Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, November 14
Columbus, Ohio
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
62
at
74
Ohio State
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Women’s Basketball Comes Up Short at No. 7/7 Ohio State, 74-62
11/14/2010 4:26:13 PM | Women's Basketball
Junior Tavelyn James posts 18 points in the setback
Box score.
Photo Gallery.
Re-Listen to the Game.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team's first trip to Ohio State University in 10 years was a memorable one, as the Eagles gave the nationally ranked Buckeyes everything they could handle in a 74-62 setback Saturday afternoon, Nov. 14, here at the Value City Arena. OSU, ranked seventh in the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls, needed an 18-7 run mid-way through the second half to escape with the hard-fought victory.
EMU's athleticism and speed kept the contest close, as the Eagles blocked two shots and forced 18 turnovers. The Green and White fell behind by 13 points in the first half before EMU rallied back to pull within a point late in the frame. In the second half, EMU again used tenacious defense to open the second half and knot the score at 28 with 19:22 to go. However, a 10-1 run ensued for Ohio State to push the edge back to nine points, 38-29, as Eastern was unable to get any closer than five points the rest of the way.
With the victory Ohio State remains perfect at 2-0, while Eastern Michigan drops to 1-1 on the season. Eastern Michigan has now played 11 nationally ranked opponents in the program's 35-year history, but has yet to knock off a team ranked in the top 25.
Junior guard Tavelyn James had 18 points, including 12 after halftime, for the Eagles and senior De'Ja Wills added 11 off the bench. Senior Cassie Schrock notched six to pull within one point of the 1,000 career point plateau.
Jantel Lavender scored 26 points, including 11 points in the final 11 minutes, as she has now scored in double figures in all 104 of her games. Tayler Hill added 13 points for the Buckeyes and Sarah Schulze added 11.
The Buckeyes jumped out the quick 5-0 edge to begin the contest, but the gritty Eagles promptly knotted the score at 5-5 on a James triple with 16:12 showing on the clock. Things remained tight until OSU would roll off a 15 of the next 17 points to take a 24-9 advantage.
However, the momentum was quickly turning in favor of the Green and White. A Wills three keyed a 17-5 run for the Eagles over the next 5:48. A senior Tara Johnson put-back cut the margin to just one, 27-26, but the Buckeyes would head into the locker room clinging to a slim 28-26 edge.
Following the break, Johnson would tie the contest for the third time at 28-28 with a put-back off the glass with 19:22 still showing. But again the Buckeyes muscled up with a 10-1 run to expand the defect back to nine, 38-29.
Then with 14:45 to play, Wills connected on a triple to pull Eastern back within five points, 40-35. The OSU edge remained in single-digits until the Buckeyes decided go strictly down low with Lavender expanding the advantage to 61-51 at the 5:02 mark.
OSU saw its lead grow to as many as 17 points, but the resilient Eagles scored the final five points of the game to make the final score 74-62.
The Eagles are ready to leave the cold and jet to the island of Oahu to participate in the annual Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic hosted by the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. The Eagles and Rainbow Wahine will be joined by Oregon State and Cal State Northridge at the tourney beginning Friday, Nov. 19. The trip will mark the second time that EMU has played in the state of Hawai'i.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
AnnMarie Gilbert, Eastern Michigan head coach
On overall thoughts on the game
“We certainly would like to tip our hats to The Ohio State University. They're a very talented basketball team; a six-time champion of the Big Ten and I think one of the top rebounding teams in the country. They did a very good job tonight. I'm proud of my team, especially at halftime. I even wrote on the board, 'Great Half.' I think if a few more things would have fallen in our favor it could have been a different game and a different outcome.”
On Eastern Michigan's performance
“We're a very resilient team. I'm very proud of our first half. That's how I want to see them fight. We need to do some things with our post defense. We wanted to stop Jantel so she didn't score 37 points against us like she did against Temple. I think we did a good job at that, but other people stepped up for them. Tayler Hill stepped up, Schulze stepped up and made a lot of plays for them.”
On EMU guard Cassie Schrock
“She's that glue to our team. You see a stockier kid who people think is just a forward, but she's so much more for our program. She has helped me put Eastern Michigan on the map. She's just a blue-collar player from Ohio. I coach in Michigan, but I love Ohio and I love basketball players from Ohio. She let the game come to her. She didn't force things tonight. I would have liked her to be a little more aggressive. She let their size upset her. She didn't get to the free throw line as much as I would like. She didn't attack as much as she could have tonight.”
Photo Gallery.
Re-Listen to the Game.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team's first trip to Ohio State University in 10 years was a memorable one, as the Eagles gave the nationally ranked Buckeyes everything they could handle in a 74-62 setback Saturday afternoon, Nov. 14, here at the Value City Arena. OSU, ranked seventh in the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls, needed an 18-7 run mid-way through the second half to escape with the hard-fought victory.
EMU's athleticism and speed kept the contest close, as the Eagles blocked two shots and forced 18 turnovers. The Green and White fell behind by 13 points in the first half before EMU rallied back to pull within a point late in the frame. In the second half, EMU again used tenacious defense to open the second half and knot the score at 28 with 19:22 to go. However, a 10-1 run ensued for Ohio State to push the edge back to nine points, 38-29, as Eastern was unable to get any closer than five points the rest of the way.
With the victory Ohio State remains perfect at 2-0, while Eastern Michigan drops to 1-1 on the season. Eastern Michigan has now played 11 nationally ranked opponents in the program's 35-year history, but has yet to knock off a team ranked in the top 25.
Junior guard Tavelyn James had 18 points, including 12 after halftime, for the Eagles and senior De'Ja Wills added 11 off the bench. Senior Cassie Schrock notched six to pull within one point of the 1,000 career point plateau.
Jantel Lavender scored 26 points, including 11 points in the final 11 minutes, as she has now scored in double figures in all 104 of her games. Tayler Hill added 13 points for the Buckeyes and Sarah Schulze added 11.
The Buckeyes jumped out the quick 5-0 edge to begin the contest, but the gritty Eagles promptly knotted the score at 5-5 on a James triple with 16:12 showing on the clock. Things remained tight until OSU would roll off a 15 of the next 17 points to take a 24-9 advantage.
However, the momentum was quickly turning in favor of the Green and White. A Wills three keyed a 17-5 run for the Eagles over the next 5:48. A senior Tara Johnson put-back cut the margin to just one, 27-26, but the Buckeyes would head into the locker room clinging to a slim 28-26 edge.
Following the break, Johnson would tie the contest for the third time at 28-28 with a put-back off the glass with 19:22 still showing. But again the Buckeyes muscled up with a 10-1 run to expand the defect back to nine, 38-29.
Then with 14:45 to play, Wills connected on a triple to pull Eastern back within five points, 40-35. The OSU edge remained in single-digits until the Buckeyes decided go strictly down low with Lavender expanding the advantage to 61-51 at the 5:02 mark.
OSU saw its lead grow to as many as 17 points, but the resilient Eagles scored the final five points of the game to make the final score 74-62.
The Eagles are ready to leave the cold and jet to the island of Oahu to participate in the annual Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic hosted by the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. The Eagles and Rainbow Wahine will be joined by Oregon State and Cal State Northridge at the tourney beginning Friday, Nov. 19. The trip will mark the second time that EMU has played in the state of Hawai'i.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
AnnMarie Gilbert, Eastern Michigan head coach
On overall thoughts on the game
“We certainly would like to tip our hats to The Ohio State University. They're a very talented basketball team; a six-time champion of the Big Ten and I think one of the top rebounding teams in the country. They did a very good job tonight. I'm proud of my team, especially at halftime. I even wrote on the board, 'Great Half.' I think if a few more things would have fallen in our favor it could have been a different game and a different outcome.”
On Eastern Michigan's performance
“We're a very resilient team. I'm very proud of our first half. That's how I want to see them fight. We need to do some things with our post defense. We wanted to stop Jantel so she didn't score 37 points against us like she did against Temple. I think we did a good job at that, but other people stepped up for them. Tayler Hill stepped up, Schulze stepped up and made a lot of plays for them.”
On EMU guard Cassie Schrock
“She's that glue to our team. You see a stockier kid who people think is just a forward, but she's so much more for our program. She has helped me put Eastern Michigan on the map. She's just a blue-collar player from Ohio. I coach in Michigan, but I love Ohio and I love basketball players from Ohio. She let the game come to her. She didn't force things tonight. I would have liked her to be a little more aggressive. She let their size upset her. She didn't get to the free throw line as much as I would like. She didn't attack as much as she could have tonight.”
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