Eastern Renews the Rivalry with Toledo Saturday

TOLEDO, Ohio -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team hits the road Saturday, Jan. 24, for a Mid-American Conference contest against the University of Toledo. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.
   The Eagles enter the game with a 9-7 (2-3 MAC) record following back-to-back conference victories inside the Convocation Center. The Rockets are 11-6 overall (4-2 MAC) after outlasting Buffalo, 75-63, in overtime at home, Jan. 21.
   With the EMU men's basketball team also in action that day, the game will not be broadcast on WEMU (89.1 FM). Instead fans can catch veteran broadcaster Greg Steiner for free on Eagle All-Access starting at 1:50 p.m. The game will also be shown on ESPN3 as part of the campus connection initiative.

ALL-TIME VERSUS TOLEDO: Saturday's contest marks the 73rd meeting between Toledo and Eastern Michigan, who first met during the 1977-78 season. The Rockets lead the overall series, 45-27, including posting two victories during the 2013-14 campaign.
   The Green and White's last victory in the series occurred March 9, 2012, when the Eagles notched a 59-57 win in the semifinal round of the 2012 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. Toledo led by 10 points with 7:45 to play in the game, but the Eagles finished the contest on an 18-6 run. Paige Redditt notched the game-winning layup and added a free throw with less than 30 seconds left, as EMU would go on to upend Central Michigan the next day for the NCAA Tournament berth.

A DEFENSIVE EFFORT FOR THE AGES: To say the defense stood up to the challenge would be an understatement, as Eastern Michigan held Miami to a season-low 14 points in the first half of the conference contest, Jan. 21. The RedHawks 14 points rank tied for 16th-lowest in Convocation Center history for points in a period, while their 38 points for the game is 12th fewest in a single-game.
   Miami was held without a field goal for a total of 21:04 in a pair of scoring droughts during the contest. MU experienced a 10:06 swoon in the first half and the Eagles' defense locked down the RedHawks for another 10:58 in the second half. During the two runs, Miami was a combined 0-for-24 with 11 turnovers.

LOCKING DOWN THE REDHAWKS: The 38 points scored by Miami were not only a season-low allowed, but it also marked 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 38 points scored by the RedHawks were also the fewest ever put up by Miami in 54 all-time meetings between the two schools. The previous mark for offensive futility had been 45 points in a pair of EMU victories. EMU won 81-45 at the Convocation Center, Jan. 16, 1999, as well as posting    a 56-45 win in Oxford, Feb. 14, 2009.

ALLOWING 50 OR LESS: Eastern Michigan is 100-1 all time when allowing 50 points-or-less. Since 2003-04, the Green and White has accomplished the feat 56 times with 30 of those coming against Mid-American Conference foes.

STOP THIEF!: Eastern Michigan has returned to its familiar form swiping the basketball in its last two contests against Bowling Green, Jan. 17, and Miami, Jan. 21. EMU racked up 17 steals as a team in the victory over the Falcons while adding 16 against the RedHawks. Junior Shannise Heady grabbed nine steals in those two games, including a career-high five steals versus BGSU.    The aggressive style has forced the opposition to turn it over 44 times leading to 48 points-off-turnovers.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE: The Eastern Michigan defense has held four opponents to less than a 30.0 percent field goal percentage this season. The most recent occurrence came Jan. 21 against Miami, when the Eagles limited the RedHawks to a 23.4 percent clip in the win. EMU held Kent State-Tuscarawas to a season-low 22.8 percent in the season-opener while Weber State managed a 23.0 percent clip and Northern Illinois shot just 26.2 percent.
   Furthermore, seven of EMU's opponents have made less than four three-point field goals in a game this season.

EMU PICKS UP 150TH ALL-TIME WIN AT THE CONVO: Eastern Michigan grabbed its 150th all-time win inside the Convocation Center with a dominating 56-38 victory over Miami, Jan. 21. EMU has posted a 150-71 record inside the facility since it opened in 1998.
   The improvement of the team since moving to the Hewitt Road facility is dramatic, as the Eagles posted just 122 home victories in their 21 seasons prior playing at Bowen Field House. "The Old Barn" saw EMU record just a .344 winning percentage at home from 1976-98, while inside the Convo the Eagles have been winning at a .679 clip.

MR. ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD: Sophomore Cha Sweeney is joined by two former Rogers High School teammates – freshman guard Sasha Dailey and freshman forward Tori Easley. The two freshmen bring the total number of Rogers alumni to four with junior forward KaBria Walker returning to Eastern this season.
   Nationally, EMU is the only Division I women's program with four players from the same high school. Drexel University posts the next best mark with three teammates from Archbishop Carroll High School.

REBOUND THAT BASKETBALL!: EMU leads the Mid-American Conference in rebounding offense at 44.7 caroms per contest while also ranking third in rebounding margin at +3.2. Eastern is second in the league with an average of 16.0 offensive rebounds a game to go along with ranking second in defensive boards at 28.7.

THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF TELEVISION: Saturday's contest will be shown regionally on the Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN). EMU has posted a record of 0-2 this season on the small screen with both appearances on the Big Ten Network.

STRUGGLES IN SAVAGE: Despite being the Eagles' closest conference opponent at just 49 miles, the Toledo Rockets have dominated the all-time series with a 25-9 record inside Savage Arena.

INTERESTING STATS ABOUT EMU: In its nine victories this season, EMU is averaging 76.6 points while the opposition is posting just 56.6 points. In those games, opponents are shooting 33.8 percent from the field compared to 43.0 percent for the Eagles. In defeats, the Eagles are only scoring 57.9 points, while giving up 70.7. Another factor in the Eagles' success has been the ability to control the glass. EMU is grabbing 45.3 rebounds to just 38.4 for the opponents in the wins, while in setbacks the rebounding edge tracks in the opponents favor (EMU 43.9, OPP 45.4).

ROAD WARRIORS: Eastern Michigan has yet to taste victory on the road in 2014-15. EMU is 0-6 in true road contests, while the Eagles went 2-0 in a pair of neutral site games at New Mexico State University.
   The Eagles are part of 43 schools nationwide that have yet to win a road game, as EMU has lost eight straight dating back to last season. Overall, Arkansas-Pine Bluff holds the nation's longest road skid, having dropped its last 26 road dates.

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE: A total of 15 players have seen court time in EMU's games this season. Ten of those 15 players are averaging 10 minutes or more. Sophomore Cha Sweeney leads the way with 29.7 minutes per outing.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 57 of the last 74 home games dating back to the 2008-09 season. 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 67.9 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 150-71 all-time mark.

STARTER STABILITY: EMU is still looking for some continuity in its starting five, as the Eagles have rolled out 10 different starting lineups. EMU has not had a player start every game this season.

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Players Mentioned

Sasha Dailey

Tori Easley

Shannise Heady

Cha Sweeney

KaBria Walker

Eastern Michigan Athletics