Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Buffalo
MAC Madness Gets Underway Saturday at the Convocation Center
3/5/2010 2:59:20 PM | Women's Basketball
EMU begins its post-season run Saturday afternoon, March 6, by hosting the University at Buffalo
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THE ROAD TO A CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS SATURDAY: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team begins its post-season run Saturday afternoon, March 6, by hosting the University at Buffalo in the opening round of the 2010 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. The Eagles, seeded fifth in the tournament, defeated the No. 12-seed Bulls in their only previous meeting this season, 78-65, Feb. 3, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Coming off an 89-84 overtime victory against Toledo, March 2, the Eagles enter the game with a mark of 21-7 (11-5 MAC) and an 11-2 record this season inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center. Meanwhile, Buffalo is 7-22 (3-1-3 MAC) having lost six consecutive games dating back to a Feb. 10 setback at Ball State.
A BULLSEYE ON BUFFALO: Saturday's contest marks the 16th meeting between the Bulls and Eagles, who first met during the 1993-1994 season. EMU leads the series, 11-4, including winning the last eight meetings between the two schools by an average of 16 points per game (72.0 to 56.3). The teams met only once during the 2009-10 regular season with EMU claiming a 78-65 decision at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., Feb. 10.
The last MAC Tournament meeting between the programs was in 2004-05 when the Eagles defeated the Bulls, 79-46, in the first round at the Convocation Center, March 5.
HISTORY IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT: Eastern is 12-15 all-time in 16 previous trips to the MAC Tournament, while Buffalo has recorded a 4-11 mark in 11 seasons of league post-season play. The 1999-2000 campaign marked the first season that all teams qualified for the tournament.
NOW THIS IS MARCH MADNESS: The Green and White have posted an 18-16 record during the month of March over the last 12 years, including a 1-0 mark this season.
ALL-TIME AGAINST TEAMS IN THE TOURNAMENT: The Eagles sport a 12-15 mark in 16 trips to the conference postseason and are making their third under Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert. The Eagles have faced Bowling Green (2-4) the most times of any squad in the tournament. Eastern is 2-2 versus Ohio, 2-1 against Toledo, 1-2 versus Miami and 0-3 versus Kent State. Eastern is 1-1 in postseason play versus Ball State and Northern Illinois. The Green and White are 1-0 against Buffalo and winless in only one attempt against Western Michigan.
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 21-7 record.
A GRAND ACCOMPLISHMENT: When Tavelyn James scored her 1,000th point against Toledo, March 2, she became just the 15th member of the exclusive club and the first to reach the grand mark since former EMU Academic All-American Sarah VanMetre did so during the 2006-07 campaign.
The Detroit, Mich. native is the fastest in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, doing so in just 57 career games. To better demonstrate just how impressive of an accomplishment that is, the University of Tennessee's Candace Parker, the 2006-07 State Farm Wade Trophy Player of the Year, needed 56 career games to reach the prolific total and become the Volunteers' fastest player to 1,000 points.
AN EMPIRE STATE OF MIND: The Eagles' have been dominant versus schools from the State of New York, posting a 15-game winning streak against the Empire State dating back to the 2003-04 campaign. Eastern Michigan's last loss to a team that hailed from the state was a 71-65 setback to Buffalo, Jan. 15, 2003.
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 20.8 points per game, the Detroit native is on pace to total 624 points this season and surpass Laurie Byrd's mark of 602 in 26 games during the 1981-82 season.
Additionally, at her current pace, James' total would come up just short of the all-time mark among sophomores in Mid-American Conference history. Ohio's Caroline Mast holds down the league's current sophomore standard of 635 points during the 1983-84.
TAKING A “PAIGE” OUT OF THE BOOK: Sophomore Paige Redditt has come alive over the last three games, averaging 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in 29.5 minutes of work per contest. The Kansas City, Mo. native has been selective with her shot, notching a 61.3 percent field goal clip (19-of-31) 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.
She also sank four clutch free throws in the final 18.9 seconds of regulation, including a pair with 1.1 seconds showing, against Toledo, March 2, to tie the contest and send it into overtime.
JAMES HITS FOR 40 POINTS AT BUFFALO AND AGAIN VERSUS TOLEDO: Tavelyn James set the single-game standard for points with 40 in the Eagles' 78-65 victory over the University at Buffalo, Feb. 3. She then followed it up with another 40-point performance in the overtime victory over MAC West Champion Toledo, March 2, at the Convocation Center.
With the prolific total James became the first EMU women's basketball player to score 40 points in a game and just the seventh EMU student-athlete to do so. The last EMU basketball player to eclipse the 40-point plateau was men's basketball point guard Earl Boykins with 45 against Western Michigan University, Feb. 21, 1998, at Bowen Field House.
In a span of two minutes midway through the second half against Buffalo, James scored 10 straight Eagle points, connecting on three consecutive baskets and going 3-of-3 from the free throw line. She had 32 points with more than 11 minutes remaining in the game and finished the contest 13-of-22 from the field, including 5-of-11 from long distance and 9-of-11 from the line to give her 40 points, tying her for the 11th-highest single-game point total in the nation this season.
