Vaqueros Come to Ypsilanti for Saturday Matinee

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- After cruising to a 17-point victory in the season-opener, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team remains at home Saturday, Nov. 21, for a matinee against the Vaqueros of the University of Texas Rio Grand Valley. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
   Eastern Michigan is 1-0 on the year following a 94-77 defeat of Hillsdale College, Nov. 17. Meanwhile, UTRGV will be playing its fifth contest of 2015-16 and is 3-1 after blasting Concordia, 90-44, and Texas Lutheran, 90-38, at home in Edinburg, Texas.
   The contest will be shown on ESPN3. WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Chad Bush and Greg Steiner calling the action on the court.

HISTORY AGAINST UTRGV: The Eagles will host the Vaqueros for the second chapter in a rivalry that began last season in Texas. Previously known as Texas Pan American, the then-Broncs came out on top, 81-75, Nov. 22, 2014. Three Eagles reached double-digits in scoring, however, 26 turnovers plagued the Green and White, sending them home with a defeat.

GRAB THAT FREQUENT TRAVELER REWARDS INFO: Following Saturday's game, the Eagles will play just once more at home over the next month span with games in six different states. In total, the Eagles will log 4,934 miles over the next 27 days. EMU's lone home contest is a Tuesday, Dec. 1, affair against Oral Roberts, while also playing just 22 miles away from campus at Madonna University, Dec. 18.
   Last year, the Eagles posted an 8-8 mark in road contests.

TURKEY CONNECTION AND IT'S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING: Saturday's contest will pit a pair of standouts from the country of Turkey as EMU's Sera Ozelci (Ankara, Turkey-TED Ankara College-Odessa College) and UTRGV's Idil Türk (Istanbul, Turkey-Bodwell) square off. The two cities are separated by 449 kilometers (279 miles).
   The contest is believed by some media reports to be the first NCAA Division I women's basketball game to pit two players from that country against each other.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000: Junior Janay Morton has scored 898 points in her career and is 25th all-time for EMU. There are currently 19 players in the 1,000-point club for EMU women's basketball, including junior Cha Sweney, who joined the elite group last season.
   When Morton reaches 1,000 she and Sweeney will become just the fourth EMU combo of millennium scorers to play together. Laurie Byrd and Denise Allen first accomplished the feat during the 1981-82 campaign, Ryan Coleman and Nikki Knapp followed it up in 2005-06, and most recently Tavelyn James and Paige Reddit did so in 2011-12.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 63 of the last 83 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 68.0 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 157-74 all-time mark.

EMU VERSUS THE LONE STAR STATE: Saturday's meeting with UTRGV will mark just the second match up between the two teams in the history of the programs. However, Eastern Michigan has gone up against teams from the Lone Star State on seven different occasions, holding a 1-6 overall record. The Green and White's lone win came against Lamar University, Nov. 22, 2003, when the Eagles dispatched the Cardinals 90-46 at the Convocation Center.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE WAC: Eastern Michigan is 14-3 all-time versus the Englewood, Colo. based Western Athletic Conference, having played against four of the eight member institutions. EMU is 10-0 against Chicago State, 4-1 versus UMKC, and 0-1 against both Seattle and UTRGV.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE VAQUEROS: Texas Rio Grande Valley comes to the Convocation Center sporting a 3-1 record as winners of their last three contests. After falling in their season opener, the Vaqueros topped California Polytechnic State University, 66-58, before making quick work of Concordia University (90-44) and Texas Lutheran (90-38). With their last two wins coming at home, the Vaqueros stop in Ypsilanti will open a seven-game road trip.
       Shawnte' Goff and Mary Savoy have fueled the Vaqueros on both ends of the court through the teams first four games. A guard, Goff directs the UTRGV offense from the point. Averaging 5.0 assists per game, Goff leads the Vaqueros with 18.8 points per game. Strong from beyond the arc, Goff stretches the floor, making room for Savoy in the post. While Savoy has been strong offensively, scoring 16.3 points per game, she's one of UTRGV's top defensive assets. Grabbing 12.5 boards per game, Savoy also leads the team in steals (4.0) and blocks (1.25) per game.
   As a team, UTRGV averages 76.2 points per game while their tenacious defense has held opponents to 52.5 points per contest. Offensively, the Vaqueros have shot 40.2 percent from the floor, including 77.8 percent from the charity stripe.

PESKY FULL COURT PRESS: The Eagles full court press caused Hillsdale fits when the teams met, Nov. 17. The Green and White forced the Chargers into 20 turnovers in the contest. Juniors Phillis Webb and Janay Morton led EMU's defensive effort, collecting three steals each. Winning the turnover battle, the Eagles turned Hillsdale's 20 miscues into 17 points.

EAGLES OUTLAST HILLSDALE IN SEASON OPENER: Despite a slow start in the first quarter, Eastern Michigan battled its way to a 94-77 victory over Hillsdale in its 2015-16 season opener at the Convocation Center, Tuesday Nov. 17.
   Junior Cha Sweeney led the Eagles in scoring on the day with 25 points, while also dishing out a game-high seven assists. Fellow juniors Phillis Webb and Janay Morton had 18 and 16 points respectively.

BALDWIN'S DEBUT: When Chanise Baldwin decided to fulfill her last season of eligibility at Eastern Michigan, the Eagles knew their post game was immediately strengthened. In her EMU debut, Baldwin scored six points in 22 minutes of action while adding a team-high three blocks and seven rebounds. Baldwin's physical style of play in the post will aide the Eagles rebounding game throughout the season.

EMU VERSUS THE MAC: This is EMU's 35th season competing in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles hold a 256-310 record against conference foes and have posted winning seasons in the MAC in 12 of the last 15 campaigns. EMU has had the most success against Northern Illinois, going 32-12, and the least versus Bowling Green, 15-49. Western Michigan has been the Green and White's most frequent opponent with 78 meetings, while Buffalo holds the distinction of the fewest conference games against the Eagles with 22.

ON THE HORIZON: Following this weekend's match up with UTRGV, the Eagles will trek to Lexington, Ky. for a mid-week clash with the No. 13 ranked University of Kentucky Wednesday, Nov. 25. The Wildcats mark the lone ranked team on the 2015-16 slate for the Eagles.
   The teams will be meeting for just the second time and the first since the 2005 Postseason WNIT when UK notched a 79-68 decision in the tournament's first round, March 18. In that game, Ryan Coleman set the EMU postseason record with 30 points as she connected on 12-of-24 shots, including five three-pointers.

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Players Mentioned

Chanise Baldwin

Janay Morton

Sera Ozelci

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics