Rockets Ground Eagles in Home Setback, 56-40

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team struggled out of the gate, falling 56-40 to the University of Toledo Rockets Wednesday night, Jan. 16, at the Convocation Center.

The Eagles (3-13, 1-2 MAC) were led offensively by Natachia Watkins (South Euclid, Ohio – Brush) who tallied a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds. India Hairston (Flint, Mich. – Hamady) scored seven points, and Iesha Collins (Chicago, Ill. – Bogan) added five points including the first three-pointer of her career.

As a team, the Eagles made one-third of their shots, going 16-of-48 (33.3 percent) from the floor. EMU outscored Toledo (14-2, 2-1 MAC), 24-22, in the paint and 8-6 on second chance points. The rebounding margin was zero with each team grabbing 30 boards.

Toledo was led in scoring by starting guard Andola Dortch who recorded 14 points on the evening. Yolanda Richardson secured eight caroms for the Rockets while also scoring seven points of her own. Toledo shot 19-of-42 (45.2 percent) in its field goal attempts.

The Eagles got off to a slow start, shooting 1-of-9 to begin the contest, as Toledo raced out to a 13-0 lead. With 12:57 remaining in the opening half, Eastern finally got on the board via a layup by Watkins. The South Euclid, Ohio native continued to be the Eagles' offensive threat, scoring her team's first six points of the contest.

However, Eastern would go through another dry spell as the Rockets tightened up their defense, forcing tough shots and turnovers. After an 11-0 Toledo run, Hairston ended the nearly seven minute scoring drought with an old-fashioned three-point play, making it 28-9 Toledo at the 3:10 mark of the first half.

Going into the halftime break, the Eagles trailed 30-11. The 11 points are tied for the lowest amount of points Eastern has ever scored in a half in the history of the Convocation Center, tying a mark set back in 2000 against Central Michigan, Jan. 12.

Each team attempted 24 shots from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. EMU sank all five of its baskets in the paint while UT made 11 buckets, including two from beyond the arc.

The Green and White started off strong coming out of the locker room to cut the Rocket lead to 15, scoring the half's first five points while holding Toledo scoreless for the first three minutes of the final stanza. However, Eastern would not get any closer as Toledo scored the next seven points to keep the game out of reach.

It took just eight minutes for EMU to score 11 points in the second half, and the Eagles made 8 of its first 15 shots in the half. After only making five shots in the opening half, EMU went 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) in the second half. Eastern would outscore Toledo, 29-26, in the second half, but the Rockets held on for the 56-40 victory.

The Eagles hit the road for a pair Mid-American Conference games against Miami and Kent State. EMU will travel down to Oxford, Ohio to take on the Redhawks, Jan. 20, before trekking to Kent, Ohio to square off with the Golden Flashes, Jan. 24. Both games can be heard on WEMU (89.1) FM with veteran play-by-play voice Chad Bush on the call.

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Team Stats

Natachia Watkins

India Hairston

Iesha Collins

Amber Bogard

Eastern Michigan Athletics