Eagles and Broncos Set to Open the MAC Slate

EAGLES AND BRONCOS SET TO OPEN THE MAC SLATE: With a grueling non-conference slate behind them, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team opens the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule Thursday, Jan. 10, at Western Michigan University. Game time is set for 7 p.m at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Eastern Michigan enters the game with a mark of 2-11 after coming up short against Loyola University-Chicago, 64-54, at the Convocation Center, Jan. 5. The Broncos are 4-9 on the season following a 68-41 road setback to Temple University, Jan. 7.

EMU IN MAC OPENERS: Eastern Michigan opens its 32nd Mid-American Conference slate Thursday night, Jan. 10, versus the Broncos of Western Michigan University. The game marks just the third time that the two programs have squared off in a conference lid-lifter and the first since the 1991-92 campaign. EMU notched an 82-38 victory at venerable Bowen Field House, Jan. 8, 1992, while WMU turned in a 72-62 victory in Kalamazoo, Dec. 13, 1986.
The Green and White are 14-17 all-time in league openers dating back to 1981-82. EMU has won eight of the last 10 MAC-opening tilts going back to the 2002-03 season, including a 79-63 win over Northern Illinois University, Jan. 5, 2011.

BACK-TO-BACK ON THE ROAD: EMU will play back-to-back road contests to open the 2013 Mid-American Conference schedule. The last time the oddity occurred was in 2000-01 when the Eagles traveled to Central Michigan and Kent State before returning home to host Northern Illinois.

A SPOTLIGHT ON THE BRONCOS: The Jan. 10 contest marks the 72nd meeting between the Western Michigan Broncos and Eastern Michigan Eagles, who first played during the 1976-77 season. EMU leads the all-time series, 41-30, and has won 13 of the last 15 meetings. Eastern has won six of the last seven meetings in Kalamazoo dating back to the 2005-06 campaign.
In the last meeting, Eastern Michigan cruised to a 83-56 victory over Western Michigan at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich., Feb. 15, 2012. EMU's all-time leading scorer Tavelyn James led the Green and White in her 16th 20-plus point performance of the year. She hit 13-of-24 attempts (54.2 percent) to top the Eagles' scoring column with a 30-point effort. Natachia Watkins hit 9-of-18 (50.0 percent) for 20 points and snagged eight boards in the contest, while Olivia Fouty garnered her seventh double-double of the season thanks to her 13-point, 15-board effort against the Broncos.
The Eagles shot 50.0 percent (33-of-66) in the contest, holding its lead throughout the duration of the game. WMU hit 19-of-66 for a 28.8 percent clip.

AGAINST IN-STATE SCHOOLS: Eastern Michigan has had great success against other collegiate programs in the state of Michigan over the past 10 seasons. Since the beginning of the 2002-03 season, the Eagles are 43-17 (71.6 percent) against in-state rivals.

EMU VERSUS THE MAC: This is EMU's 32nd season competing in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles hold a 232-281 record against conference foes and have posted winning seasons in the MAC in 11 of the last 12 campaigns. EMU has had the most success against Northern Illinois, going 28-9, and the least versus Bowling Green, 14-46. Western Michigan has been the Green and White's most frequent opponent with 71 meetings, while Buffalo holds the distinction of the fewest conference games against the Eagles with 19.

OLD FACES IN NEW PLACES: Western Michigan Head Coach Shane Clipfell spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan, and was the acting head coach for most of the 2006-07 season when then-Head Coach Suzy Merchant was on maternity leave.
While serving as the acting head coach at EMU for a majority of the 2006-07 season, he guided the Eagles to a 16-13 overall record and a 10-6 finish in the MAC, good for second place in the West Division. Individually, senior Sarah VanMetre became the first women's basketball player in program history to be named Academic All-American, senior Patrice McKinney was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year and freshman Alyssa Pittman was named the MAC Freshman of the Year.

NO CUPCAKES: This year's non-conference schedule left little room for error. Just ask EMU Head Coach Tory Verdi. Going into the season EMU's non-conference strength of schedule was projected to be one of the hardest in the Mid-American Conference if not the country. According to RealTimeRPI.com, EMU had the 20th toughest non-conference schedule in the nation. EMU's first 13 opponents had combined record of 119-64 (65.0 winning percentage) with five schools having won at least 10 games (Michigan State, Boston U., Wyoming, Michigan and Tulane).

STONE ROCK SOLID VERSUS LOYOLA: Junior ara Stone put in a career high 15 points in her second career start during the non-conference finale against Loyola, Jan. 5. The Plymouth, Mich. native also hauled in eight rebounds (five offensive, three defensive) to go along with two steals and an assist in 28 minutes of work. Stone had seven points and five caroms at the halftime break.

INTERESTING STATS ABOUT EMU: In its two victories this season, EMU has scored 62.0 points while the opposition has posted 58.0 points. In those games, opponents shot 37.1 percent from the field compared to 37.6 percent for the Eagles. In defeats, the Eagles have only posted 55.9 points, while giving up 64.5. Another factor in the Eagles' success was the ability to control the glass. EMU has grabbed 40.0 rebounds in the wins, while in setbacks EMU has been out-rebounded by its opponents (39.5 to 38.2).

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 37 of the last 49 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 69.7 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 131-57 all-time mark.

SHOOTING BLUES: The Eagles have struggled mightily shooting the basketball in 2012-13. The Green and White has averaged just a 35.4 percent clip from the floor and shot less than 30.0 percent against Northeastern (29.8) and Michigan (27.0). EMU's best performance occurred at South Dakota State, when the squad made 25-of-52 shots for a 48.1 percentage.
The three-point shot has also been an issue, with EMU making more than the opposition in just two contests (Northeastern and Harvard).

A LOOK INSIDE THE SPECIALTY STATS: The Eagles are averaging 28.9 points per game in the paint, 13.3 points off the bench, 15.5 points per game off turnovers, 12.5 second-chance points and 5.3 fast break points per game.

ON THE HORIZON: The Jan. 13 contest marks the 71st meeting between the Chippewas and Eagles, who first met during the 1976-77 season. CMU leads the overall series, 38-32, but EMU has won 19 of the last 25 meetings dating back to the 2000-01 campaign.
The teams played three times last year, with the Eagles claiming a 73-60 victory in Ypsilanti, Jan. 19, and a 72-71 win in the MAC Tournament Championship game, March 10. CMU returned the favor with a 61-46 decision in Mount Pleasant, Feb. 28.

A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST MEETING WITH CMU: 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, 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 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.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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