EMU Squares Off Sunday Against No. 14/15 Michigan State

TV: BTN Plus.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- After cruising to an 87-point victory in the season-opener, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team hits the road for the first time with a Sunday, Nov. 16, matinee against the Spartans of Michigan State University. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Breslin Center.
   Eastern Michigan is 1-0 on the year following a 127-40 defeat of Kent State University-Tuscarawas, Nov. 14. MSU, ranked 14th in the Associated Press Top 25 and 15th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, will be hitting the court for the first time in the 2014-15 campaign.
   The contest will be shown on BTN Plus. WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Chad Bush and Greg Steiner calling the action on the court.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE SPARTANS: The all-time series has been dominated by Michigan State, winning 14 of the 15 meetings dating back to a 66-46 victory at Bowen Field House, Feb. 1, 1977. The last time the teams met was Nov. 15, 2012, in Ypsilanti, Mich. when MSU escaped with a 60-49 victory.
   EMU's lone win over MSU came 14 years ago, Dec. 3, 2000, when the then-Suzy Merchant led Eagles defeated the Spartans, 66-59, at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.

TIES TO MICHIGAN STATE: Michigan State Head Coach Suzy Merchant faces off against EMU for the third time since departing Ypsilanti following the 2006-07 campaign. During her tenure with the Eagles, Merchant guided EMU to a record of 147-91 (.618), including three 20-win seasons, three postseason appearances and two Mid-American Conference West Division titles. Merchant's 2003-04 Eastern Michigan team claimed the MAC West Division and MAC Tournament championships for the first time in school history, earning the program's first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament en route to a 22-8 record.

SMASHING THE RECORD BOOK: The 2014-15 EMU women's basketball team broke multiple program records in the Eagles' dominating 127-40 win over Kent State-Tuscarawas, Nov. 14. The 127 points by the Green and White were the most scored in program history, eclipsing the 120 points Eastern scored last season, Nov. 30, 2013, in a 120-35 victory against Marygrove. Throughout the contest, EMU attempted 99 shots from the floor to tie a school record that occurred in that same game against Marygrove last year. Out of the 99 field goals, the Eagles sank a record 57 of them, smashing the previous program high of 46 versus Temple Baptist, Nov. 11, 2007.
   All three records were also Convocation Center records, home of the EMU Eagles. In individual performances, freshman Sasha Dailey tied a Convocation Center best with nine steals. The best steals performance on the Eagles' home floor is also shared by Monica Albano and Shawnita Garland, formerly of Loyola-Chicago and Cleveland State, respectively, and EMU all-time great Tavelyn James.

DIAPER DANDIES: Freshman Eagles certainly made a statement on the hardwood in the season-opening win over Kent State-Tuscarawas, accounting for 59 of the Green and White's 127 points. Sasha Dailey led the way with a team-high 31 points followed by 10 from Washington D.C. native Britani Stowe. Coming to college with her classmate Dailey from Rogers High School in Toledo, Ohio, Tori Easley added nine points while posting a team-best 10 rebounds. Rounding out the fabulous five of freshman scorers, Micah Robinson recorded five points and Ashley Henry scored four of her own.

FRESHMAN PHENOM: Eastern Michigan sophomore Cha Sweeney put together quite the debut in her freshman campaign against Madonna, Nov. 9, 2013. Sweeney scored 25 points, while shooting 10-of-17 from the floor. Despite her exceptional day last season, she was bested by former high school teammate Sasha Dailey in the Eagles 127-40 win over Kent State–Tuscarawas Friday, Nov. 14. Dailey went a cool 15-for-20 from the floor, while racking up 31 points, nine rebounds, nine steals, six assists and one block in her NCAA Division I debut. In addition, her nine steals tied for the second-most in EMU history, while it was tied for the most in Convocation Center history.

TOP-25 OPPOSITION AND THE EAGLES: For the first time this season, Eastern Michigan will square off against a ranked team when it tangles with No. 14/15 Michigan State, Nov. 16. In the program's 39 years, EMU has never knocked off a ranked opponent, posting an 0-14 record. For complete EMU results versus ranked teams, turn to page four of these notes.

VERDI VERSUS THE BIG TEN: For the fourth time since Head Coach Tory Verdi's arrival, the Eagles will take on a team from the Big Ten Conference. EMU is 12-39 all-time versus the Park Ridge, Ill. based conference, but the Green and White is 6-11 against Big Ten foes since the 2000-01 campaign. During that span, Eastern Michigan has posted wins over Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Northwestern, with losses coming against Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, MSU and OSU.

LAST TIME IN EAST LANSING: The last time the squads played in East Lansing was Dec. 3, 2011, when MSU escaped with a 60-59 overtime victory.
   After a back-and-forth first half, the Eagles opened the second half on an impressive 20-11 run to take a 42-28 lead with 11:50 to play in the contest. However, Michigan State would answer with a decisive 21-8 run of its own to make it 50-49 with just 31 seconds to play in regulation. A MSU foul sent Tavelyn James to the free throw line with 28 seconds remaining. James sank both tosses to push the EMU cushion to three, 52-49.
   With the clock winding down, Jasmine Thomas took the ball on the deep wing and drilled a three-pointer with 12 seconds left to knot the score at 52. Back down the court, EMU was unable to get a shot off as time expired and the contest moved to overtime.
   In overtime, the two teams matched baskets early but a layup by Kiana Johnson and two free throws by Lykendra Johnson gave the Spartans a 60-57 lead with 1:26 left.
   James, who was held scoreless in the first half, connected on a layup with 28 ticks showing to make it 60-59. After a MSU turnover underneath the EMU basket gave the ball back to the Eagles, James would give the Green and White a last ditch attempt to escape with the victory. However, she was never able to get a clear shot at the hoop as Michigan State escaped with the thrilling one-point victory.

AGAINST IN-STATE SCHOOLS: Eastern Michigan has had great success against other collegiate programs in the state of Michigan over the past 11 seasons. Since the beginning of the 2002-03 season, the Eagles are 51-23 (68.9 winning percentage) against in-state rivals.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 51 of the last 67 home games dating back to the 2008-09 season. 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 67.4 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 145-70 all-time mark.

ALLOWING 50 OR LESS: Eastern Michigan is 99-1 all time when allowing 50 points-or-less. Since 2003-04, the Green and White has accomplished the feat 55 times with 29 of those coming against Mid-American Conference foes.

CLASS IS IN SESSION: EMU welcomed over 2,500 students for the annual Education Day Friday, Nov. 15, in conjunction with the Eagles' game against Kent State-Tuscarawas. The goal was to get area children excited about college at an early age and give children an engaging, positive atmosphere to reinforce the learning going on at their school.

A NEW LOOK IN 2014-15: After losing four players following the 2013-14 campaign Head Coach Tory Verdi looked to bring in some new talent for the 2014-15 season. The Green and White roster features six freshmen and two transfers, while transfers Crystal Fulton and Brianna Puni will make their EMU debuts in December after sitting out in 2013-14. Not only will fans see new faces on the court but the bench will also feature two new assistant coaches in Mike Groulx and Carly Thibault.

YOUTH TO SHINE AGAIN IN 2014-15: Eastern Michigan will again be a very youthful team during the 2014-15 campaign with just two seniors on its roster. The Eagles return 54.7 percent of its offense from a season ago, while the team will need to step up its rebounding prowess with just 36.8 percent back.

THE KIDS CAN PLAY: The average 2014-15 EMU women's basketball player stands 5-feet-10 tall and is a sophomore. The youngest Eagle is Brittany Stowe, who turned 18, Aug. 29. Jamaica Bucknor is the oldest Eagle having turned 22, Aug. 15.

ON THE HORIZON: EMU remains on the road with a trip to Edinburg, Texas to square off against the University of Texas Pan-American. Game time against the Broncs is set for 1 p.m. CT inside UTPA Fieldhouse.
   The two programs will be meeting for the first time on the hardwood.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE WAC: Eastern Michigan is 14-2 all-time versus the Englewood, Colo. based Western Athletic Conference, having played against three of the eight member institutions. EMU is 10-0 against Chicago State, 4-1 versus UMKC and 0-1 against Seattle.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Sasha Dailey

Tori Easley

Crystal Fulton

Ashley Henry

Brianna Puni

Micah Robinson

Britani Stowe

Cha Sweeney

Eastern Michigan Athletics