Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Kent State
Eagles Look to Stop Losing Skid
1/26/2009 3:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Eastern Michigan seeks third straight victory over Kent State
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EMU AND KSU BATTLE SATURDAY AT THE M.A.C. CENTER: Following a rare week off, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to the road Saturday, Jan. 31, for a Mid-American Conference cross-divisional tilt versus Kent State University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, Ohio. The Eagles are out to snap a seven-game losing skid that has dropped the squad's record to 4-14 (0-6 MAC). Meanwhile, the Golden Flashes are 14-4 (3-3 MAC) and are coming in off a 70-59 victory over Western Michigan University, Jan. 24.
ALL-TIME VERSUS KENT STATE: Saturday 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 in Ypsilanti. 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 M.A.C. 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.
OUT TO BREAK A TREND: Eastern Michigan's 0-6 start to the Mid-American Conference schedule marks the team's slowest start to a league schedule since the 1993-94 campaign. That season head coach Paulette Stein's crew finished 0-18 in the Mid-American Conference and 1-24 overall.
OHIO ON THE HORIZON: Wednesday's, Feb. 4, contest marks the 48th meeting between the Bobcats and Eagles, who first met during the 1980-81 season. Ohio leads the series, 29-19, with the schools splitting last year's season series. The Eagles posted a 62-56 victory in Athens, Ohio, Feb. 9, 2008, but the Bobcats got the better of the Eagles in the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals, 76-62, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, March 11, 2008.
EAGLES VERSUS THE EAST DIVISION: Eastern Michigan has posted a 19-13 record versus MAC East Division opponents since the 2004-05 campaign. Eastern is 0-1 this season after finishing 4-3 last season. Eastern was 4-4 in cross-divisional games in 2006-07, 6-2 in 2005-06 and 5-3 in 2004-05.
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 second leading scorer with 257 points (14.3 ppg) and is looking 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 10th 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 (seventh) and minutes played (19th).
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 14.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.9 assists in 30.6 minutes per game. She leads the Eagles in field goals made (95), steals (38) and field goals attempted (229). James is also ranked second in points (257), threes made (27) and free throws made (40).
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. Additionally, the team's seven-game losing streak is the longest since the 1995-96 campaign when the team lost seven in-a-row before edging Central Michigan University, 53-46, to halt the skid. In 33-years of basketball, Eastern has now lost seven-or-more games on seven different occasions.
