Eagles Topple Titans in Overtime Victory, 75-71

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – In its first overtime contest of the 2014-15 season, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team came away with a 75-71 victory over the University of Detroit Mercy Tuesday, Dec. 30, in a non-conference battle at the Convocation Center. The Eagles, which led by as many as 15 points in the second half, had to hold off a furious Titan rally down the stretch to send it to the extra frame. In overtime, EMU scored six of the game's final eight points to sneak out the hard-fought victory.

EMU (7-4) shot 35.5 percent (27-o-f76) from the floor and knocked down eight three-pointers, while three different Eagles scored 19 points for the Green and White. Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver-ASA College), Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) and Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) led the team in scoring, while Brianna Puni (St. Charles, Mo.-Incarnate Word-Illinois State) grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds for the Green and White. Additionally, Sweeney became the 36th Eagle to surpass the 700-point mark in career scoring, as her 19 points put her at 718 for her young career.

Eastern used 30 points in the paint, 20 second chance points, and 16 fastbreak points to propel it to victory, while it out-rebounded Detroit (5-8), 50-45, and stole nine balls, five of which came from Morton in a career-best effort, compared to the Titans' four steals.

UDM had four players score in double-digits as Haleigh Ristovski scored a game-best 20 points, including six three-pointers. Rosanna Reynolds sank 19 points for the Titans, while Darianne Sewald and Minisha Frederick-Childress added 15 and 10 points, respectively, for Detroit. Ristovski and Reynolds each had doube-doubles for Detroit with 12 and 10 boards, respectively, while Frederick-Childress and Vrie Wilcox each pulled down five rebounds. The Titans shot 39.4 percent (28-of-71) from the floor and went 11-for-33 from three-point land with two players dropping multiple treys.

The contest between the in-state rivals started off back-and-forth between the two programs before Eastern Michigan went on a 6-0 run with four Sweeney points to put the Eagles up 16-11 over the Titans. Following a short break in action, Detroit responded with four-straight points of its own to come within one of EMU, but a three-pointer from Morton put the Eagles up by four, 21-17, with seven minutes left in the first half.

A cross-court pass from Morton set up Sweeney at the left arc where she dropped a three but UDM responded with a triple of its own and capitalized on an offensive foul to take its first lead since the 10:13 mark of the half. However, the lead was short lived as the Green and White scored on its next three possessions, going up 31-25 over Detroit heading into the final media timeout of the first half.

Despite two-straight turnovers, EMU answered back with three treys on three possessions to take a nine-point, 40-31, advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Eagles went 17-for-39 from the floor for 43.6 percent shooting, while Bucknor, Morton, and Sweeney each sank two three-pointers apiece for the Green and White.

In just her second game as an Eagle, Puni pulled down 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action, including four offensive boards, while contributing four points to EMU's offensive output. Offensively, Eastern was led by Sweeney, who totaled 12 points in the first half, while Bucknor knocked down eight points. As a team, the Eagles scored 11 points off of second chance opportunities and scored 16 points in the paint compared to Detroit Mercy's 10.

The Titans went 13-for-30 from the floor for a 43.3 shooting percentage, while Ristovski and Seward adding eight points apiece for Detroit. Ristovski also led UDM on the boards with five rebounds and knocked down two three-pointers.

The second half started out much like the first with the two teams exchanging baskets, while a third three from Morton put EMU up by 12, 50-38, as the Eagle defense continued to put pressure on the Titan offense. The Green and White used back-to-back and-one plays from Bucknor and Sweeney to take the 59-47 advantage over UDM, while Rosanna Reynolds made two baskets on the next two Titan possessions to bring Detroit within 11 of the Eagles.

A shot clock violation by EMU and a Reynolds three-pointer allowed Detroit to come within eight of the Eagles, 64-56 before Seward dropped in two free throws to cut the deficit to just three baskets with 5:13 left to play. As the Eagles struggled to find their offensive rhythm, Detroit went on a 12-2 run to come within one of Eastern with 3:08 left to play. After two missed free throws from EMU, the Titans grabbed an offensive board allowing Reynolds to knock down her third three of the contest from the top of the arc to knot the score at 66-66.

A free throw from Puni broke the tie before Bucknor swiped the ball from Sewald, tossing a pass to the breaking Sweeney to score on a routine fastbreak layup for the Green and White with 1:18 left to play. For the second time in just a matter of seconds, the score would be tied as Ristovski sank her sixth three of the contest from the top of the arc, forcing Head Coach Tory Verdi to call a timeout with 54 seconds left.

With seven seconds left on the clock, Morton took a shot from the top of the key that did not fall, sending the Titans on a fastbreak in which luck favored the Eagles as Sewald did not convert on a wide open layup, taking the game to overtime.

After two minutes passed in overtime without either team finding a basket, Morton grabbed a steal and made her layup down the court before dropping in the and-one shot to give the Eagles a three-point advantage. The Titans could not find a basket in the overtime period as Head Coach Autumn Rademacher called a timeout hoping to spark something in the UDM offense with 38 seconds left on the clock. The timeout went in favor of the Eagles as Puni grabbed a defensive board, forcing a Titan foul in which the senior sank both of her shots to extend the EMU lead to 74-69.

With 9.5 seconds on the clock, Shannise Heady (Hazel Crest, Ill.-Hillcrest-Seton Hall) went 1-for-2 from the line to put the game away from EMU, despite UDM scoring their first points of the overtime period on its next trip down the floor.

The Eagles will be back in action Saturday, Jan. 3, when they flock to DeKalb, Ill. to open up Mid-American Conference play against Northern Illinois. Tip off against the Huskies is slated for 1 p.m. CT. Chad Bush will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM) while ESPN3 will also show the game.

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Team Stats

Janay Morton

Jamaica Bucknor

Cha Sweeney

Brianna Puni

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Shannise Heady

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Shannise Heady

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Eastern Michigan Athletics