Eastern Michigan Hits the Road for the First Time in 2013-14

EASTERN MICHIGAN HITS THE ROAD FOR THE FIRST TIME: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team hits the road for the first time in the 2013-14 campaign with a non-conference tilt Sunday, Nov. 17, versus Cleveland State University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Eastern Michigan enters the game with a mark of 2-0 after downing Butler University, 81-76, in overtime at the EMU Convocation Center, Nov. 13. The Vikings are 1-1 on the young season after dropping an 85-65 decision at Butler, Nov. 8, and posting a 76-48 victory over Lake Erie College, Nov. 14.
Veteran broadcasters Chad Bush and Greg Steiner will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM) beginning at 1:50 p.m. Live video of the game can also be found on the Horizon League Network (www.horizonleague.org).

ALL-TIME VERSUS CLEVELAND STATE: The Eagles and Vikings will be meeting for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign. EMU leads the all-time series, 9-4. EMU won the last meeting between the two in Ypsilanti, 73-61, as the Eagles set a Convocation Center record with 62 team rebounds, out-rebounding the Vikings by 17 in the game, Dec. 29. EMU also set a record for the most offensive rebounds at the Convocation Center with 29, while both teams combined for 107 rebounds, breaking the old record of 104.
In the last meeting in Cleveland, the Vikings captured a 76-67 victory, Nov. 18, 2008.

YOUTH BEING SERVED: Heading into the 2013-14 campaign Head Coach Tory Verdi knew he would be leading a very young team this season as the Eagles welcomed eight newcomers to the roster. In two games, the newcomers have combined for 58 percent (105 points) of the squad's offense.

BENCH PROVIDING MUCH NEEDED SUPPORT: Even though the season is only two games old, the Eastern Michigan bench has shown that it can provide a spark. Versus Madonna (Nov. 9) the bench poured in 42 of the team's 101 points while against Butler (Nov. 13) the reserves notched 21 of the team's 81 points.
Last year, the EMU bench averaged just 15.6 points per contest.

MORTON SPREADS HER WINGS AGAINST BUTLER: Freshman Janay Morton made her presence felt in just her second career game, Nov. 13, against the Butler Bulldogs. The Brooklyn Park, Minn. native paced the EMU attack with a team-best 23 points on 7-of-19 shooting. She also hauled down five rebounds to go with two assists in 35 minutes of work.
Her biggest shot of the night came with the Eagles down three points and 24 seconds remaining in regulation. Morton drained a three from way beyond the arc to knot the score at 69-69 and send the contest to overtime.

FOUTY TURNING INTO A DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Forward Olivia Fouty continued her growth on the court with outstanding efforts against Madonna, Nov. 9, and Butler, Nov. 13. In those two games she has averaged a double-double with 15.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in 24.5 minutes of work. In the overtime win over the Bulldogs, Fouty poured in a career-best 20 points in addition to her 10 rebounds. She was 6-of-10 from the field in the win, while knocking down a career-high three triples.
Fouty has 10 career double-doubles, which ranks ninth most in program history since the stat began being tracked during the 1999-2000 campaign.

WAKTINS RETURNS TO NORTHEAST OHIO: Senior Natachia Watkins has done some of her best work when playing close to home. A native of South Euclid, Ohio, Watkins has averaged 22.0 points per game while playing inside the city limits of Cleveland. In the 2012 Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena, she posted 19 and 25 points in back-to-back games as the Eagles cut down the nets en route to a NCAA Tournament appearance.

EXTRA MINUTES: The Eagles recorded an 81-76 overtime victory against Butler, Nov. 13; the win marked the first time since the 2009-10 campaign that the squad has won a game in the extra session.
Previously, EMU had lost three consecutive overtime contests and is now 16-14 all-time during extended time.

EMU VERSUS THE HORIZON LEAGUE: Eastern is 49-39 all-time versus the Indianapolis, Ind. based conference, having played against all nine member institutions. EMU has faced the University of Detroit Mercy more times than any other league member, with the Titans holding a 14-8 lead in the series.

BREAK TIME: Following Sunday's contest at Cleveland State, Eastern Michigan will not return to the the court until Saturday, Nov. 30, when it hosts Marygrove College. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The Eagles are 15-2 all-time against non-NCAA Division I foes with the last meeting against the Mustangs occurring during the 2011-12 campaign when the Eagles rolled to a 110-31 victory at the Convocation Center, Nov. 14.

A LOOK INSIDE THE SPECIALTY STATS: The Eagles are averaging 32.0 points per game in the paint, 31.5 points off the bench, 21.5 points per game off turnovers, 17.5 second-chance points and 24.5 fast break points per game.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK: EMU senior Desyree Thomas played in her 100th career game against Butler, Nov. 13.

CLIMBING THE ASSIST CHARTS: Junior Desyree Thomas is currently eighth in the EMU record book with 349 career assists. Stephanie Smiley (1998-02) holds the EMU standard with 577 helpers.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Eastern Michigan Hits the Road for the First Time in 2013-14

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