Eagles Hope to See Plenty of Red Versus the Bulls

EAGLES HOPE TO SEE PLENTY OF RED VERSUS THE BULLS: Do not be alarmed Saturday if you see Eastern Michigan University student-athletes and staff departing from their green and white colors, in favor of red. It is the University's way of supporting heart disease prevention for women as part of the American Heart Association's National Go Red for Women Day which was held Friday, Feb. 1.
To help with the cause, the EMU Department of Athletics will be holding the annual “Green Goes Red” game Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Convocation Center. The women's basketball team hosts Mid-American Conference foe the University at Buffalo at 2:04 p.m.
All fans wearing a red shirt will be admitted free to the game to help cheer on the Eagles. There will be various events to raise money for the AHA such as money from concessions, a silent auction and much more.

SETTING THE SCENE: The Eagles enter the game with a mark of 6-17 (4-6 MAC) after a 64-47 home victory over Ohio University, Feb. 9. Meanwhile, the Bulls are 7-16 (5-5 MAC) following an 86-51 defeat to Central Michigan University, Feb. 10.
With the EMU men's basketball team on the road Saturday, the women's contest will only be broadcast on Eagle All-Access rather than WEMU (89.1 FM). Ryan Wooley will have the call beginning at 1:50 p.m. from the Convocation Center.

A SPOTLIGHT ON THE BULLS: The Feb. 16 contest marks the 19th meeting between the Bulls and Eagles, who first met during the 1993-1994 season. EMU leads the series, 13-5, including winning 10 of the last 11 meetings between the two schools. The teams met only once during the 2011-12 regular season with EMU claiming a 72-54 decision at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.

THE LAST TIME WE MET: EMU took a cross-divisional MAC matchup, when they topped the Buffalo Bulls at Alumni Arena , Jan. 25, 2012. The Eagles took an 11-point lead into the half and never looked back as they knocked-off the MAC East opponent 72-54 on their home floor.
Tavelyn James became the fifth most prolific scorer in MAC women's basketball history by hitting a fast-break layup for her second basket of the game at the 8:06 mark in the first half. With the basket, James took over the five spot from Mimi Olson (2,144 career-points), who played at the University of Toledo from 1993-97. James led all-scorers with 34 points while Paige Redditt added 11 points from the floor. Desyree Thomas chipped-in with nine points and Natachia Watkins notched eight for the Eagles. Olivia Fouty led the Green and White on the boards by pulling down 10 rebounds, while Redditt caromed seven on her own. Thomas nabbed five steals while giving dishing out seven assists in the Eastern win.
EMU shot 40.0 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc with James taking all 10 shots from three-point territory. The Eagles took advantage of their opportunities from the free throw line knocking down 15-of-20, while the defense held the Bulls to just 35.3 percent shooting from the floor and 25.0 percent from downtown. Eastern was able to notch 17 takeaways and caused 29 Buffalo turnovers on the night.

EMU ATHLETICS AND LAFONTAINE PREPARE TO GIVE AWAY CAR: On Feb. 23, one lucky fan will win a GMC Terrain compliments of Eastern Michigan University, LaFontaine Buick GMC of Ann Arbor and Pakmode Media + Marketing. The promotion, “Win This Car” kicked off during football season when fans were given the chance to purchase discounted $5 tickets online at EMUTix.com by using promo code: WINCAR. On top of getting half off tickets, fans are automatically entered to win the Terrain by using the promo code. There is no maximum on the number of tickets each fan can purchase. The winner will win the Terrain with approximately 11,000 miles on it without the current promotional green car wrap on it.
Fans will have until Feb. 21, to purchase tickets to win the GMC Terrain. Finalists will be contacted Friday, Feb. 22 and will be encouraged to attend the game on Feb. 23 (but are not required to be in attendance).

WATKINS RETURNING TO FORM: Junior Natachia Watkins had an extraordinary week for the Eagles averaging 13.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists as the Eagles notched a 1-1 week. At Akron, Feb. 6, Watkins paced the Eagles with a career-best 15 rebounds to go along with 14 points and seven assists in the heartbreaking setback with 0.7 seconds left in regulation. The double-double was the second of the season for the the South Euclid, Ohio native.
Watkins followed it up with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists versus the Bobcats, Feb. 9. For the week, she was 13-of-32 from the field for a 40.6 percent clip while also notching four steals per contest on defense.

Women's Basketball Postpones Newtown Trip Due to Predicted Weather: EMU has postponed its scheduled trip to Newtown, Conn., because of the predicted severe weather in that area. The National Weather Service issued a Blizzard Warning for much of New England from 6 a.m. Friday, Feb. 8, to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9. The team, led by Head Coach Tory Verdi, was to conduct a special basketball clinic on Sunday, Feb. 10 for the youngsters of Newtown. The team plans to reschedule its visit for a date in the near future.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO CLEVELAND: With six games remaining in the regular season, the Eagles would currently be the eight-seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament, March 9-16.

CAGE HEATING UP: Freshman Bianca Cage has found Mid-American Conference play to her liking. Through seven games the Memphis, Tenn. native is averaging a team-best 13.0 points per game and a 42.7 percent shooting clip. She is one of only five freshmen to average double figure points in MAC-only contests, joining Buffalo's Mackenzie Loesing (13.9), Ball State's Nathalie Fontaine (14.0), Ohio's Kiyanna Black (11.9) and Western Michigan's Marquisha Harris (11.7).

BALL STATE ON THE HORIZON: The Feb. 20 contest marks the 65th meeting between the Cardinals and Eagles, who first played during the 1979-80 season. Eastern Michigan leads the series, 36-29, but BSU got the better of EMU with a 56-41 victory in the team's first meeting this season at the Convocation Center, Feb. 3.
The Eagles played solidly on the glass particularly in the offensive zone, but could not generate enough offense to post the win. EMU led by as many as eight points in the first stanza and took a 20-18 lead into halftime, but the Cardinals ramped up their offense in the second half with 38 points to run away with their fifth-straight victory. Senior India Hairston recorded a double-double this season with her 10-point, 10-rebound performance. Hairston joined EMU's leading scorer, junior Desyree Thomas, as the two Eagles to record a double-digit game.
The Eagles shot 25.4 percent (17-of-67) for the game and were just 1-of-18 (5.6 percent) from behind the arc. Neither side shot well in the first half, but Ball State was able to find a groove in the second period to finish 21-of-55 (38.2 percent) from the floor and 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from downtown.
Nathalie Fontaine was the game's leading scorer with 14 points and hauled in 10 boards for a double-double. Shanee' Jackson and Brittany Carter each turned in 12 points for BSU.

BOGARD LOST FOR REMAINDER OF THE SEASON: Sophomore forward Amber Bogard has been lost for the remainder of the 2012-13 season after suffering a shoulder injury, Head Coach Tory Verdi announced Feb. 8. Bogard will have surgery to repair the injury in mid-February.
The Cleveland, Ohio native played in 18 contests before suffering the injury in the first half of the Kent State contest, Jan. 24. Bogard was averaging 4.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
This is the second time this season EMU has lost a player to a season-ending injury. Junior forward Olivia Fouty is recovering from knee surgery, leaving the Eagles with just nine players on the active roster.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 39 of the last 54 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 68.8 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 133-60 all-time mark.

INTERESTING STATS ABOUT EMU: In its six victories this season, EMU has scored 62.5 points while the opposition has posted 55.3 points. In those games, opponents shot 39.0 percent from the field compared to 41.5 percent for the Eagles. In defeats, the Eagles have only posted 54.3 points, while giving up 65.4. Another factor in the Eagles' success was the ability to control the glass. EMU has grabbed 36.2 rebounds in the wins, while in setbacks EMU has been out-rebounded by its opponents (37.2 to 38.2).

A LOOK INSIDE THE SPECIALTY STATS: The Eagles are averaging 29.4 points per game in the paint, 16.4 points off the bench, 16.7 points per game off turnovers, 11.4 second-chance points and 6.2 fast break points per game.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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