Women's Basketball Opens 2015-16 Campaign Against Hillsdale

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Coming off a 'Sweet Sixteen' run in the 2015 WNIT, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team opens the 2015-16 slate against NCAA Division II member, Hillsdale College, Tuesday, Nov. 17. Tipping off the campaign in the friendly confines of the Convocation Center, the Eagles will be in search of a seventh consecutive season-opening victory.
   Tuesday night's contest will serve as the lidlifter for both squads, as the Chargers and Eagles take the court with clean records (0-0). The Eagles are led by fourth-year Head Coach Tory Verdi while the Chargers will play under first-year Head Coach Todd Mitmesser.
   Fans can catch the game on WEMU (89.1 FM) beginning 10 minutes prior to tipoff with Chad Bush and Greg Steiner on the radio call. ESPN3 will also televise the non-conference affair.

HISTORY AGAINST HILLSDALE: Tuesday night's game will mark the second contest between the Eagles and Hillsdale in series history. Eastern Michigan won the inaugural match up, 77-56, Nov. 25, 2014. Four players reached double-digit scoring in the game with Janay Morton (20), Cha Sweeney (15), and Phillis Webb (12) leading the way.

HOW THE EAGLES STACK UP AGAINST NON-DIVISION I TEAMS: The Eagles have squared off against non-Division I opponents six times under Head Coach Tory Verdi's watch, sporting a perfect 6-0 record against them. Additionally, the Green and White have won by an average of 48.5 points per contest. This season, Verdi and the Eagles will take on Hillsdale of the NCAA Division II ranks and NAIA opponent, Madonna.

STARTING FIVE REMAINS INTACT: All five starters from last year's season finale against Southern Mississippi return for the 2015-16 campaign with hopes of building off of last season's 24-win season. Seniors Rachel Kehoe and Sara Ozelci are joined by juniors Janay Morton, Cha Sweeney, and Phillis Webb, all of whom return with plenty of starts under their belts. The Green and White are the only Mid-American Conference squad to benefit from an intact starting lineup from last season. Ball State, Buffalo, Miami, and Toledo each return four of five starters.
   Nationally, the Eagles are one of 25 teams to benefit from five starters returning for this season. The Atlantic 10 returns the most, as Davidson, Rhode Island, Saint Louis, and VCU bring back their starting lineups from a season ago. Additionally, the Eagles will match up with Abilene Christian who is the lone team in the Southland Conference to return all five starters from last season. EMU and Abilene Christian are slated to meet at the Air Force Tournament in USAF Academy, Colo., Dec. 5.

SEASON OPENERS UNDER VERDI: The Eagles are 3-0 in season openers with Tory Verdi at the helm, out-scoring opponents, 278-139. With an average margin of victory of 69.5 points per game, the Eagles have scored twice as many points as their opponents in season openers under Verdi.

AGAINST IN-STATE SCHOOLS: Eastern Michigan has had great success against other collegiate programs in the state of Michigan over the past 12 seasons. Since the beginning of the 2002-03 season, the Eagles are 57-26 (68.6 winning percentage) against in-state rivals.

EMU VERSUS FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACHES: The 2015-16 schedule pits the Eagles against four teams under new leadership this season as Hillsdale, Detroit, Northern Illinois, and Air Force enter the season with new coaches at the helm. In 37 games last season, the Eagles did not face a first-year head coach.

THE COMFORTS OF THE CONVO: Tuesday night's match up with Hillsdale opens the home portion of Eastern Michigan's schedule in addition to serving as its regular season opener. The non-conference clash is one of 13 games the Eagles will play in the Convocation Center this season, including nine Mid-American Conference contests and a date with neighboring, University of Michigan.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CHARGERS: Hillsdale opens the 2015-16 campaign in the Convocation Center against the Eagles, officially beginning the Todd Mitmesser era. The Chargers will open the season with nine underclassmen on their roster and without a duo that fueled them to a 15-12 mark a season ago.
   Losing Megan Fogt and Kadie Lowery, the Chargers are without their top shooters from last season. Fogt led Hillsdale in points per game (13.1) and rebounds per game (9.1), the only Charger to post a double-digit scoring average. Lowery's impact came from beyond the arc where the spot-up shooter made 40-of-110 three-pointers, good for a .364 field goal percentage from deep. Additionally, Lowery topped the Chargers in assists, handing out two per game.
   This season, the Chargers will turn to Morgan Blair, Ashlyn Landherr, and Kelsey Cromer. A dual point guard alongside Lowery, Blair averaged 8.8 points and 2.0 assist per game for the Chargers last season, the top of all returners for Hillsdale. Landherr and Cromer return with a significant amount of starts under their belts. Landherr played 21 minutes a game as a junior, while Cromer added 6.0 points per game in 18.5 minutes of action per contest.

GLANCING BACK AT LAST YEAR'S SEASON OPENER: The 2014-15 EMU women's basketball team broke multiple program records in the Eagles' dominating 127-40 win over Kent State-Tuscarawas, Nov. 14, 2014. The 127 points by the Green and White were the most scored in program history, eclipsing the 120 points Eastern scored last season, Nov. 30, 2013, in a 120-35 victory against Marygrove. Throughout the contest, EMU attempted 99 shots from the floor to tie a school record that occurred in that same game against Marygrove last year. Out of the 99 field goals, the Eagles sank a record 57 of them, smashing the previous program high of 46 versus Temple Baptist, Nov. 11, 2007.
    All three records were also Convocation Center records, home of the EMU Eagles. In individual performances, freshman Sasha Dailey tied a Convocation Center best with nine steals. The best steals performance on the Eagles' home floor is also shared by Monica Albano and Shawnita Garland, formerly of Loyola-Chicago and Cleveland State, respectively, and EMU all-time great Tavelyn James.

TALENTED TRIO SET TO CAPTAIN EAGLES: Juniors Cha Sweeney, Janay Morton, and Phillis Webb will serve as team captains for the Green and White in 2015-16. In 37 games last season, at least one of the members of the talented trio led the Eagles in scoring 30 times.

MORTON APPROACHING 1000 POINT MARK: Junior Janay Morton opens her junior season with 882 points, 118 shy of the 1,000 point mark. If Morton accomplishes the feat, she'll be the 20th to do so in the program's history. Additionally, she'll join teammate Cha Sweeney to break into four-digits in scoring.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 62 of the last 82 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 67.8 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 156-74 all-time mark.

MR. ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD: Junior Cha Sweeney is joined by two former Rogers High School teammates – sophomore guard Sasha Dailey and sophomore forward Tori Easley. The two freshmen bring the total number of Rogers alumni to four with senior forward KaBria Walker returning to Eastern this season. Nationally, EMU was 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.

WALKER SURPASSES ALL MARKS FROM 2013-14 SEASON: Senior KaBria Walker returns for her senior season after a junior campaign in which she displayed improvements in every statistical category. Walker surpassed her marks from the previous season just seven games into 2014-15, proving to be a weapon for the Eagles off the bench. Suiting up for her final season donning the Green and White, Walker will look to improve last year's 52.8 field goal percentage as well as increase her point and rebound production.

LONG DISTANCE LOVE: The Eagles attempted 696 three-pointers during the 2014-15 campaign, the second most in the Mid-American Conference. Boasting the fourth-best field goal percentage from beyond the arc (32.0 percent), the Eagles drained 223 of their long distance shots, the second most in the MAC.
   Fortunately for the Green and White a trio of sharp shooters return for the 2015-16 season. Senior Sera Olzeci has built her career around her sound shooting performances and enters her final year at Eastern Michigan on the heels of a junior season in which she made 45-of-134 attempts. Juniors Cha Sweeney and Janay Morton round out the Eagles' three-headed monster, as each knocked down more than 60 three-pointers last year.

BALDWIN BOLSTERS EAGLES POST GAME: Transferring to Eastern Michigan prior to the 2014-15 season, senior Chanise Baldwin will suit up in the Green and White for the first time when the Eagles tipoff the season. Prior to joining the Eagles, Baldwin started 30 games for Providence with three double-doubles to her credit. While EMU comes into the season without it's top two rebounders from a season ago, Baldwin pulled down 6.6 boards a contest in her final season with the Friars, highlighted by six double-digit rebounding games. Scoring 7.7 points per game as a junior, Baldwin adds to the Eagles game in the paint alongside senior Rachel Kehoe.

REPLACING BUCKNOR AND PUNI ON THE BOARDS: Brianna Puni and Jamaica Bucknor led the Eagles' rebounding efforts last season, pulling down 7.2 and 6.1 rebound per game, respectively. Losing their top two rebounders, the Eagles will rely heavily on senior center Rachel Kehoe and senior forwards KaBria Walker and Chanise Baldwin to control the glass.

EAGLES POWER PAST WAYNE STATE IN EXHIBITION GAME: Behind 19 points from junior Cha Sweeney, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team claimed a 70-43 exhibition game win over Wayne State University, Tuesday, Nov. 10. Despite the Eagle offense only shooting 34.4 percent, the Green and White defense gave the Warriors trouble throughout the game, as WSU only managed to shoot 27 percent.

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Players Mentioned

Chanise Baldwin

Jamaica Bucknor

Sasha Dailey

Tori Easley

Rachel Kehoe

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

KaBria Walker

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics