Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ball State
Battle of the Birds to Again Help Decide First Place in the MAC West
1/18/2010 2:51:15 PM | Women's Basketball
First place again on the line Wednesday when the Cardinals come to town
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BATTLE OF THE BIRDS TO AGAIN HELP DECIDE FIRST PLACE IN THE MAC WEST: First place in the Mid-American Conference West Division will again be on the line Wednesday evening, Jan. 20, as the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team hosts Ball State University. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
The Eagles' 72-63 victory over Northern Illinois University Saturday, Jan. 16, combined with the Cardinals' 73-69 win over the University of Toledo Sunday, Jan. 17, created a three-way tie for the top spot in the division with EMU, BSU and UT all sporting 3-1 marks.
ALL-TIME VERSUS BALL STATE: Wednesday's contest marks the 59th meeting between the Cardinals and Eagles, who first played during the 1979-80 season. EMU leads the series, 31-27, but Ball State has won the last six meetings by an average of seven points a game (58.2 to 65.7).
OUT TO CAGE THE DEFENDING MAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS: The Cardinals have been a thorn in the side of the Eagles, with Ball State having won six straight dating back to the 2006-07 campaign. Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert has yet to knock off Ball State in her four previous tries, joining Bowling Green State University as the only other Mid-American Conference institution Gilbert has yet to defeat in her three-year tenure in Ypsilanti.
Prior to the current streak, Eastern Michigan won seven in a row over Ball State from March 2, 2003, until Feb. 25, 2006.
IN THE NCAA RANKINGS: In the most recent NCAA Division I statistics rankings, junior Cassie Schrock cracks the list at ninth in assists per contest with 6.5 dimes while sophomore Tavelyn James is 10th nationally in points per game at 21.4. James is also seventh in three-point field goals per game.
FINDING THE GAME ON YOUR RADIO DIAL: With the EMU men's basketball team on the road Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game at Central Michigan, the women's contest will only be broadcast on Eagle All-Access rather than WEMU (89.1 FM). Chad Bush will have the call beginning at 6:50 p.m. from the Convocation Center. As always, on-demand replays of most EMU basketball games are available to subscribers at EMUEagles.com/showcase.
TIED FOR THE BEST 16-GAME START IN SCHOOL HISTORY: The Eagles' 13-3 start to the 2009-10 season is tied with the 2004-05 EMU squad for the best 16-game beginning of a season. The 2004-05 crew won its 17th game at Northern Illinois University to improve to 14-2.
LEADING THE PACK: Eastern Michigan has been the most dominant team statistically in the Mid-American Conference this season, leading the league in nine categories and ranking in the top seven in eight others. The Green and White are tops in the MAC in: scoring offense (74.2 ppg), scoring defense (58.9 ppg), scoring margin (+15.3), field goal percentage defense (37.2 percent), rebounding offense (45.2 rpg), rebounding margin (+6.8), steals (12.44), turnover margin (+5.50) and offensive rebounds (18.63).
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan is 7-0 at the Convocation Center this season. The Eagles have an eight-game winning streak at home, dating back to last year.
IT'S MILLER TIME: Freshman Chenise Miller has made an immediate impact on the Eagles and can be considered a strong candidate for the Mid-American Conference's Freshman of the Year honor. Miller is the only freshman to rank in the league's top 15 in field goal percentage (3rd – 52.9%), blocks (6th – 1.25), offensive rebounds (9th –2.81), rebounds (10th – 6.6), and defensive rebounds (15th – 3.75).
Akron's Rachel Tecca cracks the list at seventh in field goal percentage (47.6%) and 13th in rebounding (6.2) , while Miami's Kristen Olowinski earns a third- place ranking with 1.53 rejections. per game.
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: Three is the magic number when predicting the Eagles success this season. EMU is shooting 37.0 percent (98-of-265) from three-point range in its 13 wins, as opposed to 19.1 percent (9-of-47) in its three losses. Perhaps more notably, EMU opponents are averaging nearly two more made three pointers in wins (6.3) than in losses (4.8).
JAMES EARNS HER FIRST PLAYER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADE: Sophomore Tavelyn James was named Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday, Jan. 18. It marks the first time she has won the award in her career.
James had another prolific week scoring the basketball, averaging 29.5 points per game to go along with 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals, 3.0 assists and a 40.0 shooting clip from the field. From beyond the arch, the Detroit native was 9-of-25 for 36.0 percent. In a battle of unbeatnens at Toledo, Jan. 13, James led the way with 30 points to go along with a season-best six steals. The Eagles rebounded with a 72-63 victory over Northern Illinois, Jan. 16, James finished with 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while adding five rebounds.
On the season, James has four 30+ point games and has scored 20+ on nine occasions.
EAGLES VERSUS THE EAST DIVISION: The 2009-10 season is the fifth utilizing the current Mid-American Conference scheduling format for women's basketball. Each of the 12 schools opens league action with five divisional games, followed by six cross-divisional games and then five more divisional contest to close the regular season.
Eastern Michigan has posted a 21-17 record versus MAC East Division opponents since the 2004-05 campaign. Eastern finished 2-5 last season and was 4-3 in cross-divisional games in 2007-08, 4-4 in 2006-07, 6-2 in 2005-06 and 5-3 in 2004-05.
BOWLING GREEN ON THE HORIZON: Following Wednesday's game, the Eagles return to action Saturday, Jan. 23, against the Falcons of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at venerable Anderson Arena.
Saturday evening's contest marks the 57th meeting between the Falcons and Eagles, who first met during the 1976-1977 season. BGSU has dominated the all-time series, 42-14, including winning the last six meetings between the two schools. Last season, the Falcons captured a 69-55 victory at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich., Jan. 24, 2009.
