EMU Hosts Toledo in Tuesday's Regular-Season Finale

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IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS: With 15 Mid-American Conference games played, it all boils down to Tuesday's, March 2, regular-season finale for the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team. The University of Toledo invades the Convocation Center for a 7 p.m. contest, after having already secured the Mid-American Conference West Division title and dashed Eastern's title dreams with a 62-48 victory over Ball State, Feb. 27, in the Glass City.
Coming off a 78-72 victory over Northern Illinois, Feb. 27, the Eagles enter the game with a mark of 20-7 (10-5 MAC) and a chance to still pick up a first-round bye in the upcoming MAC Tournament, March 6-13, if either Kent State University loses at Buffalo, March 2, or the University of Akron falls at home to Ohio, March 2. Meanwhile, Toledo is 22-6 (12-3 MAC) and has won five of its last six games to secure the second seed in the MAC Tournament.

A BULLSEYE ON TOLEDO: Tuesday's contest marks the 61st meeting between the Rockets and Eagles, who first met during the 1977-1978 season. Toledo leads the overall series, 38-22. Eastern has won six of the last nine meetings, including six of the last seven inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center dating back to the 2001-02 campaign.
In the first meeting this season, at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio, Jan. 13, Toledo used a 10-2 run in the closing moments to pull away with a nine-point 72-63 victory. The Eagles were led by sophomore guard Tavelyn James who scored a team-high 30 points, connecting five times from three-point range. Junior Kristin Thomas recorded her first career double-double of the year, scoring 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. The Rockets were led by Tanika Mays who scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

A LOOK AT THE MAC TOURNAMENT SEEDS: If the regular season ended today, EMU would earn the fifth seed in the field and find itself pitted with the 12th-seeded Broncos of Western Michigan University in a first-round contest, Saturday, March 6, here in Ypsilanti.
Per the final regular-season conference standings, the top four seeds will automatically advance to the quarterfinal round, with seeds 5-12 battling it out on campus sites in first round action to fill-out the remaining four quarterfinal spots.
Bowling Green earns the top seed, while No. 2 Toledo, No. 3 Kent State and No. 4 Akron would also earn byes and go directly to Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. Central Michigan would be the sixth seed hosting No. 11 Buffalo, No. 7 Miami would tangle with No. 10 Ohio and No. 8 Ball State would play No. 9 Northern Illinois.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: After going 8-21 and 4-12 in the MAC last year, third-year Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert and her Eagles have become one of the biggest turnaround stories in the nation, now with a 20-7 record. Here's a snapshot of where EMU ranks nationally when talking turnarounds:

Biggest Improvement in Wins, Last Year to This Year
1. Central Arkansas
2. Eastern Michigan
3. Nebraska
4. Long Island
5. Saint Mary's

Biggest Improvement in Winning Percentage
1. Central Arkansas .207 .741 .534
2. Nebraska .484 1.000 .516
3. Eastern Michigan .276 .741 .465
4. Princeton .500 .920 .420
5. Long Island .310 .690 .380

FOURTH 20-WIN SEASON: With its 78-72 victory over Northern Illinois, Feb. 27, the Eagles picked up their fourth 20-win season in the past seven seasons. Prior to the 2003-04 campaign, Eastern Michigan had never won more than 18 games in a single year.

WINNING ON THE ROAD: With the 78-72 victory over Northern Illinois, Feb. 27, Eastern Michigan set the school record for most road victories in a single season with 10. This comes on the heals of a 2008-09 campaign in which the Eagles won just one road game the entire season. The 2004-05 and the 2007-08 squads notched nine road victories en route to MAC West Division titles.

TAKING A “PAIGE” OUT OF THE BOOK: Sophomore Paige Redditt has come a live over the last three games, averaging 15.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 32.7 minutes of work per contest. The Kansas City, Mo. native has been selective with her shot, notching a 68.0 percent field goal clip (17-of-25) against Central Michigan, Feb. 20, Western Michigan, Feb. 24, and Northern Illinois, Feb. 27. Her best game was a 23-point, eight-rebound effort in the double overtime thriller at CMU.

SENIORS CLOSE IT OUT: On Tuesday, March 2, the EMU women's basketball program honors a pair of seniors, both transfer from Foothills Community College, who have helped transform the Eagles in their two short years on campus.
Amanda Tretheway has played in 30 games in her two years in Ypsilanti, racking up 18 career points and 16 career rebounds. Her best game as an Eagle occurred earlier this season at Buffalo, when she was called into action with foul trouble mounting on EMU's other post players. In a career-best 14 minutes of work, the California native rejected a shot and grabbed a critical rebound as the Eagles escaped with the victory.
Kayla Vantil has helped the Eagles immensely in practice and with support off the bench. Having played in just 14 career games, she has racked up six points and six rebounds during that time on the court. Her best game sporting the green and white jersey came just a week ago on this floor, when she made her first career free throw attempts and grabbed a rebound as the Eagles shut down instate rival Western Michigan on Pink Zone Night.

WINNING WAYS: The Eagles are 20-7 overall, their .741 winning percentage is third in the Mid-American Conference and 48th best in the nation. EMU's 20 victories are fourth most all time.
The Eagles will need to pick up two more victories to equal the 2003-04 and 2005-06 squads for the second most victories in a season with 22.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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