Eastern Michigan Athletics
Tuesday, February 21
Convocation Center
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Toledo
Battle of West Supremacy Set for Tuesday at the Convo
2/20/2012 2:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012 » 7:06 p.m. » Convocation Center (8,784) » Ypsilanti, Mich.
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BATTLE FOR WEST SUPREMACY SET FOR TUESDAY AT THE CONVO: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns home Tuesday, Feb. 21, for a critical Mid-American Conference West Division showdown against the University of Toledo. The two teams have been tied for the division lead since Jan. 22, a streak of 30 consecutive days, but only one team will emerge as the title-frontrunner. Game time is scheduled for 7:06 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. To add even more importance, the game is also part of the national “Play 4Kay” initiative with fans being encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer research.
The Eagles enter the game with a mark of 19-7 (11-2 MAC), while, the Rockets are 18-7 (11-2 MAC) after dispatching Western Michigan University, 76-50, at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio, Feb. 18.
STRIVING FOR EIGHT STRAIGHT: The Eagles have strung together seven consecutive victories for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign. That year the Green and White rolled off a seven-game winning streak from Dec. 5 through Jan. 9. In total, the program has 15 winning streaks of five-or-more contests.
During the current steak, the Eagles are winning games by an average of more than 24.3 points (78.0 to 54.1) and out-rebounding opponents by 12 rebounds per game (45.3 to 32.6). Hot-shooting has been another key as Eastern is shooting 44.9 percent from the floor while the defense is holding the opposition to just 33.6 percent.
SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE: Eastern Michigan has won seven consecutive games and boasts an eight game winning streak inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center. On the flip side, Toledo has run off 10 straight victories since Jan. 14, to go along with winning its last five road contests.
NO MATTER THE OUTCOME, EMU IS HEADED TO CLEVELAND: The win over Northern Illinois, Feb. 18, clinched a top-four spot in the regular-season standings, and gives the Eagles a berth in the league tournament quarterfinals. In effect, EMU has earned a 'double bye' and, with three games left in the regular season, the Eagles are looking to secure a 'triple bye' and a berth into the semifinals of the tourney.
EMU SEEKS SIXTH 20-WIN SEASON: The Eagles need just one more victory in 2011-12 to pick up their sixth 20-win season in the past nine campaigns. Prior to the 2003-04 year, Eastern Michigan had never won more than 18 games in a single season.
DOUBLE DIGIT WINS IN MAC PLAY: The 2011-12 campaign marks the eighth time in the last nine years that EMU has posted at least 10 victories in Mid-American Conference play. Prior to the 2001-02 season, EMU had never won more than nine games in league action.
A SPOTLIGHT ON THE ROCKETS: The Feb. 21 contest marks the 67th meeting between Toledo and Eastern Michigan, who first met during the 1977-1978 season. The Rockets lead the overall series, 41-25, but EMU got the better of Toledo with a 70-66 victory in the team's first meeting this season at Savage Arena, Jan. 11. The loss snapped Toledo's 17-game conference winning streak inside Savage Arena, as UT's previous last home conference loss was a 75-69 setback to Ball State, March 7, 2009.
The Green and White were led by senior guard Tavelyn James with a game-high 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting in 39 minutes of work. Natachia Watkins followed with 13 points and Paige Redditt chipped in 12. Junior Taylor Bird turned in her best game as an Eagle as well with a career-high eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Yolanda Richardson and Andola Dortch each had 11 points to pace Toledo. Brianna Jones was the only other Rocket to reach double figures with 10 points off the bench.
“D” IS THE KEY: Tuesday's game features two teams that pride themselves on defense, with Toledo and Eastern Michigan ranking second and third, respectively, in scoring defense in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles have held 18 teams under 60 points this year, while the Rockets have accomplished the feat 16 times. Against Marygrove, Nov. 14, Eastern's defense stymied the Mustangs, forcing 36 turnovers and allowing just 31 points. Meanwhile, Toledo held Albany to just 39 points in a 53-39 victory, Nov. 22.
ABOUT PLAY4KAY: The Women's Basketball Coaches Association rebranded Pink Zone and Think Pink games as Play 4Kay, beginning in Feb. 2012, in honor of former North Carolina State University Head Coach Kay Yow, who lost her battle with breast cancer in Jan. 2009. The mission of the annual pink games, which were brought to life in 2007, is a nation of coaches raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The late Kay Yow is remembered for the hundreds and thousands of lives she touched through basketball and through her tireless efforts to fight cancer. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away Jan. 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan is 9-1 at the Convocation Center this season. The Eagles have won 34 of the last 43 home games dating back to the 2008-09 campaign. Eastern Michigan has racked up a solid home-court advantage inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center since the doors opened during the 1998-99 campaign. The Green and White has won 70.3 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 128-54 all-time mark.
JAMES TAKES IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL AGAINST TOLEDO: Senior guard Tavelyn James turned in a game-high 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting as EMU snapped Toledo's 17-game conference winning streak inside Savage Arena with a 70-66 victory, Jan. 11. James has saved some of her career best performances for the Rockets. In eight career games against the Midnight Blue and Gold, James is averaging 19.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals in 33.2 minutes per game. She has tallied three games with 30-or-more points, including a 40-point output at the Convocation Center, March 2, 2010.
JAMES BECOMES EMU SINGLE-SEASON POINTS LEADER: With her 29 points at Northern Illinois, Feb. 18, Tavelyn James became the EMU single-season points leader with 643, surpassing her own standard of 642 set a season ago in 37 games.
JAMES MOVING UP THE MAC LIST: Senior Tavelyn James, the leading scorer in EMU history, is also moving up the Mid-American Conference list. Just the 11th student-athlete in MAC history to surpass the 2,000-point mark in a career, James needs 98 points to pass Ohio's Caroline Mast (1982-86) for second on the MAC list. For the complete list of her accomplishments, turn to page 10 of these notes.
JAMES IN SOME RAREFIED COMPANY: With a 30-point performance at Western Michigan, Feb. 15, senior Tavelyn James became the most prolific senior scorer in program history. The MAC record for most points by a senior is Western Michigan's Carrie Moore with 813 points in 2006-07. James also holds the EMU freshman (426), sophomore (641) and junior (642) single-season scoring marks.
NCAA RANKINGS: The latest NCAA Statistical Rankings came out Feb. 20 and the Eagles are seventh in the nation (out of 336 eligible teams) in steals per game at 12.9. They are 15th in rebounding margin (+8.7), 13th in turnover margin at +5.85 and 23rd in scoring margin (+13.1). Individually, Tavelyn James is second in the nation in scoring with an average of 24.7 points per game and 25th in free throw percentage per game at 85.9. Desyree Thomas is 10th in the nation with an average of 3.4 steals per game, while Olivia Fouty is 93rd in the nation in rebounds with an average of 8.5 per game.
REDDITT PASSES 900 POINTS: Senior forward Paige Redditt reached a milestone by recording her 900th career point in the team's 83-47 victory over Kent State University, Feb. 11. Redditt totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the 21st member to join the 900-point club for the EMU women's basketball program.
Redditt joins Stephanie Smiley (1998-02) as the only players in school-history to post more than 900 points, 700 rebounds and 100 blocks in a career. Redditt has accumulated 931 points, 738 rebounds and 120 blocks, while Smiley finished her career with 1,401 points, 784 caroms and 103 rejections.
NEW MAC TOURNAMENT FORMAT IN 2012: Under the new MAC Tournament format, the top four seeds will receive multiple byes in 2012. The third and fourth seeds will earn berths in the quarterfinals, with seeds one and two being placed directly into the semifinal round. To put it another way, a team seeded first or second will need to win only two MAC Tournament games to capture the title, while the third or fourth seed would need three wins. Any team seeded fifth through 12th will need to reel off five consecutive wins to capture the tourney crown. The seeding is based on conference winning percentage, regardless of division. For a projected tournament bracket, turn to page 15 of these notes.
JAMES SCORING IN BUNCHES: With her 21-point second half effort against Kent State, Feb. 11, senior Tavelyn James has posted six halves with 20-or-more points this season.
JAMES EQUALS THE MAC RECORD WITH 10 TRIPLES AGAINST KENT STATE: Senior guard Tavelyn James went on a record-breaking three-point streak to lead the Eagles to an 83-47 win over Kent State, Feb. 11. The 5-foot-7 James not only broke the school record for three-point field goals in a game with 10 triples on the afternoon, but also set a single-game record for MAC-only games and tied the MAC single-game record against all opponents. James was 10-of-20 from beyond the arc and finished the game with 40 points, the fourth time in her career she has scored 40. James already holds the single-game best with 42 points.
James' 10 threes tied Ohio's Marlene Stollings (Dec. 30, 1997 vs. Robert Morris) for the MAC record against all opponents and broke the record of nine by Miami's Jamie Stewart (Jan. 22, 2000 vs. BGSU) and CMU's Judi Culbertson (Feb. 25, 2000 vs. Ball State) for the standard in MAC-only games. Additionally, the 10 threes topped the EMU mark of eight held by James (Nov. 20, 2009 at Siena), Sydney Huntley (Feb. 2, 2010 at CMU) and Marion Crandall (Feb. 21, 2004 vs. Ball State).
For her efforts, James was named the MAC West Division Player of the Week for the seventh time in her career.
SUPER SOPHOMORES: The sophomore trio of Olivia Fouty, Desyree Thomas and Natachia Watkins have been a large part of the team's continued success in 2011-12. The trifecta has combined for 39.0 percent of EMU's points (720), 42.9 percent of its rebounds (468) and 57.6 percent of the assists (208).
This is a dramatic change from their freshman campaign, when the three players combined for a season total of 170 points, 159 rebounds and 41 assists.
PIPING HOT TURNOVERS: After forcing 769 turnovers (20.8 per game) last season, Eastern Michigan is at it again this year, causing 600 turnovers (23.1 per game) in its 26 outings. The majority of those turnovers have come via EMU steals, with the Eagles registering 336 thefts (12.9 per game) after ranking first in the Mid-American Conference in that category last season.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Eastern Michigan has had double-digit steal totals in 20 games this season. The Green and White has also forced 20 opponents into more than 20 turnovers in a contest.
GET THAT SHOT OUTTA HERE: Senior forward Paige Redditt recorded two blocked shots Saturday, Feb. 18, in the victory against Northern Illinois. She upped her career total to 120 and currently stands in second place on the EMU all-time list. The EMU career leader is Sharon Rose (1983-87) with 144.
BALL STATE ON THE HORIZON: The Feb. 25 contest marks the 64th meeting between the Cardinals and Eagles, who first played during the 1979-80 season. Eastern Michigan leads the series, 35-28, including winning four of the last five meetings.
Watch the Game.
Listen to the Game.
Live Stats - Fan-Based. Media-Based.
BATTLE FOR WEST SUPREMACY SET FOR TUESDAY AT THE CONVO: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns home Tuesday, Feb. 21, for a critical Mid-American Conference West Division showdown against the University of Toledo. The two teams have been tied for the division lead since Jan. 22, a streak of 30 consecutive days, but only one team will emerge as the title-frontrunner. Game time is scheduled for 7:06 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. To add even more importance, the game is also part of the national “Play 4Kay” initiative with fans being encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer research.
The Eagles enter the game with a mark of 19-7 (11-2 MAC), while, the Rockets are 18-7 (11-2 MAC) after dispatching Western Michigan University, 76-50, at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio, Feb. 18.
STRIVING FOR EIGHT STRAIGHT: The Eagles have strung together seven consecutive victories for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign. That year the Green and White rolled off a seven-game winning streak from Dec. 5 through Jan. 9. In total, the program has 15 winning streaks of five-or-more contests.
During the current steak, the Eagles are winning games by an average of more than 24.3 points (78.0 to 54.1) and out-rebounding opponents by 12 rebounds per game (45.3 to 32.6). Hot-shooting has been another key as Eastern is shooting 44.9 percent from the floor while the defense is holding the opposition to just 33.6 percent.
SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE: Eastern Michigan has won seven consecutive games and boasts an eight game winning streak inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center. On the flip side, Toledo has run off 10 straight victories since Jan. 14, to go along with winning its last five road contests.
NO MATTER THE OUTCOME, EMU IS HEADED TO CLEVELAND: The win over Northern Illinois, Feb. 18, clinched a top-four spot in the regular-season standings, and gives the Eagles a berth in the league tournament quarterfinals. In effect, EMU has earned a 'double bye' and, with three games left in the regular season, the Eagles are looking to secure a 'triple bye' and a berth into the semifinals of the tourney.
EMU SEEKS SIXTH 20-WIN SEASON: The Eagles need just one more victory in 2011-12 to pick up their sixth 20-win season in the past nine campaigns. Prior to the 2003-04 year, Eastern Michigan had never won more than 18 games in a single season.
DOUBLE DIGIT WINS IN MAC PLAY: The 2011-12 campaign marks the eighth time in the last nine years that EMU has posted at least 10 victories in Mid-American Conference play. Prior to the 2001-02 season, EMU had never won more than nine games in league action.
A SPOTLIGHT ON THE ROCKETS: The Feb. 21 contest marks the 67th meeting between Toledo and Eastern Michigan, who first met during the 1977-1978 season. The Rockets lead the overall series, 41-25, but EMU got the better of Toledo with a 70-66 victory in the team's first meeting this season at Savage Arena, Jan. 11. The loss snapped Toledo's 17-game conference winning streak inside Savage Arena, as UT's previous last home conference loss was a 75-69 setback to Ball State, March 7, 2009.
The Green and White were led by senior guard Tavelyn James with a game-high 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting in 39 minutes of work. Natachia Watkins followed with 13 points and Paige Redditt chipped in 12. Junior Taylor Bird turned in her best game as an Eagle as well with a career-high eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Yolanda Richardson and Andola Dortch each had 11 points to pace Toledo. Brianna Jones was the only other Rocket to reach double figures with 10 points off the bench.
“D” IS THE KEY: Tuesday's game features two teams that pride themselves on defense, with Toledo and Eastern Michigan ranking second and third, respectively, in scoring defense in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles have held 18 teams under 60 points this year, while the Rockets have accomplished the feat 16 times. Against Marygrove, Nov. 14, Eastern's defense stymied the Mustangs, forcing 36 turnovers and allowing just 31 points. Meanwhile, Toledo held Albany to just 39 points in a 53-39 victory, Nov. 22.
ABOUT PLAY4KAY: The Women's Basketball Coaches Association rebranded Pink Zone and Think Pink games as Play 4Kay, beginning in Feb. 2012, in honor of former North Carolina State University Head Coach Kay Yow, who lost her battle with breast cancer in Jan. 2009. The mission of the annual pink games, which were brought to life in 2007, is a nation of coaches raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The late Kay Yow is remembered for the hundreds and thousands of lives she touched through basketball and through her tireless efforts to fight cancer. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away Jan. 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan is 9-1 at the Convocation Center this season. The Eagles have won 34 of the last 43 home games dating back to the 2008-09 campaign. Eastern Michigan has racked up a solid home-court advantage inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center since the doors opened during the 1998-99 campaign. The Green and White has won 70.3 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 128-54 all-time mark.
JAMES TAKES IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL AGAINST TOLEDO: Senior guard Tavelyn James turned in a game-high 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting as EMU snapped Toledo's 17-game conference winning streak inside Savage Arena with a 70-66 victory, Jan. 11. James has saved some of her career best performances for the Rockets. In eight career games against the Midnight Blue and Gold, James is averaging 19.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals in 33.2 minutes per game. She has tallied three games with 30-or-more points, including a 40-point output at the Convocation Center, March 2, 2010.
JAMES BECOMES EMU SINGLE-SEASON POINTS LEADER: With her 29 points at Northern Illinois, Feb. 18, Tavelyn James became the EMU single-season points leader with 643, surpassing her own standard of 642 set a season ago in 37 games.
JAMES MOVING UP THE MAC LIST: Senior Tavelyn James, the leading scorer in EMU history, is also moving up the Mid-American Conference list. Just the 11th student-athlete in MAC history to surpass the 2,000-point mark in a career, James needs 98 points to pass Ohio's Caroline Mast (1982-86) for second on the MAC list. For the complete list of her accomplishments, turn to page 10 of these notes.
JAMES IN SOME RAREFIED COMPANY: With a 30-point performance at Western Michigan, Feb. 15, senior Tavelyn James became the most prolific senior scorer in program history. The MAC record for most points by a senior is Western Michigan's Carrie Moore with 813 points in 2006-07. James also holds the EMU freshman (426), sophomore (641) and junior (642) single-season scoring marks.
NCAA RANKINGS: The latest NCAA Statistical Rankings came out Feb. 20 and the Eagles are seventh in the nation (out of 336 eligible teams) in steals per game at 12.9. They are 15th in rebounding margin (+8.7), 13th in turnover margin at +5.85 and 23rd in scoring margin (+13.1). Individually, Tavelyn James is second in the nation in scoring with an average of 24.7 points per game and 25th in free throw percentage per game at 85.9. Desyree Thomas is 10th in the nation with an average of 3.4 steals per game, while Olivia Fouty is 93rd in the nation in rebounds with an average of 8.5 per game.
REDDITT PASSES 900 POINTS: Senior forward Paige Redditt reached a milestone by recording her 900th career point in the team's 83-47 victory over Kent State University, Feb. 11. Redditt totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the 21st member to join the 900-point club for the EMU women's basketball program.
Redditt joins Stephanie Smiley (1998-02) as the only players in school-history to post more than 900 points, 700 rebounds and 100 blocks in a career. Redditt has accumulated 931 points, 738 rebounds and 120 blocks, while Smiley finished her career with 1,401 points, 784 caroms and 103 rejections.
NEW MAC TOURNAMENT FORMAT IN 2012: Under the new MAC Tournament format, the top four seeds will receive multiple byes in 2012. The third and fourth seeds will earn berths in the quarterfinals, with seeds one and two being placed directly into the semifinal round. To put it another way, a team seeded first or second will need to win only two MAC Tournament games to capture the title, while the third or fourth seed would need three wins. Any team seeded fifth through 12th will need to reel off five consecutive wins to capture the tourney crown. The seeding is based on conference winning percentage, regardless of division. For a projected tournament bracket, turn to page 15 of these notes.
JAMES SCORING IN BUNCHES: With her 21-point second half effort against Kent State, Feb. 11, senior Tavelyn James has posted six halves with 20-or-more points this season.
JAMES EQUALS THE MAC RECORD WITH 10 TRIPLES AGAINST KENT STATE: Senior guard Tavelyn James went on a record-breaking three-point streak to lead the Eagles to an 83-47 win over Kent State, Feb. 11. The 5-foot-7 James not only broke the school record for three-point field goals in a game with 10 triples on the afternoon, but also set a single-game record for MAC-only games and tied the MAC single-game record against all opponents. James was 10-of-20 from beyond the arc and finished the game with 40 points, the fourth time in her career she has scored 40. James already holds the single-game best with 42 points.
James' 10 threes tied Ohio's Marlene Stollings (Dec. 30, 1997 vs. Robert Morris) for the MAC record against all opponents and broke the record of nine by Miami's Jamie Stewart (Jan. 22, 2000 vs. BGSU) and CMU's Judi Culbertson (Feb. 25, 2000 vs. Ball State) for the standard in MAC-only games. Additionally, the 10 threes topped the EMU mark of eight held by James (Nov. 20, 2009 at Siena), Sydney Huntley (Feb. 2, 2010 at CMU) and Marion Crandall (Feb. 21, 2004 vs. Ball State).
For her efforts, James was named the MAC West Division Player of the Week for the seventh time in her career.
SUPER SOPHOMORES: The sophomore trio of Olivia Fouty, Desyree Thomas and Natachia Watkins have been a large part of the team's continued success in 2011-12. The trifecta has combined for 39.0 percent of EMU's points (720), 42.9 percent of its rebounds (468) and 57.6 percent of the assists (208).
This is a dramatic change from their freshman campaign, when the three players combined for a season total of 170 points, 159 rebounds and 41 assists.
PIPING HOT TURNOVERS: After forcing 769 turnovers (20.8 per game) last season, Eastern Michigan is at it again this year, causing 600 turnovers (23.1 per game) in its 26 outings. The majority of those turnovers have come via EMU steals, with the Eagles registering 336 thefts (12.9 per game) after ranking first in the Mid-American Conference in that category last season.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Eastern Michigan has had double-digit steal totals in 20 games this season. The Green and White has also forced 20 opponents into more than 20 turnovers in a contest.
GET THAT SHOT OUTTA HERE: Senior forward Paige Redditt recorded two blocked shots Saturday, Feb. 18, in the victory against Northern Illinois. She upped her career total to 120 and currently stands in second place on the EMU all-time list. The EMU career leader is Sharon Rose (1983-87) with 144.
BALL STATE ON THE HORIZON: The Feb. 25 contest marks the 64th meeting between the Cardinals and Eagles, who first played during the 1979-80 season. Eastern Michigan leads the series, 35-28, including winning four of the last five meetings.
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