Women's Basketball Earns Success on First Day of Holiday Classic

STONY BROOK, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team secured a 69-56 victory over Wagner College in the first game of the Seawolves Holiday Classic Presented by Hilton Garden Inn, Saturday, Dec. 21. The victory boosted the Green and White to 8-1 on the year, while the Seahawks fall to 1-8. Just nine games into the season, the Eagles have already matched their entire win total from the 2012-13 campaign, as the squad has made a significant turnaround coming off an 8-22 record.

The Eagles were led by freshman Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers), who had a team-best 18 points, four steals, and two assists. The rookie guard went a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the victory. Senior Desyree Thomas (Waterford, Mich.-Mott) notched 17 points while also recording a four steals and a duo of dimes. Redshirt-junior Olivia Fouty (Toledo, Ohio-Sylvania Northview) pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

As a team, the Eagles shot 23-of-73 from the field for a 31.5 percent clip. However, they sunk a season-best 81.8 percent of their free throws after going 18-of-22 from behind the charity stripe. The Green and White also nabbed 19 steals while forcing an additional 12 turnovers from Wagner, while only having the ball snatched from its hands four times. Though the Seahawks boasted a higher shooting clip at 39.6 percentage, the Eagles only allowed Wagner to score 19 field goals throughout the entire contest.

After Wagner's Jordyn Peck dropped in the first pair of points for the Seahawks, a pair of free throws from Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) tied up the contest. Aggressive defense and rebounding gave the Green and White ample scoring opportunities, but the squad was unable to convert in its first handful of attempts.

Wagner took a slight lead after a three-point play from Tessa Wade before Haley Moore (Milford, Neb.-Milford) stepped up to ignite the offense with a long three. Natachia Watkins (South Euclid, Ohio-Brush) helped extend the lead to 9-5 by nabbing a steal under the Wagner hoop and found Thomas down-court for a fastbreak play to Thomas for an uncontested layup.

EMU was able to keep Wagner scoreless for over five minutes before Jasmine Nwajei sank a pair of free throws and a layup to bring the Seahawks within two points of the Eagles. Eastern would answer back with an 11-0 run thanks in large part to forced turnovers and finding open players in the low post. The Seahawks hit a patch of smooth sailing in their offense as they were able to break through to the basket for an additional four points, yet still trailed 24-13 with 7:32 remaining in the opening half.

The Eagles continued to score with an apparent ease, as Watkins led the way with eight points during the remainder of the first half. Wagner was able to more than double its score, notching 14 points in the final four and a half minutes. However, only six points were earned through field goals, as the remaining eight points were tallied by way of shots from behind the charity stripe. Despite the sudden point-making effort from the Seahawks, the Green and White retained the lead, 39-27, at the close of the first half.

Eastern struggled somewhat in the first half compared to its usual 42.0 shooting percentage, going 14-for-43 for a 32.6 percent rate. The Eagles were able to make up for the defecit from behind the free throw line as they were nearly perfect, going 9-of-10 on free throw attempts. Watkins led all players, dropping in 12 points for the Green and White. Jamaica Bucknor (New Haven, Conn.-Weaver (ASA College)) grabbed a team-high five rebounds, while Thomas picked the Seahawks' pockets three times. Overall, the Eagles had six steals and forced an additional 10 turnovers while only allowing Wagner to go 8-of-23 for a 34.8 percent clip.

Both teams came out with intensity to score as the Eagles and Seahawks traded blows in the opening minutes of the second half. Sweeney nailed a triple to open up scoring for the Eagles, followed by back-to-back layups by Thomas. Meanwhile, Wagner found the way to the basket for three field goals. The Eagles were able to put a stop to their drives as Sweeney capped off the 12-6 run with another triple to force a Wagner timeout at 51-33.

The Seahawks mustered a 10-2 run after regrouping and increased their defensive pressure and relied heavily on the until-recently dormant Ugo Nwaigwe, who scored six consecutive points for Wagner to bring them within 10 points, down 53-43 with just over ten minutes remaining.

The Eagles put an end to another Seahawk run of seven points after a Sara Stone (Plymouth, Mich.-Salem) free throw, after which Thomas found her way to the hoop for a layup to bring the count to 58-52. In her first game donning the Green and White, Shannise Heady (Hazel Crest, Ill.-Hillcrest (Seton Hall)) came away with a steal off a long pass and dished it out to Morton, who drew the foul off a layup and hit both her free throws to retain the lead as the Seahawks continued to close the scoring gap, 60-54.

A steal and layup by Sweeney slowed the momentum for the Seahawks, as Thomas drained a three to build the lead back up for the Eagles. Eastern ended the contest on a 9-0 run led by Sweeney with six points. After regaining control of the matchup, the Green and White closed out the first game of the Seawolves Holiday Classic Presented by Hilton Garden Inn with a 69-56 victory.

The Eagles will continue competition in the Seawolves Holiday Classic Presented by Hilton Garden Inn with a noon tilt, Dec. 22, at Stony Brook University. Live stats and video will be avaliable through GoSeawolves.org.

Women's Basketball Earns Success on First Day of Holiday Classic

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Team Stats

Cha Sweeney

Desyree Thomas

Natachia Watkins

Sara Stone

Eastern Michigan Athletics