Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ohio
Eagles Rally Late for 56-53 Win Over Bobcats
1/27/2010 9:21:25 PM | Women's Basketball
Huntley's three-pointer in the final seconds propels EMU to victory.
Box score.
ATHENS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Late game heroics by junior Sydney Huntley (Cincinnati, Ohio-Purcell Marian) and the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team proved to be the difference Wednesday night, Jan. 27, at the Convocation Center on the campus of Ohio University, as the Eagles rallied down the stretch to leave Athens with a 56-53 victory over the Bobcats.
Down by as many as 10 points in the second half, sophomore guard Tavelyn James (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) helped the Eagles claw back, as her three-pointer in the corner knotted the game at 53-all with under a minute to play in the game, forcing a Bobcat timeout.
After a key defensive stop following James' strike from long distance, the Eagles took their first lead since the 14:14 mark in the first half, as Huntley connected from beyond the arc to make it a 56-53 game with five seconds left on the clock. Following another Ohio timeout, the Eagles forced the Bobcats into their 22nd turnover of the game to secure the victory.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 15-4 overall and 5-2 in the Mid-American Conference, while the Bobcats drop to 5-15 (1-6 MAC) with the loss.
James tallied a team-best 16 points on 6-for-18 shooting from the field and grabbed six rebounds in the victory, while Huntley came off the bench to score 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting.
After shooting just 23.1 percent from the field in the first half, the Eagles found a rhythm on offense in the final 20 minutes of the game, shooting 50 percent (16-for-32) from the field, including a 4-for-9 performance from three-point land.
A dismal shooting performance plagued the Eagles and put the team down, 23-17, at halftime, as the team managed to shoot just 23.1 percent (6-for-26) from the field in the opening frame, including a 2-for-14 clip from beyond the arc. James led EMU with eight points going into the locker room, but did so on 3-for-10 shooting in the first 20 minutes. James also grabbed a team-best five rebounds, but the Eagles lost the battle on the boards, 22-18. Ohio's Jenny Poff sunk four three-pointers in the first half to lead all scorers with 12 points, as the Bobcats shot 33.3 percent (9-for-27) from the field.
The Eagles quickly found themselves down 10-points to open the second half, as a layup by Ohio's Kamille Buckner put the Eagles down, 27-17, with 19:22 left.
Junior Cassie Schrock (Wadsworth, Ohio-Wadsworth) helped the Eagles claw back to within striking distance, as her layup with 13:41 remaining in the game made it 31-30, forcing Ohio Head Coach Semeka Randall to burn a timeout.
After several short Ohio runs in the second half, the Eagles would again pull within striking distance down the stretch, as a fast-break three pointer by Huntley limited the deficit to three points, 49-46, with 3:10 remaining in the game.
But Ohio's Jennifer Bushby struck on her third triple of the game with 1:36 remaining to extend Ohio's lead to five points, 53-48, forcing EMU Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert to call a timeout.
But key three-pointers down the stretch from James and Huntley proved to be the difference, as the Eagles managed to put the defensive clamps on the Bobcats on the final possession to secure the victory.
The Eagles are back in action Saturday, Jan. 30, when the University of Akron invades the Convocation Center for a MAC cross divisional tilt at 2 p.m.
