Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Bowling Green
EMU Looks to Knock Off MAC East Division Leader Bowling Green
1/22/2009 3:51:09 PM | Women's Basketball
The Mid-American Conference switches to cross-divisional play Saturday, Jan. 24
Click Here for the Complete Release (PDF).
Click Here for Live Stats.
Click Here to Listen to the Game via WEMU.
CROSS-DIVISIONAL PLAY BEGINS THIS WEEKEND: The Mid-American Conference switches to cross-divisional play Saturday, Jan. 24, as the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team hosts Bowling Green State University at the Convocation Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. followed by the EMU men's basketball team hosting Western Michigan University 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first game.
The two teams are at opposite ends of the conference spectrum, with the Eagles out to snap a six-game losing skid that has dropped the squad's record to 4-13 (0-5 MAC). Meanwhile, the Falcons are 16-2 (5-0 MAC) and come in riding a 16-game winning streak that dates back to a Nov. 22 victory over Lipscomb.
ALL-TIME VERSUS BOWLING GREEN: Saturday afternoon's contest marks the 56th meeting between the Falcons and Eagles, who first met during the 1976-1977 season. BGSU has dominated the all-time series, 41-14, including winning the last five meetings between the two schools. Last season, the Falcons captured a 57-43 victory at venerable Anderson Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio, Feb. 16, 2008. The Eagles held the lead throughout most of the contest, but the Falcons used a 22-3 run over the final 8:09 to claim the victory. Colleen Russell paced the EMU attack with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes of work.
JAMES CONTINUES TO SCORE IN BUNCHES: Freshman Tavelyn James dropped a career-high 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting in the Eagles' 76-67 setback at Western Michigan, Jan. 21. The Detroit native has posted double digits in points 11 times this year, including going for 20-or-more on four occasions. Currently, James is the team's leading scorer with 248 points (14.6 ppg) and is on pace to become the first freshman to lead Eastern Michigan in scoring since Holly Mitchell did so in 1997-98. That season Mitchell accumulated 393 points en route to earning the MAC Freshman of the Year honor. James is ranked ninth 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 among the league's ranks in steals (fourth), free-throw percentage (eighth) and minutes played (17th).
KENT STATE ON THE HORIZON: Saturday (Jan. 31) afternoon's contest marks the 50th meeting between the Golden Flashes and Eagles, who first met during the 1980-81 season. KSU leads the series 33-16, including winning 23 of the last 29 meetings between the two schools. Eastern Michigan took last year's lone regular season meeting, Feb. 2, 2008, 71-59 at the Convocation Center. The last time the teams met in Kent, Ohio was Jan. 20, 2007, as the Green and White out-scored KSU, 20-11, over the contest's final 7:10 to capture a 69-64 victory at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. Alyssa Pittman was the star of the game for the Eagles, finishing with 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including six three-pointers. Sarah VanMetre finished with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks while Patrice McKinney turned in 13 points. The victory marked the Eagles' first victory in Kent, Ohio since a 75-54 triumph, Jan. 6, 1990, and was just the third in the program's history.
EAGLES VERSUS THE EAST DIVISION: Eastern Michigan has posted a 19-12 record versus MAC East Division opponents since the 2004-05 campaign. Eastern finished 4-3 last season and was 4-4 in cross-divisional games in 2006-07, 6-2 in 2005-06 and 5-3 in 2004-05.
EASTERN LOOKS TO GET BACK ON TRACK: Eastern Michigan's 0-5 start to the Mid-American Conference schedule marks the team's slowest start to a league schedule since the 1997-98 campaign. That season head coach Paulette Stein's crew dropped five straight en route to a 5-14 MAC finish. The Green and White have lost six straight to open the conference slate just one time in the program's history. During the 1993-94 campaign, the Eagles finished 0-18 in the Mid-American Conference and 1-24 overall.
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 17 games, the Detroit native is averaging 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 2.0 assists in 30.8 minutes per game. She leads the Eagles in points (248), field goals made (91) and steals (38) and is ranked second in threes made (27) field goals attempted (215) and free throws made (39).
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.
