Battle of the Birds Sunday in Muncie

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BATTLE OF THE BIRDS IN MUNCIE: Looking to re-group following an 80-73 setback Wednesday night to the University of Toledo, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team makes the 242-mile trek to Muncie, Ind. Sunday, Feb. 23, for a Mid-American Conference West Division tilt versus Ball State University. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. at John E. Worthen Arena.
The Eagles enter the game with a mark of 14-10 (4-9 MAC) after a seven-point home loss to the Rockets, Feb. 19. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 11-13 (6-7 MAC) following an 80-70 road victory at Miami University, Feb. 20.

FINDING THE GAME ON YOUR RADIO DIAL: With the EMU men's basketball team on the road Sunday, the women's contest will only be broadcast on Eagle All-Access rather than WEMU (89.1 FM). Greg Steiner will have the call beginning at 1:50 p.m. on EMUEagles.com/showcase.

ALL-TIME AGAINST BALL STATE: Sunday's contest marks the 67th meeting between the Ball State Cardinals and Eastern Michigan Eagles, who first played during the 1979-80 season. Eastern Michigan leads the series, 36-31, but BSU has gotten the better of the Eagles the last three times.
The last time the teams met in Muncie, the Cardinals walked away with a with a 56-34 win at Worthen Arena, Feb. 20, 2013. The Eagles' 34 point output is the lowest in the program's 38-year history.

WATKINS APPROACHING SOME RAREFIED COMPANY: Senior Natachia Waktins continues to accumulate statistics that will place her among some elite company when her playing days are complete. The South Euclid, Ohio native has racked up 976 points, 598 rebounds, 170 steals and 139 assists in 107 career games.
Watkins needs 24 points and two rebounds to become the fifth player in Eastern Michigan history to record more than 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 150 assists and 125 steals. The others to reach the rarefied total include: Ryan Coleman (1,793/747/376/265), Cassie Schrock (1,506/761/537/224), Stephanie Smiley (1401/784/577/243) and Sarah VanMetre (1,361/770/166/145).

HOLDING ON TO THE ROCK: The Eagles committed a season-low seven turnovers in the contest against Toledo, Feb. 19. EMU has produced five games this season that it has turned the ball over less than 10 times.

BLOCK PARTY: In the back-to-back games against Bowling Green, Feb. 15, and Toledo, Feb. 19, the Eagles combined to block nine shots. EMU managed nine blocks in the 11 contests prior to the current steak.

DOUBLE VISION: In just 24 games during her brief career, freshman Cha Sweeney has reached double figures in points on 21 occasions. The Toledo, Ohio, native has scored 20 or more in six of those contests. Sweeney has notched at least 10 points in each of the last 14 games, as Monmouth was the last team to hold her in check with just four points, Dec. 11, 2013.

THREE-BALLS, TRIPLES OR TRI-LIGHTERS: No matter what you call it, the three-point shot has proved to be either a hindrance or a help to the Eagles in 2013-14. Eastern Michigan has notched a 7-3 record when it connects on eight-or-more threes in a contest, and conversely just 7-7 when it does not. When the three pointers are falling the offense is clicking to the tune of 85.8 points per game and a 32.3 percent (92-of-285) clip. However, when struggling from long range, Eastern is only averaging 71.7 points per contest and a dismal 26.3 percent (78-of-297) from the long line.

HANGING TIGHT IN THE TOP 40: The Eagles continue to rank inside the top-40 nationally in five different categories. Eastern Michigan is ranked fourth in turnover margin, sixth in steals, 32nd in fewest turnovers, 35th in assist-to-turnover and 35th in scoring offense.

MAC TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK: With the 2014 MAC Basketball Tournament quickly approaching, it is time to gaze into the crystal ball to see where the Eagles could possibly end up to begin conference tournament play. If the regular season ended today, Eastern would be the No. 9 seed for the tournament, traveling to No. 8-seeded Northern Illinois for a first round contest set to take place March 10. For a complete MAC Tournament outlook, please check page 14 of these notes.

LAST TIME EMU AND BALL STATE PLAYED: EMU saw its five game winning streak come to an end at the hands of Ball State University, Jan. 9, as the Cardinals came away with a 70-66 decision over the Eagles at the Convocation Center.
Olivia Fouty led the way for the Eagles, posting her sixth double-double of the 2013-14 season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Cha Sweeney and Janay Morton each contributed 13 points, while Natachia Watkins chipped in with eight points and eight boards. As a team, Eastern shot 35.3 percent from the floor (24-of-68), including 7-of-24 from three point land. The Eagles found most of their success in the paint, scoring 30 points in that area. Forcing 22 Ball State turnovers, EMU was able to score 26 points off the miscues, including 16 on the fastbreak.
Three Cardinals reached double figures in scoring, led by 18 points from Brittany Carter. Shelbie Justice notched a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Nathalie Fontaine tallied 12 points and corralled seven boards. Ball State made it to the charity stripe nearly twice as much as the Green and White, shooting 18-of-33 for 54.5 percent. From the floor, BSU made 37.5 percent of its attempts (21-of-56), including 10-of-26 from beyond the arc. The Cardinals controlled the boards throughout the night, out-rebounding EMU, 51-40.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000: Senior Natachia Watkins has scored 976 points in her career and is 19th all time for EMU. There are currently 17 players in the 1,000-point club for EMU women's basketball.

CHA CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Leading the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game, freshman Cha Sweeney is making her mark in her first season as an Eagle. With 379 points thus far in 2013-14, the EMU guard is ranked fourth in the EMU record books for most points scored by a freshman. She is just 15 points away from surpassing Holly Mitchell for third on the all-time list.
EMU great Tavelyn James scored 426 points throughout the 2008-09 season to top that freshman scoring chart. However, at her current pace, Sweeney will de-throne James' freshman total. If she remains averaging 15.8 points per game for the rest of the season, the Toledo, Ohio native will have at least 470 points by season's end, flying past the record-setting mark put up by James.

MAC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES: Freshmen Cha Sweeney and Janay Morton are both making a strong candidacy for the MAC Freshman of the Year award. The two are the only freshmen ranked inside the league's top-20 in scoring; Sweeney is seven in the MAC, averaging a team-best 15.8 points a game while ranking eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and ninth in steals (1.8). Meanwhile, Morton cracks the rankings in three-pointers made (3rd - 2.2), scoring (10th - 14.0 ppg), and free-throw percentage (12th - 77.6). No EMU student-athlete has won the award since Alyssa Pittman claimed the honor following the 2006-07 campaign.

JUST TWO HOME GAMES REMAIN: The Eagles will hit the Convocation Center floor just twice more in the 2013-14 regular season. The Green and White host Northern Illinois, March 2, before taking on Central Michigan, March 8, in a senior day affair.

CLOSE BUT NOT QUITE: Central Michigan and Bowling Green have proved so far to be the class of the Mid-American Conference since moving into conference play. The Eagles showed they were able to hang with both programs, holding 13-point first half leads against both opponents.
Eastern Michigan led the Chippewas by a score of 16-3 early in the Jan. 30 contest at McGuirk Arena. CMU would eventually take the contest by a score of 82-67. The Eagles also raced out to a quick 21-8 edge to begin the Feb. 15 contest against Bowling Green; however, EMU was unable to hold on as the Falcons claimed a 61-56 victory at the Convocation Center.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK: For the sixth consecutive year, the Eagles have had their starting point guard distribute at least 100 assists in a season. Desyree Thomas dished out six helpers against Bowling Green, Feb. 15, to pass the mark for the third consecutive time after posting 135 last year and 174 in 2011-12.

NORTHWEST OHIO COMES TO YPSI: Eastern Michigan has long had a history of pulling student-athletes from Northwest Ohio, but Head Coach Tory Verdi has taken it to a whole new level. The Eagles feature three products from the Toledo area including Olivia Fouty (Sylvania Northview), KaBria Walker (Toledo Rogers) and Cha Sweeney (Toledo Rogers). The three have combined for 28.6 percent of the team's rebounds and 35.4 percent of its offense.

YOUTH BEING SERVED: Heading into the 2013-14 campaign, Head Coach Tory Verdi knew he would be leading a very young team this season as the Eagles welcomed eight newcomers to the roster. In 24 games, the newcomers have combined for 54.2 percent (1,006 points) of the squad's offense.

INTERESTING STATS ABOUT EMU: In its 14 victories this season, EMU has scored 84.2 points while the opposition has posted 63.5 points. In those games, opponents shot 37.6 percent from the field compared to 41.4 percent for the Eagles. In the defeats, the Eagles have only posted 67.5 points, while giving up 78.6. Another factor in the Eagles' success has been the ability to control the glass. EMU has grabbed 46.9 rebounds in the wins while forcing opponents to turn the ball over 23 times. In the losses, the Green and White are -12.5 on the glass (39.4 to 51.9).

HOLDING ON TO THE ROCK: Eastern has forced opponents to turn the ball over 184 more times (506 to 316) for a turnover margin of +7.9. If this stands, EMU will have shattered its previous best of +6.00 during the 2011-12 campaign.

TOP FRESHMEN SCORERS: Cha Sweeney and Janay Morton are two of just 15 freshmen ranked nationally in the NCAA's top 250 scorers. The first-year players include: Chrishae Rowe, Oregon (23.0), Kelsey Plum, Washington (19.7), Sara Dickey, Evansville (18.2), Kaela Davis, Georgia Tech (18.0), Larryn Brooks, Indiana (17.0), Kaylah Keys, High Point (16.9), Diamond DeShields, North Carolina (16.8), Jasmine Nwajei, Wagner (16.5), Sweeney (15.7), Fanni Szabo, Dartmouth (15.4), Erica Williams, Winthrop (15.3), Amanda Zahui B., Minnesota (15.0), Nia Coffey, Northwestern (14.9), Tiasha Gray, Austin Peay (14.8) and Morton (14.5).

BACK ON DEFENSE: In wins over Kent State, Feb. 6, and Ohio, Feb. 9, the Eagles got back to their defensive roots limiting opponents to an average of just 56.0 points per game. EMU also was able to create 43 turnovers while staying close to even on the glass (35.0 to 36.0).
The 55-point output by Ohio, Feb. 9, was the fewest points the Eagles had allowed since Dec. 22, 2013, against Monmouth. Meanwhile, the Kent State game marked the first time in Mid-American Conference play that the Eagles had gone to the free throw line more than the opposition.

TOO SHORT?: Standing at just 5-foot-2, Cha Sweeney might have been labeled coming out of high school as someone too short to play Division I basketball. The Toledo, Ohio product has so far proved those critics wrong, as she ranks 184h nationally in scoring and is the shortest player ranked nationally inside the top 250 scorers.
Sweeney joins Longwood's Daeisha Brown (15.9 ppg), Ole Miss' Valencia McFarland (16.0 ppg) and Nicholls State's Emani White (18.9 ppg) as the only four players nationwide to average 15-or-more points a contest and be 5-foot-4 or shorter.

SEEKING 20/20 VISION: One of Head Coach Tory Verdi's goals with the team's uptempo offense is to create more possessions and to put up 20-or-more shots than the opposition. The Eagles have accomplished that feat on five occasions, including taking a season-best 33 more shots than Marygrove, Nov. 30. The Eagles have been close to the goal in three other games, most recently taking 18 more field goal attempts than Buffalo, Jan. 18.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 46 of the last 70 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 67.3 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 140-68 all-time mark.

WESTERN MICHIGAN ON THE HORIZON: The Wednesday, Feb. 26, contest marks the 76th meeting between the Western Michigan Broncos and Eastern Michigan Eagles, who first played during the 1976-77 season. EMU leads the all-time series, 44-31, and has won 16 of the last 19 meetings. In the first meeting this season at the Convocation Center, the Eagles fended off the Broncos with an 83-77 victory, Jan. 15. Five Eagles reached double figures, led by 20 points from freshman Cha Sweeney. Fellow Toledo native Olivia Fouty followed with 14 points, while Desyree Thomas and Janay Morton each contributed 11.
Last season, Eastern took both regular season meetings, but Western eliminated the Eagles with an 80-72 victory in the MAC Tournament First Round at the Convocation Center, March 9, 2013.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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