Women's Hoops Looks for Fifth Straight Win at Oral Roberts

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team will hit the road for the fourth time this season when it travels to Tulsa, Okla. for the program's first ever contest against Oral Roberts. The Eagles (5-2) will go up against the Golden Eagles (4-4) at the Mabee Center Saturday, Dec. 6. Tip off for the Green and White's first contest in the Sooner State is slated for 2 p.m. CT.

BATTLE OF THE EAGLES: Eastern Michigan and Oral Roberts will face off on the hardwood for the first time in the history of the two programs Saturday, Dec. 6, when the Eagles travel to the home of the Golden Eagles for a 2 p.m. CT showdown at the Mabee Center.

ALL-TIME AGAINST TEAMS FROM THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: Eastern Michigan has played just five games against teams from the Elmhurst, Ill. based conference. The Eagles hold a 2-3 record versus opponents in the league, and having played IUPUI two times with a 1-1 record against the Mastodons, while going up against IPFW, South Dakota State, and Western Illinois one time apiece.

AGAINST TEAMS FROM THE SOONER STATE: The contest between the Eagles and the Golden Eagles will be just the second time EMU has gone up against a team from Oklahoma and the first time the Eagles have played a game in the Sooner State.
   In its lone contest against a team from Oklahoma, Eastern Michigan fell 65-45 to Oklahoma State in a neutral site game at the Nassau Sun Splash Shootout, Dec. 20, 2000.

SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS: The Golden Eagles come into the Saturday matchup with a 4-4 overall record but have maintained an unblemished 3-0 record at the Mabee Center, as they have taken down Rockhurst, East Central, and Missouri State. Oral Roberts has played its fair share of competition this season, going up against both No. 4 Tennessee and No. 8 Baylor, while also falling to UALR, who is receiving votes in the national poll.
   The Oral Roberts offense and defense runs through redshirt-senior Vicky McIntyre who averages a double-double per game, a nation-best 4.63 blocks per game, and ties for second on the team with 14 assists. The 6'7" center drops 12.6 points per game and grabs 15.4 rebounds per contest while shooting an impressive 48.1 percent from the floor and 92.6 percent from the free throw line. McIntyre broke a Summit League single-game rebound record which stood for nearly 22 years, grabbing 27 rebounds while adding 22 points, four blocks and two assists in a win against Austin Peay, Nov. 29.

SWEENEY COMING UP BIG IN THE SECOND HALF: Sophomore Cha Sweeney has been slow to starting games for EMU, but has quickly found her rhythm in the second half of action. The Toledo, Ohio native has recorded 57 of her 106 total points in the second half so far this year and has reached double-digits in the final 20 minutes on three separate occasions. In the past three contests, Sweeney has scored a combined 40 points in the second half of the game and just 17 points in the first half of play, which is one shy of her 18 second half points in the Green and White's victory over Cleveland State, Dec. 2.

WALKER SURPASSES ALL MARKS FROM 2013-14 SEASON: Junior KaBria Walker has been a small sparkplug for the Eagles when she is on the court this season. The Toledo, Ohio native has made tremendous strides from a season ago, surpassing all of her season totals in just the first seven games of the 2014-15 campaign. Walker has already scored 40 points this year which is almost six times more than the seven total points she scored just a year ago. The junior forward has also set career-bests in points (12), field goals (6), free throws (3), rebounds (7), steals (1), and blocks (2) while averaging 14.9 minutes on the hardwood per game.
   Walker's 85.7 free throw percentage leads the Green and White squad as she has gone 6-for-7 from the charity stripe, while her 63.0 shooting percentage from the floor ranks third on the team. The junior forward has also blocked three shots on the season which is just one less than team leader Rachel Kehoe.

LEADERS OF THE MAC: Through the first three weeks of the season, the Eagles found themselves leading the Mid-American Conference in several statistical categories. EMU crashed the boards effectively, pulling down 47.8 rebounds per game, including 32.0 per contest on the defensive side of the floor, to lead the conference in both rebounding offense and defensive rebounds. Eastern is also second in the MAC in rebounding margin (+5.3), offensive rebound percentage (.370) and field goal percentage defense (.313). The Green and White swiped the ball from opponents 69 times throughout the 2014-15 season, averaging to 11.5 steals per game to lead all MAC institutions.

EAGLES CLINCH NARROW VICTORY OVER CSU: Eastern Michigan kept its four-game winning streak and perfect home record intact, defeating Cleveland State University, 71-68, inside the Convocation Center Tuesday, Dec. 2. The Eagles (5-2) used 44.4 percent shooting from the floor in the second half to secure the small three-point win over the Vikings (3-3).
   EMU was led by sophomore Cha Sweeney, who dropped 20 points, including tying a career-best eight free throws for the Eagles to notch her fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season and the 35th of her career. Janay Morton and Jamaica Bucknor also contributed double-digit points for the Green and White adding 12 and 11 points, respectively. Bucknor was just one rebound shy of a double-double, pulling down nine boards, while Sweeney tacked on six rebounds to her stat line. The Eagles shot just 36.5 percent from the floor for the entire game and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc, while converting on a season-high 23 free throws.

ON THE HORIZON: Following the trip to Oklahoma, the Green and White will go up against Madonna at the Convocation Center Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. before making the short trek to the University of Michigan Monday, Dec. 22.

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Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Rachel Kehoe

Janay Morton

Cha Sweeney

KaBria Walker

Eastern Michigan Athletics