy Merchant, Shane Clipfell, AnnMarie Gilbert; CMU – Ina Nicosia, Eileen Kleinfelter and Sue Guevara). During the seven-year span, the Eagles won by an average of 13 points (68.4 to 55.5) including posting a 37-point victory, 87-50, at the Convocation Center, Jan. 10, 2004.
HUNTLEY-ROGERS DROPS 33 ON BALL STATE: To say sophomore guard Sydney Huntley-Rogers has found her shooting stroke would certainly be an understatement. In the Mid-American Conference opener versus Ball State, Jan. 7, the Cincinnati, Ohio native recorded a career-best 33 points on 11-of-24 shooting in 39 minutes of work. Her 33 points are the tied for the seventh most in the program's history.
VOTE JAMES, TAVELYN JAMES: The presidential election might be over but another race is just heating up – the battle for the Mid-American Conference's Freshman of the Year honor. Tavelyn James has already shown that she deserves heavy consideration for the award. In 15 games, the Detroit native is averaging 13.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.0 assists in 30.6 minutes per game. She leads the Eagles in both field goals made (73) and steals (35) and is ranked second in field goals attempted (183). James is ranked 13th in the MAC in scoring and is the leader in points per game among the five first-year student-athletes that crack the league's top 30. James also cracks the league's ranks in steals (fourth), free-throw percentage (seventh) and minutes played (15th).
