Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, March 17
West Lafayette, Ind.
11 a.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
South Carolina
Eagles Earn Second Postseason NCAA Bid
3/14/2012 11:35:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Saturday, March 17, 2012 » 11:05 a.m. » Mackey Arena (14,240) » West Lafayette, Ind.
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EAGLES EARN SECOND POSTSEASON NCAA BID: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the program's history Saturday, March 17, against the University of South Carolina. Game time is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. in West Lafayette, Ind. The Eagles, who are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004, are the No. 12-seeded team in the Fresno region while the Gamecocks are seeded fifth. The opening round match-up will be held at Mackey Arena and televised by ESPN2.
The Purdue University campus will serve as the venue for Saturday's two games in the Fresno Regional. The second game of the day will pit No. 13-seeded South Dakota State University against the No. 4 seeded Boilermakers of Purdue. The SDSU-PU game is scheduled to begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the EMU-USC contest. The two winners will advance to the second round Monday, March 19, with tip off set for 7 p.m. The winner of Tuesday's game heads to Fresno, Calif., the following weekend for the “Sweet 16.”
The contest will be shown regionally on ESPN2 with Brenda VanLengen providing the play-by-play and Stephen Bardo serving as the analyst. If you cannot find the game through your cable provider, ESPN3.com will also video stream the broadcast.
SIXTH POSTSEASON TRIP IN THE PAST NINE SEASONS: Playing in late March has become a regular tradition for Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles will be participating in the postseason for the sixth time in the past nine years. Prior to the 2003-04 campaign, EMU had never even advanced to the championship game of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. However, all that changed when EMU won the 2004 MAC Tournament and earned the automatic bid to the program's first NCAA Tournament. The Green and White have since followed it up with appearances in the 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 Women's National Invitational Tournaments (WNIT).
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 51 points to pass Toledo's Kim Knuth (1995-99) for first on the MAC list. For the complete list of her accomplishments, turn to page 10 of these notes.
A SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTH CAROLINA: Eastern Michigan and South Carolina have never met on the hardwood prior to Saturday's scheduled contest. In fact, the two schools have a very limited history in any sport. The EMU football team dropped a 41-6 decision at Williams-Brice Stadium, Sept. 16, 2000, while the EMU baseball team is 1-6 all-time against USC, with the Gamecocks sweeping a three-game series in Columbia during the 2007 campaign.
EMU VERSUS THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE: Eastern is 2-2 all-time versus the Birmingham, Ala. based conference, having played against just three of the 12 member institutions. EMU is 1-0 against the University of Alabama, 1-1 versus the University of Florida and 0-1 against the University of Kentucky.
Most recently, EMU upended Alabama, 52-43, in the opening game of the Fifth Annual Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas, Nov. 23, 2007. The victory marked EMU's second-ever win over a team from the SEC; the other victory came Dec. 28, 1986, versus Florida, 65-62, in the Sun and Fun Classic in Miami, Fla. Alyssa Pittman led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting and Kelly Watts finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
EASTERN VERSUS 2012 POSTSEASON TEAMS: When examining the brackets for the 2012 NCAA, WNIT and WBI tournaments, EMU recognizes 10 teams that it met during the 2011-12 regular season. Out of the NCAA bracket, the Eagles played Michigan, Michigan State and Green Bay. Out of the WNIT, Eastern played Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Detroit, Toledo and UMKC, while also meeting Seattle which is participating in the WBI. The Eagles' recorded a 7-7 record against those teams.
EMU INSIDE MACKEY ARENA: Eastern Michigan is 0-2 all-time inside Mackey Arena, falling to Purdue University in the 2000 Preseason WNIT and again in the 2010 Postseason WNIT. Additionally, EMU is 0-2 all-time in postseason games in the State of Indiana.
SECOND TIME TO DANCE FOR THE EAGLES: Even though this is the women's basketball team's second appearance, the school has had plenty of experience in the NCAA tournament. The men's squad has had four appearances in 1988, 1991, 1996 and 1998, including the 1991 team which made an appearance in the Sweet 16 before falling to No. 1 North Carolina, 93-67.
THE MAC IN THE NCAA: Entering the 2011 NCAA Championships, Mid-American Conference schools have posted a combined record of 8-32 in NCAA tourney play. Bowling Green has three of those eight wins, with two coming in 2007 under Head Coach Curt Miller. Toledo also has won three NCAA Tournament games, with Kent State and Ball State winning one apiece. BSU's win came two years ago against Tennessee.
JAMES NAMED MAC TOURNAMENT MVP: Senior Tavelyn James garnered MAC Tournament MVP honors with her performance over the final two days of the event. The Detroit native poured in 21.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in an average of 40 minutes. Sophomore Natachia Watkins was selected to the All-Tournament team averaging 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 39.5 minutes for the event.
WATKINS TURNS THE Q INTO HER SECOND HOME: Sophomore Natachia Watkin's return to northeast Ohio was a special one, as the South Euclid, Ohio native was named to the MAC's All-Tournament Team after averaging 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 39.5 minutes per game in leading the Eagles to the 2012 MAC Tournament Championship. After not playing in the MAC Tournament as a freshman, the Brush High School product scored 19 points in the semifinal victory over Toledo and a game-high 25 points in the championship game victory over CMU. In the 72-71 victory over the Chippewas, Watkins went 11-of-16 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. She had seven rebounds and two assists, including the pass that led to Paige Redditt's game-winning basket with 1.5 seconds left.
REDDITT DELIVERS LATE IN CLEVELAND: The No. 2 seeded Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team needed just one field goal in the final 8:14 of play to dispatch fifth-seeded Central Michigan University, 72-71, Saturday afternoon, March 10, in the championship game of the 2012 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. Paige Redditt stuffed home the game-winning layup with 1.8 seconds left to earn the Eagles their first MAC title since 2004 and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Tavelyn James and Natachia Watkins were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team, and James was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Eastern Michigan claimed its second MAC crown in school history and is now 2-1 in MAC Tournament championship games. The game also marked the first meeting between the Eagles and Chippewas in the EMU's 19 trips to the annual tournament.
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 (838), 43.1 percent of its rebounds (550) and 61.3 percent of the assists (263).
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.
NCAA RANKINGS: The latest NCAA Statistical Rankings came out March 12 and the Eagles are eighth in the nation (out of 336 eligible teams) in steals per game at 12.8. They are 11th in turnover margin at +6.26, 18th in rebounding margin (+7.2) and 25th in scoring margin (+12.3). Individually, Tavelyn James is second in the nation in scoring with an average of 24.2 points per game and 21st in free throw percentage per game at 86.4. Desyree Thomas is eighth in the nation with an average of 3.5 steals per game, while Olivia Fouty is 114th in the nation in rebounds with an average of 8.3 per game.
EMU SHINES AGAINST TOP COMPETITION: Since Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert's arrival on campus in 2007, the Eagles have not shyed away from top-level competition. EMU has played Alabama, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oregon State, TCU and Temple. EMU has posted a 4-8 record in those games.
SIZING THEM UP: The University of South Carolina Gamecocks and the Eastern Michigan University Eagles size up well against each other as both teams have just a few players taller than 6-feet. For the Eagles, Paige Redditt stands at 6-1, India Hairston is 6-3 and Chelsea Hite is 6-4. For the No. 5-seeded Gamecocks, Pamela Decheva stands at 6-1 and Elem Ibiam is 6-3.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS: South Carolina plays a defensive style game as they rank fifth in the nation in points allowed per game at 50.5, which ranks best in the Southeastern Conference. USC averages 8.4 steals per game (172nd in the NCAA) and 3.8 blocks per game (104th in the NCAA), while holding opposing offenses to a 21 percent three-point percentage which is the best in the SEC as well.
Offensively, the Gamecocks have struggled throughout much of the 2011-12 campaign, averaging just 60.3 points per game and shooting 39.2 percent from the floor. USC is shooting just 27.2 percent from beyond the arc (228th in the NCAA) and 58.6 percent from the charity stripe (336th in the NCAA).
A PALMETTO STATE OF MIND: Saturday afternoon's tilt with South Carolina marks just the second-time that the Eagles have played a team from the state of South Carolina. Sarah VanMetre scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, as EMU rallied from a double-digit deficit to claim a 64-62 victory at Furman University, Dec. 28, 2006.
The Paladins, who led by as many as 10 points in the second half, held a 60-59 edge with 5:15 remaining in the game. Eastern responded as Alyssa Pittman connected on her fifth three-point field goal of the night with just under four minutes left in the second half. After a lay-up tied the contest at 62, Kelly Watts ripped down an offensive rebound and was able to lay a shot off the glass with 1:16 left on the clock to provide the game's final margin. Furman had one final chance to either tie or win the game with 20 seconds remaining, but stellar EMU defense prevented FU from getting off a desperation shot as time expired.
JAMES AND REDDITT SET THE RECORD FOR GAMES PLAYED: Seniors Tavelyn James and Paige Redditt have each played in 128 games during their four-year careers passing Cassie Schrock (2007-11) for the all-time record for the most games played in an EMU uniform. Schrock set the record just a season ago when she appeared in her 126 contests at the end of her fourth season.
NOW THIS IS MARCH MADNESS: The Green and White has posted a 26-19 record during the month of March over the last 13 years, including a 6-2 mark last season. Eastern is 18-17 all-time in 19 trips to the MAC Tournament. The 1999-2000 campaign marked the first season that all teams qualified for the tournament.
THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000: Senior Paige Redditt has scored 987 points in her career and is 17th all time for EMU. There are currently 16 players in the 1,000-point club for EMU women's basketball.
LEADING THE PACK: The Eagles have been one of the most dominant teams statistically in the Mid-American Conference this season, leading the league in six categories and ranking in the top five in 12 others. The Green and White are tops in the MAC in: scoring margin (+12.3), rebounding margin (+7.2), steals (12.8), turnover margin (+6.26), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.8) and offensive rebounds (17.9).
Listen to the Game.
Live Stats.
Watch the Game.
EAGLES EARN SECOND POSTSEASON NCAA BID: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the program's history Saturday, March 17, against the University of South Carolina. Game time is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. in West Lafayette, Ind. The Eagles, who are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004, are the No. 12-seeded team in the Fresno region while the Gamecocks are seeded fifth. The opening round match-up will be held at Mackey Arena and televised by ESPN2.
The Purdue University campus will serve as the venue for Saturday's two games in the Fresno Regional. The second game of the day will pit No. 13-seeded South Dakota State University against the No. 4 seeded Boilermakers of Purdue. The SDSU-PU game is scheduled to begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the EMU-USC contest. The two winners will advance to the second round Monday, March 19, with tip off set for 7 p.m. The winner of Tuesday's game heads to Fresno, Calif., the following weekend for the “Sweet 16.”
The contest will be shown regionally on ESPN2 with Brenda VanLengen providing the play-by-play and Stephen Bardo serving as the analyst. If you cannot find the game through your cable provider, ESPN3.com will also video stream the broadcast.
SIXTH POSTSEASON TRIP IN THE PAST NINE SEASONS: Playing in late March has become a regular tradition for Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles will be participating in the postseason for the sixth time in the past nine years. Prior to the 2003-04 campaign, EMU had never even advanced to the championship game of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. However, all that changed when EMU won the 2004 MAC Tournament and earned the automatic bid to the program's first NCAA Tournament. The Green and White have since followed it up with appearances in the 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 Women's National Invitational Tournaments (WNIT).
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 51 points to pass Toledo's Kim Knuth (1995-99) for first on the MAC list. For the complete list of her accomplishments, turn to page 10 of these notes.
A SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTH CAROLINA: Eastern Michigan and South Carolina have never met on the hardwood prior to Saturday's scheduled contest. In fact, the two schools have a very limited history in any sport. The EMU football team dropped a 41-6 decision at Williams-Brice Stadium, Sept. 16, 2000, while the EMU baseball team is 1-6 all-time against USC, with the Gamecocks sweeping a three-game series in Columbia during the 2007 campaign.
EMU VERSUS THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE: Eastern is 2-2 all-time versus the Birmingham, Ala. based conference, having played against just three of the 12 member institutions. EMU is 1-0 against the University of Alabama, 1-1 versus the University of Florida and 0-1 against the University of Kentucky.
Most recently, EMU upended Alabama, 52-43, in the opening game of the Fifth Annual Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas, Nov. 23, 2007. The victory marked EMU's second-ever win over a team from the SEC; the other victory came Dec. 28, 1986, versus Florida, 65-62, in the Sun and Fun Classic in Miami, Fla. Alyssa Pittman led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting and Kelly Watts finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
EASTERN VERSUS 2012 POSTSEASON TEAMS: When examining the brackets for the 2012 NCAA, WNIT and WBI tournaments, EMU recognizes 10 teams that it met during the 2011-12 regular season. Out of the NCAA bracket, the Eagles played Michigan, Michigan State and Green Bay. Out of the WNIT, Eastern played Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Detroit, Toledo and UMKC, while also meeting Seattle which is participating in the WBI. The Eagles' recorded a 7-7 record against those teams.
EMU INSIDE MACKEY ARENA: Eastern Michigan is 0-2 all-time inside Mackey Arena, falling to Purdue University in the 2000 Preseason WNIT and again in the 2010 Postseason WNIT. Additionally, EMU is 0-2 all-time in postseason games in the State of Indiana.
SECOND TIME TO DANCE FOR THE EAGLES: Even though this is the women's basketball team's second appearance, the school has had plenty of experience in the NCAA tournament. The men's squad has had four appearances in 1988, 1991, 1996 and 1998, including the 1991 team which made an appearance in the Sweet 16 before falling to No. 1 North Carolina, 93-67.
THE MAC IN THE NCAA: Entering the 2011 NCAA Championships, Mid-American Conference schools have posted a combined record of 8-32 in NCAA tourney play. Bowling Green has three of those eight wins, with two coming in 2007 under Head Coach Curt Miller. Toledo also has won three NCAA Tournament games, with Kent State and Ball State winning one apiece. BSU's win came two years ago against Tennessee.
JAMES NAMED MAC TOURNAMENT MVP: Senior Tavelyn James garnered MAC Tournament MVP honors with her performance over the final two days of the event. The Detroit native poured in 21.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in an average of 40 minutes. Sophomore Natachia Watkins was selected to the All-Tournament team averaging 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 39.5 minutes for the event.
WATKINS TURNS THE Q INTO HER SECOND HOME: Sophomore Natachia Watkin's return to northeast Ohio was a special one, as the South Euclid, Ohio native was named to the MAC's All-Tournament Team after averaging 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 39.5 minutes per game in leading the Eagles to the 2012 MAC Tournament Championship. After not playing in the MAC Tournament as a freshman, the Brush High School product scored 19 points in the semifinal victory over Toledo and a game-high 25 points in the championship game victory over CMU. In the 72-71 victory over the Chippewas, Watkins went 11-of-16 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. She had seven rebounds and two assists, including the pass that led to Paige Redditt's game-winning basket with 1.5 seconds left.
REDDITT DELIVERS LATE IN CLEVELAND: The No. 2 seeded Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team needed just one field goal in the final 8:14 of play to dispatch fifth-seeded Central Michigan University, 72-71, Saturday afternoon, March 10, in the championship game of the 2012 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. Paige Redditt stuffed home the game-winning layup with 1.8 seconds left to earn the Eagles their first MAC title since 2004 and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Tavelyn James and Natachia Watkins were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team, and James was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Eastern Michigan claimed its second MAC crown in school history and is now 2-1 in MAC Tournament championship games. The game also marked the first meeting between the Eagles and Chippewas in the EMU's 19 trips to the annual tournament.
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 (838), 43.1 percent of its rebounds (550) and 61.3 percent of the assists (263).
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.
NCAA RANKINGS: The latest NCAA Statistical Rankings came out March 12 and the Eagles are eighth in the nation (out of 336 eligible teams) in steals per game at 12.8. They are 11th in turnover margin at +6.26, 18th in rebounding margin (+7.2) and 25th in scoring margin (+12.3). Individually, Tavelyn James is second in the nation in scoring with an average of 24.2 points per game and 21st in free throw percentage per game at 86.4. Desyree Thomas is eighth in the nation with an average of 3.5 steals per game, while Olivia Fouty is 114th in the nation in rebounds with an average of 8.3 per game.
EMU SHINES AGAINST TOP COMPETITION: Since Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert's arrival on campus in 2007, the Eagles have not shyed away from top-level competition. EMU has played Alabama, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oregon State, TCU and Temple. EMU has posted a 4-8 record in those games.
SIZING THEM UP: The University of South Carolina Gamecocks and the Eastern Michigan University Eagles size up well against each other as both teams have just a few players taller than 6-feet. For the Eagles, Paige Redditt stands at 6-1, India Hairston is 6-3 and Chelsea Hite is 6-4. For the No. 5-seeded Gamecocks, Pamela Decheva stands at 6-1 and Elem Ibiam is 6-3.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS: South Carolina plays a defensive style game as they rank fifth in the nation in points allowed per game at 50.5, which ranks best in the Southeastern Conference. USC averages 8.4 steals per game (172nd in the NCAA) and 3.8 blocks per game (104th in the NCAA), while holding opposing offenses to a 21 percent three-point percentage which is the best in the SEC as well.
Offensively, the Gamecocks have struggled throughout much of the 2011-12 campaign, averaging just 60.3 points per game and shooting 39.2 percent from the floor. USC is shooting just 27.2 percent from beyond the arc (228th in the NCAA) and 58.6 percent from the charity stripe (336th in the NCAA).
A PALMETTO STATE OF MIND: Saturday afternoon's tilt with South Carolina marks just the second-time that the Eagles have played a team from the state of South Carolina. Sarah VanMetre scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, as EMU rallied from a double-digit deficit to claim a 64-62 victory at Furman University, Dec. 28, 2006.
The Paladins, who led by as many as 10 points in the second half, held a 60-59 edge with 5:15 remaining in the game. Eastern responded as Alyssa Pittman connected on her fifth three-point field goal of the night with just under four minutes left in the second half. After a lay-up tied the contest at 62, Kelly Watts ripped down an offensive rebound and was able to lay a shot off the glass with 1:16 left on the clock to provide the game's final margin. Furman had one final chance to either tie or win the game with 20 seconds remaining, but stellar EMU defense prevented FU from getting off a desperation shot as time expired.
JAMES AND REDDITT SET THE RECORD FOR GAMES PLAYED: Seniors Tavelyn James and Paige Redditt have each played in 128 games during their four-year careers passing Cassie Schrock (2007-11) for the all-time record for the most games played in an EMU uniform. Schrock set the record just a season ago when she appeared in her 126 contests at the end of her fourth season.
NOW THIS IS MARCH MADNESS: The Green and White has posted a 26-19 record during the month of March over the last 13 years, including a 6-2 mark last season. Eastern is 18-17 all-time in 19 trips to the MAC Tournament. The 1999-2000 campaign marked the first season that all teams qualified for the tournament.
THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000: Senior Paige Redditt has scored 987 points in her career and is 17th all time for EMU. There are currently 16 players in the 1,000-point club for EMU women's basketball.
LEADING THE PACK: The Eagles have been one of the most dominant teams statistically in the Mid-American Conference this season, leading the league in six categories and ranking in the top five in 12 others. The Green and White are tops in the MAC in: scoring margin (+12.3), rebounding margin (+7.2), steals (12.8), turnover margin (+6.26), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.8) and offensive rebounds (17.9).
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