Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Akron
Akron Invades the Convocation Center on Girl Scout Day
1/28/2010 2:14:48 PM | Women's Basketball
East Division meets West Division as six-game cross-divisional stretch continues
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AKRON INVADES THE CONVOCATION CENTER ON GIRL SCOUT DAY: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center for a Saturday afternoon, Jan. 30, game against the University of Akron. Tip-off for the Mid-American Conference cross-divisional contest is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Eagles enter the game with a mark of 15-4 (5-2 MAC), one game behind the University of Toledo which sits a top the MAC West Division. Meanwhile, the resurgent Zips are 11-9 (5-2 MAC) after rallying for a 66-64 overtime victory at Ball State University, Jan. 27.
A BULLSEYE ON AKRON: Saturday's contest marks the 27th meeting between the Zips and Eagles, who first met during the 1981-82 season. UA leads the series, 14-12, but EMU has won seven of the last nine outings Last year, the Zips handed the Eagles a 71-57 loss at James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio, Feb. 7, 2009. Paige Redditt nearly notched her first career double-double, tallying a career-high 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field to go along with nine boards. Akron's Kara Murphy scored a game-high 21 points.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan is 8-0 at the Convocation Center this season. The Eagles have a nine-game winning streak at home, dating back to last year.
TIED FOR THE BEST 19-GAME START IN SCHOOL HISTORY: The Eagles' 15-4 start to the 2009-10 season is tied with the 2004-05 EMU squad for the best 19-game beginning of a season. The 2004-05 crew won its 20th game at Central Michigan University to improve to 16-4.
GIRL SCOUT DAY SET FOR SATURDAY: Eastern Michigan University Athletics is teaming up with Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, the council serving central Michigan, for a fundraiser during the women's basketball home game against the University of Akron, Jan. 30.
During the game, individual troops from Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan will participate in a challenge to create the best EMU fan banner. The troops will be judged on the creativity of their banner as well as their enthusiasm during the game. The top two troops will be allowed to sell Girl Scout cookies at an upcoming men's basketball game.
APPROACHING 1,000: Two Eagles are closing in on 1,000 career points. Sophomore Tavelyn James has scored 826 points during her career. She is 19th all-time and needs 68 to catch Emily Steinmetz for 18th. Junior Cassie Schrock has scored 824 points in her career and is 20th all-time. Currently, 14 players are in the 1,000-point club for EMU women's basketball.
WINNING WAYS: The Eagles are 15-4 overall, their .789 winning percentage is third in the Mid-American Conference and 35th best in the nation.
A THRILLER IN THE HOCKING VALLEY: Eastern Michigan's last two trips into Athens, Ohio have provided plenty of drama and excitement, and most importantly they have also resulted in victories. On Wednesday, Jan. 27, late-game heroics by Sydney Huntley proved to be the difference, as the Eagles rallied down the stretch to leave southeastern Ohio with a 56-53 victory over the Bobcats.
Down by as many as 10 points in the second half, Tavelyn James 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 time out. 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.
Huntley's shot in the waining moments marked the first time since Dec. 4, 2004, EMU had connected on a game-winning shot with less than five seconds to play in regulation. The last time it occurred was in the Eagles' 60-59 upset of the University of Missouri, when Ryan Coleman connected on the second of a pair of free throws to break a 59-all tie with three seconds to play to seal the championship of the State Farm Tiger Classic in Columbia, Mo.
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 contests to close the regular season.
Eastern Michigan has posted a 22-18 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.
IN THE NCAA RANKINGS: In the most recent NCAA Division I statistics rankings, junior Cassie Schrock cracks the list at 12th in assists per contest with 6.1 dimes while sophomore Tavelyn James is 10th nationally in points per game at 21.3. James is also 13th in three-point field goals per game.
FALCONS PROVE TO STILL BE A THORN IN THE EAGLES' SIDE: Bowling Green proved to still be a thorn in Eastern Michigan's side, as the Falcons remained the only team in the MAC that Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert has yet to beat in her three-year tenure in Ypsilanti. Additionally, BG has handed EMU seven straight losses dating back to the 2004-05 campaign.
In a battle of Mid-American Conference division leaders, the Orange and Brown led by as many as 25 points during the 83-71 victory in front of a raucous crowd at Anderson Arena, Jan. 23. The Eagles gave up a season-high 83 points, and turned the ball over a season-worst 24 times en route to 29 BGSU points.
DOUBLE VISION: In just 48 games during her brief career, sophomore Tavelyn James has reached double figures in points on 35 occasions. The Detroit native has scored 20 or more in 18 of those contests for a total of 826 points. Given her current pace of 17.2 points per game, James is on pace to become the second-leading scorer in the program's 34-year history, trailing only Laurie Byrd.
Junior Cassie Schrock has also been a lock to reach double-digits in points, posting 10-or-more points in 41 of her 76 career contests. The Wadsworth, Ohio native became the 30th EMU student-athlete to surpass the 700-point scoring plateau against Cleveland State, Dec. 29.
JAMES ON PACE TO SET THE EMU RECORD FOR POINTS IN A SEASON: With her proficiency to score in bunches sophomore guard Tavelyn James is currently charting a course to set the EMU single-season record for points in a season. With an average of 21.1 points per game, the Detroit native is on pace to total 612 points this season and surpass Laurie Byrd's mark of 602 in 26 games during the 1981-82 season.
At her current pace, James' total would rank fifth all-time among sophomores in Mid-American Conference history. Ohio's Caroline Mast holds down the league's current standard of 635 points during the 1983-84. EMU's record for most points by a sophomore is 507 by Kristy Maska in 1998-99.
