Women's Basketball Back Home Tuesday Against Oral Roberts

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- On the heels of its first loss of the 2015-16 campaign, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team will return home to the Convocation Center for a tilt with Oral Roberts University, Tuesday, Dec. 1.
   The Eagles are 2-1 on the season following an 89-67 setback at the hands of No. 11/12 Kentucky. Eastern Michigan fought the Wildcats hard, holding a lead late in the third quarter but faded as their upset bid fell short. Oral Roberts is 2-4 after dropping three straight contests to Little Rock (L, 52-66), Oklahoma State (L, 55-59) and Michigan (L, 44-61).
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 where Ryan Wooley will provide the play-by-play and Greg Steiner will add analysis. There will be no radio coverage of the game due to the men's team also playing at the same time on the road at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

SWIPER KEEPS SWIPING: Through Eastern Michigan's first three contests, junior Janay Morton ranks fifth in the nation in steals per game, tallying 4.33 swipes per contest. The Brooklyn Park, Minn. product recorded a career-high seven steals against Texas Rio Grande Valley (Nov. 21) while adding three against Hillsdale (Nov. 17) and No. 11/12 Kentucky (Nov. 25).

GRAB THAT FREQUENT TRAVELER REWARDS INFO: The Eagles will play just once more at home over the next 22 days with games in six different states. In total, the Eagles will log 2,712 miles over the next 24 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.

A LOOK AT THE CONFERENCE LEADERS: Eastern Michigan has positioned itself near the top of multiple statistical categories in the Mid-American Conference as of Nov. 30. Let's take a look...
    Player   Category   Rank   Number
   EMU   Turnovers Per Game   1st   12.0 (16th nationally)
   EMU   Turnover Margin    1st   +7.00 (21st nationally)
   EMU   Assist Turnover Ratio   1st   1.11 (48th nationally)
   EMU   Scoring Offense   2nd   79.7 (37th nationally)
   EMU   Steals Per Game   3rd   9.7 (81st nationally)
   EMU   Three-Point Field Goals Per Game    3rd   7.7 (49th nationally)
   Janay Morton   Assist Turnover Ratio   1st   +3.25 (30th nationally)
   Janay Morton   Steals Per Game   1st   4.33 (fifth nationally)
   Chanise Baldwin   Blocks Per Game   2nd   2.0 (59th nationally)

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Eastern Michigan and Oral Roberts will meet for the second-time in program history with the first meeting coming last season. The Golden Eagles defeated EMU, 63-62, in Tulsa, Okla., Dec. 6, 2014. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Green and White. Cha Sweeney led EMU in the loss, scoring 20 points while adding seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
   Shannise Heady hit both her free throws with 1:36 to play to a deadlock the score at 60-all. ORU took the slight edge once more with a Vicky McIntyre layup and extended the lead to three with a free throw by Jordan Gilbert, but the Green and White kept fighting back and cut the deficit to one point with a short jumper by Phillis Webb with 13 seconds still showing. Following a time out, Jamaica Bucknor stripped the ball with 11 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, Cha Sweeney's shot was off target as Oral Roberts escaped with the one-point victory.

VERDI VERSUS THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: The Eagles have squared off against Summit League institutions just twice under the direction of Head Coach Tory Verdi. Eastern Michigan came up empty in each contest, owning a 0-2 mark against the Elmhurst, Ill. based conference, falling a point shy of victory in each contest. Verdi's first meeting with a Summit League school came during the 2012-13 season when the Eagles fell to South Dakota State, 66-65, Dec. 4, 2012, in Brookings, S.D. Verdi and the Green and White's second meeting came last season in Tulsa, Okla. where the Eagles fell, 63-62.

A CLOSER LOOK AT ORAL ROBERTS: The Golden Eagles sit at 2-4 on the season after falling in their last three contests. Oral Roberts opened the season with an 89-46 drubbing of Evangel before notching their second win of the season over Tulsa (59-53).
   Bria Pitts and Faith Ihim have led ORU so far this season as the only two Golden Eagles averaging double digit scoring. Pitts, a sophomore transfer from Arkansas, leads the way with 12.0 points per contest while the hot shooting guard shoots 42.1 percent from beyond the arc and 47.2 percent from the floor. Ihim has made a living in the paint, boasting a 58.8 field goal percentage. Averaging 11.7 points per game, Ihim leads the team in rebounds per game (6.3) and steals (14).

EAGLES BATTLE NATIONALLY RANKED KENTUCKY: The Eagles hung with the nationally ranked Wildcats but ultimately could not overcome their hot shooting, falling 89-67 in the non-conference affair. Junior Janay Morton paced the Eagles, scoring a season-high 21 points while adding nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Fellow juniors Cha Sweeney and Phillis Webb joined Morton in double figures scoring, chipping in 15 and 10, respectively.
   Eastern Michigan led early in the third quarter but failed to hang on as the Wildcats' heated up from the floor. The Eagles forced Kentucky into 20 turnovers but shooting woes kept the Green and White from capitalizing on the miscues as the Eagles fell for the first time this season.

MORTON HAS HERSELF A DAY: Junior Janay Morton's strong start to the season continued in Lexington, Ky., Nov. 25, as the Brooklyn Park, Minn. product paced the Eagles on both ends of the floor. Tying a game-high with 21 points on the afternoon, Morton fell one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. She rounded out her day with five assists and three steals in 34 minutes of play.

IN THE ZONE: The 2-3 zone has became an Eastern Michigan staple under the direction of Head Coach Tory Verdi and for good reason. Through three games this season the Eagles' stout defensive effort has caused opponents fits, forcing them into 19.0 turnovers per game. Additionally, the Green and White swipe 9.7 steals per contest while holding a +7.0 turnover margin.

ON THE HORIZON: Following Tuesday's bout with Oral Roberts, the Eagles will hit the road for five straight. The Green and White open their road trip in USAF Academy, Colo., Dec. 4, against Air Force Academy for game one in the Air Force Tournament. Eastern Michigan will then take on Abilene Christian, Dec. 5, to close out the tournament.

EMU AND THE IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT: The Eagles have fared extremely well in there last two in-season tournaments under Head Coach Tory Verdi. The Eagles are 4-0 in those contests with an average margin if victory of 10.8 points a contest.
   In 2013-14, EMU went 2-0 at the Seawolves Holiday Classic in Stony Brook, N.Y., Dec. 21-22. The Eagles edged out Wagner, 69-56, and Monmouth, 64-53. Last year, Eastern Michigan downed Cal State Fullerton, 78-74, and Weber State, 57-42, at the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic in Las Cruces, N.M., Nov. 28-29.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 64 of the last 84 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 68.1 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 158-74 all-time mark.

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Players Mentioned

Chanise Baldwin

Jamaica Bucknor

Shannise Heady

Janay Morton

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics