Eagles Fly Past RedHawks, 56-38

Postgame Audio.

Highlights.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University's women's basketball team secured its second Mid-American Conference victory of the season, taking down Miami University in a 56-38 decision at the Convocation Center, Jan. 21. The Eagles improve to 9-7 (2-3 MAC) on the season, while Miami falls to 3-14 (0-6 MAC). The 38 points scored by Miami are not only a season-low for the team, but it also marks the lowest number of points allowed by the Green and White against a Division I opponent since the Eagles defeated Toledo, 54-33, Feb. 21, 2012.

The Eagles were led by Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) with 12 points and two steals, while Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) and Phillis Webb (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) each added nine points to their effort. On the boards, Brianna Puni (St. Charles, Mo.-Incarnate Word Academy (Illinois State)) and Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver (ASA College)) each grabbed seven rebounds, with Puni added a game-high two blocks to her stat line.

As a team, the Eagles shot 43.6 percent off 24-of-55 shooting from the field, and kept the RedHawks to just 11 field goals on 47 attempts, good for 23.4 percent. Eastern also hit 6-of-17 three-pointers for a 35.3 percent efficiency, and dominated the game in the paint, 24-10. The team was stealthy on defense, coming away with 16 steals while surrendering just five to the hands of the RedHawks. Shannise Heady (Hazel Crest, Ill.-Hillcrest (Seton Hall)) led the team in steals with four.

Miami was led by Kayla Brown with 11 points, and Jazz Smith added nine points after drilling three triples for her team. Hannah McCue led all players with eight rebounds as well as one block. The RedHawks held the edge in rebounding, 43-31, but were bested in paint points (24-10), points off turnovers (28-9), and fastbreak points (11-0).

Eastern found itself down early in the contest after Kayla Brown swished a jumper and a triple to give the RedHawks the 5-0 lead. However, Morton would duplicate Miami's opening points with a jump shot and a three-pointer of her own to knot the score at five apiece. The Green and White took the lead with a pair of points in the paint from Heady, establishing a 7-5 edge in 3:38 of regulation play.

The Eagles stifled Miami's offense during the next five minutes, only giving up a single point. Sweeney came alive in that span, hitting a pair of long balls while a short jumper from Webb put the Green and White up 15-6 with 11:05 remaining in the half.

Miami remained scoreless for three more minutes, until Jazz Smith hit a trey, but Sweeney retailed with a pair of pull-up jumpers, giving Eastern a comfortable 21-9 lead with 6:41 to play. The RedHawks posted five more points, the majority of which came from behind the charity stripe, while Webb added a last-second three-pointer to keep Eastern in the lead, 24-14 at the half.

Sweeney paced all players with 10 points in the opening half on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Webb and Morton each chipped in five points, while Webb added two steals to the defensive front. As a team, the Eagles were 10-of-26 from the field for a .385 clip, and scored 12 points off Miami's turnovers after swiping eight balls and forcing an additional four miscues.

Eastern and Miami traded baskets in the start of the second half, with the Eagles maintaining an 11-point lead over the RedHawks. Scoring came to a standstill for both teams until the 11:38 mark, when Webb hit a jumper off an inbound play. The play opened up more scoring opportunities for the Eagles, as Morton contributed a layup and-one and Bucknor broke downcourt for a fastbreak layup to give the team a 36-18 advantage with 10:41 to play.

Miami put an end to Eastern's 13-0 scoring run, which kept the RedHawks scoreless for 10 minutes, with four straight points by Kayla Brown in the paint. EMU's offense slowed slightly, receiving just four points from layups by Sweeney and Kabria Walker (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) before the pace of the game picked up after a triple by Smith. Heady chipped in a jumper, directly after which Sasha Dailey (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) snatched a steal and dished out to Sera Ozelci (Ankara, Turkey-TED Ankara College (Odessa College)) for a three-pointer that brought the entire Eagle bench to its feet in a robust applause. A pair of paint points by Heady gave the Eagles a 52-29 lead with 2:26 remaining.

The Eagles capped off the victory with two more buckets while Miami secured six more points from the free throw line and a three-pointer from Smith, bringing the final score to 56-38.

After a three-game MAC homestand, Eastern will make the short trip to Toledo, Ohio to take on the Rockets of the University of Toledo Saturday, Jan. 24. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m., and will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Next Event

Team Stats

Cha Sweeney

Janay Morton

Phillis Webb

Shannise Heady

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Sasha Dailey

Shannise Heady

Janay Morton

Sera Ozelci

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Sasha Dailey

Shannise Heady

Janay Morton

Sera Ozelci

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics