Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Illinois - Chicago
Eagles Extinguish Flames in Season Opener, 61-49
11/13/2009 10:02:54 PM | Women's Basketball
EMU victorious over UIC in Windy City showdown
Box score.
CHICAGO, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team started its 2009-10 campaign on a high note Friday night, Nov. 13, as the Eagles went on the road and claimed a 61-49 victory over the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames here at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Ill.
The Eagles have been victorious in eight out of their last nine season openers and extend their all-time series lead to 7-2 against the Flames.
After a poor shooting effort from the field in the opening frame, the Eagles bounced back in the final 20 minutes to shoot just under 50 percent, including a 57.1 percent clip from long distance. A solid effort on the defensive end by EMU limited UIC to just 30.1 percent shooting from the field in the contest, including an 0-for-5 performance from three-point land in the second half.
The Eagles and Flames battled for position in the opening frame, but junior Cassie Schrock (Wadsworth, Ohio-Wadsworth) gave the Eagles a 19-18 advantage with 5:53 remaining in the half, as her three-pointer gave EMU momentum. Schrock finished with seven points and a game-high eight assists in the win. But the Flames answered quickly following Schrock's three-point make, asbback-to-back lay-ups gave UIC a 22-19 lead, forcing EMU head coach AnnMarie Gilbert to call a timeout.
The Eagles found themselves trailing by just one point, 24-23, at intermission, as the team shot just 26.7 percent (8-for-30) from the field and turned the ball over 10 times. The Flames combined to shoot 32.4 percent from the field (11-for-34) in the first 20 minutes, while also turning the ball over on 10 occasions.
Junior guard Sydney Huntley (Cincinnati, Ohio-Purcell Marian) gave the Eagles back the lead with 15:13 remaining in the contest, as her coast-to-coast lay-up following a UIC turnover gave EMU a 33-32 advantage. Huntley-Rogers extended the Eagles' lead to six a few minutes later after connecting twice from long distance to make it a 41-35 game. Huntley-Rodgers finished with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-4 performance from long range.
The Eagles took their largest lead of the game with 9:33 left when Schrock found freshman forward Chenise Miller (Oak Park, Mich.-West Bloomfield) under the basket to give EMU a nine point advantage (44-35). Sophomore guard Tavelyn James (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) made it an 11 point game with under seven minutes remaining in the contest after connecting on her first three-point basket of the season to give EMU a 49-38 lead. Miller finished with a team best 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field in her first-ever collegiate contest, while James finished with nine points and three steals on the night.
The Eagles are back in action Monday, Nov. 16, when they host the Marygrove College Mustangs at the Convocation Center at 7 p.m. It marks the first-ever regular season meeting between the two squads, however, they met last season in an exhibition match-up in Ypsilanti with the Eagles rolling to a 96-46 victory.
