Eagles Look to Sweep the Regular Season Series With the Broncos

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EAGLES LOOK TO SWEEP THE REGULAR SEASON SERIES WITH THE BRONCOS: With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team travels west to Kalamazoo, Mich. Wednesday, Feb. 26, for a Mid-American Conference West Division tilt versus Western Michigan University. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at University Arena.
The Eagles enter the game with a mark of 15-10 (5-9 MAC) after a two-point victory at Ball State University, Feb. 23. Meanwhile, the Broncos are 11-14 (7-7 MAC) following a 60-59 road victory at the University of Toledo, Feb. 23.

FINDING THE GAME ON YOUR RADIO DIAL: With the EMU men's basketball team at home Wednesday, 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 6:50 p.m. on EMUEagles.com/showcase.

ALL-TIME AGAINST WMU: Wednesday's 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.

EAGLES FIND UNIVERSITY ARENA TO THEIR LIKING: Eastern has won nine of the last 11 meetings in Kalamazoo dating back to the 2002-03 campaign. During this stretch, the Eagles have won by an average of nearly nine points a game (EMU 71.1, WMU 62.4).

CHA CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Leading the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game, freshman Cha Sweeney is making her mark in her first season as an Eagle. With 399 points thus far in 2013-14, the EMU guard is ranked third in the EMU record books for most points scored by a freshman. She is just 19 points away from surpassing Ryan Coleman for second 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 16.0 points per game for the rest of the season, the Toledo, Ohio native will have at least 480 points by season's end, flying past the record-setting mark put up by James.

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 984 points, 610 rebounds, 172 steals and 142 assists in 108 career games.
Watkins needs 16 points 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).

IN THE CLUTCH: The Eagles have been solid this season as the clock has headed under five minutes to play in games. Eastern Michigan is 13-0 when leading as the clock headed under five minutes, while picking up a victory at Ball State, Feb. 23, when the teams were tied.
In the last five minutes of action, the Eagles have made 74.8 percent (98-of-131) of its free throw attempts. Freshman Cha Sweeney has been called upon the most in clutch situations, going 23-of-27 from the charity stripe during this span. Most recently, Sweeney made one-of-two tosses with three seconds to play to help seal the win at BSU, Feb. 23. Freshman Janay Morton has also made just as much of an impact, making 8-of-15 three-point attempts, including a triple to force overtime against Butler, Nov. 13.

FAMILIAR FACES: A pair of familiar faces will be on the Western Michigan bench Wednesday in Head Coach Shane Clipfell and Director of Operations Stephanie Smiley. In the nine seasons at Eastern Michigan, Clipfell helped build the Eagles into one of the top programs in the MAC. EMU compiled a record of 160-103 (.608), including three 20-win seasons and three postseason appearances. Meanwhile, Smiley was a three-time All-MAC selection at Eastern Michigan and a Kodak All-American Honorable Mention as a senior in 2002. Smiley still holds the EMU's record for career assists with 577 and is second all-time in rebounding with 784.

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 seventh in the MAC, averaging a team-best 16.0 points a game while ranking 10th in steals (1.8), 12th in three-pointers made (1.6) and 13th in assists (3.0) . Meanwhile, Morton cracks the rankings in three-pointers made (3rd - 2.2), free-throw percentage (11th - 77.6) and scoring (14th - 13.6 ppg). No EMU student-athlete has won the award since Alyssa Pittman claimed the honor following the 2006-07 campaign.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000: Senior Natachia Watkins has scored 984 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.
Watkins became the 13th member of the 600 rebound club when she collected 12 boards at Ball State, Feb. 23.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE: In the first meeting of the year against Ball State, Jan. 9, the Cardinals escaped with a 70-66 victory after out-rebounding the Eagles by 11 (40 to 51). The second meeting featured the Eagles holding a slim one carom edge on the glass (41 to 40) and a two-point margin in the score book with the 62-60 victory.
Additionally, BSU combined to go to the free throw line 32 more times (54 to 22) than EMU.

DOUBLE VISION: In just 25 games during her brief career, freshman Cha Sweeney has reached double figures in points on 22 occasions. The Toledo, Ohio, native has scored 20 or more in seven of those contests. Sweeney has notched at least 10 points in each of the last 15 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 proven 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 8-7 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 26.6 percent (84-of-316) 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 sixth in turnover margin, seventh in steals, 36th in assist-to-turnover, 35th in scoring offense and 40th in fewest turnovers

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. 8 seed for the tournament, hosting No. 9-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.

INTERESTING STATS ABOUT EMU: In its 15 victories this season, EMU has scored 82.7 points while the opposition has posted 63.3 points. In those games, opponents shot 37.4 percent from the field compared to 41.5 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 46.5 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).

FOR THREE!: The Eagles are on a torrid pace from the outside this season. EMU has already posted 601 three-point attempts in 2013-14, making 176 of them. The Green and White tossed out a season-high 37 three-point tries against UMKC, Dec. 7, the second-most in program history. EMU is on pace for 721 attempts, which would shatter the single-season record of 630 set during the 1999-2000 campaign. Last season, EMU made 98 of its 358 three-point attempts.

PASSING 2,000: Given their current place, the Eagles should pass the 2,000 point plateau for the eighth time in program history. EMU needs just 84 points to reach 2,000. However, the record for most points averaged by a Mid-American Conference team is safe considering the 1990-91 Kent State Golden Flashes scored at a rate of 93.6 ppg.

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.

HOLDING ON TO THE ROCK: Eastern has forced opponents to turn the ball over 185 more times (524 to 339) for a turnover margin of +7.7. If this stands, EMU will have shattered its previous best of +6.00 during the 2011-12 campaign.

LAST TIME EMU AND WMU PLAYED: The Eagles snapped a two-game losing skid with an 83-77 victory over in-state rival Western Michigan University in a Mid-American Conference battle at the Convocation Center, 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. In addition to Thomas' 11 points, she added six first-half steals, and Natachia Watkins recorded a double-double with 10 points and a team-best 13 rebounds. As a team, the Green and White shot 45.1 percent from the floor (32-of-71), making seven three-pointers that included a 6-of-10 clip from long range in the second half. The Eagles sank 12-of-20 from the free throw line and controlled the rebounds, 45-42. Eastern also forced 17 turnovers, leading to 21 points.
Western Michigan also had balanced scoring throughout the night, led by Miracle Woods' 14 points as the forward converted 10-of-10 from the stripe. Marquisha Harris collected 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while A.J. Johnson and Alex Morton scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Broncos made 27 of their 70 field goals (38.6 percent), while they struggled from beyond the arc (5-of-17), they found success at the line by sinking 18-of-20. Nearly half of WMU's points came from inside the paint, mustering 38 from inside the area.

HUSKIES ON THE HORIZON: The Sunday, March 2, contest marks the 41st meeting between the Northern Illinois Huskies and Eastern Michigan Eagles, who first played during the 1981-82 season. Eastern leads the overall series, 30-10, and has won 25 of the last 29 games over the Cardinal and Black.
However, NIU cruised to a 77-54 victory in DeKalb, Ill. Jan. 12. The loss marked the first time the Green and White has fallen to the Huskies since Jan. 17, 2009, when the Eagles were defeated, 69-62, in DeKalb.
Freshman Janay Morton led the entire EMU offense as she netted 13 points on the afternoon, while Cha Sweeney and Natachia Watkins each added 11 to the Eagle effort. Redshirt-junior Oliva Fouty was a force on the boards, grabbing nine defensive rebounds and one offensive rebound, while Watkins pulled down six boards. The Green and White struggled offensively, as the squad shot 29.5 percent from the floor for the contest. Meanwhile, the Huskies managed a 48.3 shooting percentage and a 30-point performance from Amanda Corral to propel them to its second conference victory.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Eagles Look to Sweep the Regular Season Series With the Broncos

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