Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, February 25
Muncie, Ind.
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
15-11 (8-7MAC)
56
at
41
Ball State
15-11 (11-4MAC)
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
21
35
56
Ball State
15
26
41
Photo by: EMU Athletics/Chloe Smith
Women's Basketball Defeats MAC West Leading Ball State, 56-41
2/25/2015 10:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Cardinal’s 41 points tied for the lowest point total ever by Ball State when facing off with Eastern Michigan.
Postgame Audio
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team picked up a Mid-American Conference road win over Ball State University Wednesday, Feb. 25. The Eagles (15-11, 8-7 MAC) defeated the MAC West leading Cardinals, 56-41, at John E. Worthen Arena in a mid-week contest.
The Cardinals' 41 points are tied for the lowest point total ever by Ball State when facing off with Eastern Michigan.
EMU shot 34.5 percent from the floor, making 20 shots, while make 12-of-19 free throws for a 63.2 percent clip. Sophomore Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) notched a game-best 17 points, while Brianna Puni (St. Charles, Mo.-Incarnate Word (Illinois State)) had a season-best 14 points and tied for a team-best seven rebounds. Also pulling down seven rebounds in the game were Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver (ASA College)) and Phillis Webb (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo). Webb pulled down all seven of her boards in the second half, four of which were offensive.
The Green and White edged out the Cardinals in rebounding, 47-41, while EMU forced BSU into 16 turnovers. However, Ball State held the advantage in blocks with seven, including three from Renee Bennett, while Eastern managed just one block from Sasha Dailey (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers).
Ball State ended the game with a 23.6 shooting percentage with Nathalie Fontaine scoring a team-best 12 points. Fontaine was the only Cardinal to notch double digit scoring, while Jill Morrison added nine points to the BSU scoring effort.
Neither team could seem to find an offensive rhythm on the court with the Eagles not reaching double-digits until Puni found an open layup in the paint with 8:22 remaining in the first half as EMU trailed, 11-10.
A three-pointer from Shelby Merder allowed Ball State to take the 13-11 lead, but EMU knotted the score shortly after with a jumper in the paint from Sweeney. Following a three-minute scoring drought, the Green and White went on an 8-2 run to close out the half with a 21-15 lead heading into the locker room.
Eastern was led by Sweeney, who tallied nine of the Eagles' 21 points in the first half, while Webb added six. Eastern shot just 29 percent in the first half, going 9-for-31 and were out-rebounded 24-22 in the first 20 minutes of action.
Ball State shot a mere 20.7 percent from the floor, making just 6-of-29 shot attempts, with Fontaine scoring a team-best eight points. Eastern held the advantage, scoring 12 points in the paint compared to the Cardinals' four, while the Eagles notched nine points off of turnovers.
EMU opened up the second half with an 8-5 run over the Cardinals to take an eight-point lead, 28-20, before neither team could find the basket for the next two minutes of action. As the teams matched basket-for-basket for the next three minutes, the EMU offense started to find a groove, going on a 9-1 run with 9:25 remaining in the contest to take a 41-26 lead over BSU.
The Eagles extended their lead to 11 with 5:17 left to play when Puni got position on the low block to make an easy layup to give EMU a 45-34 advantage with just over five minutes to play. A foul from Bennett brought Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) to the line, where she made both of her free throws to allow EMU to take the 47-34 lead with four minutes left to play.
In the closing minutes, Ball State attempted to come back, but the Eagle offense kept the Cardinals at bay, matching shot-for-shot before taking a 17-point lead, 55-38, on a Morton three with less than a minute to play. The Cardinals found three final points in the remaining 53 seconds, but it was not enough as EMU went on to a 56-41 victory inside John E. Worthen Arena.
EMU returns home to battle Northern Illinois University Saturday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team picked up a Mid-American Conference road win over Ball State University Wednesday, Feb. 25. The Eagles (15-11, 8-7 MAC) defeated the MAC West leading Cardinals, 56-41, at John E. Worthen Arena in a mid-week contest.
The Cardinals' 41 points are tied for the lowest point total ever by Ball State when facing off with Eastern Michigan.
EMU shot 34.5 percent from the floor, making 20 shots, while make 12-of-19 free throws for a 63.2 percent clip. Sophomore Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) notched a game-best 17 points, while Brianna Puni (St. Charles, Mo.-Incarnate Word (Illinois State)) had a season-best 14 points and tied for a team-best seven rebounds. Also pulling down seven rebounds in the game were Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver (ASA College)) and Phillis Webb (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo). Webb pulled down all seven of her boards in the second half, four of which were offensive.
The Green and White edged out the Cardinals in rebounding, 47-41, while EMU forced BSU into 16 turnovers. However, Ball State held the advantage in blocks with seven, including three from Renee Bennett, while Eastern managed just one block from Sasha Dailey (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers).
Ball State ended the game with a 23.6 shooting percentage with Nathalie Fontaine scoring a team-best 12 points. Fontaine was the only Cardinal to notch double digit scoring, while Jill Morrison added nine points to the BSU scoring effort.
Neither team could seem to find an offensive rhythm on the court with the Eagles not reaching double-digits until Puni found an open layup in the paint with 8:22 remaining in the first half as EMU trailed, 11-10.
A three-pointer from Shelby Merder allowed Ball State to take the 13-11 lead, but EMU knotted the score shortly after with a jumper in the paint from Sweeney. Following a three-minute scoring drought, the Green and White went on an 8-2 run to close out the half with a 21-15 lead heading into the locker room.
Eastern was led by Sweeney, who tallied nine of the Eagles' 21 points in the first half, while Webb added six. Eastern shot just 29 percent in the first half, going 9-for-31 and were out-rebounded 24-22 in the first 20 minutes of action.
Ball State shot a mere 20.7 percent from the floor, making just 6-of-29 shot attempts, with Fontaine scoring a team-best eight points. Eastern held the advantage, scoring 12 points in the paint compared to the Cardinals' four, while the Eagles notched nine points off of turnovers.
EMU opened up the second half with an 8-5 run over the Cardinals to take an eight-point lead, 28-20, before neither team could find the basket for the next two minutes of action. As the teams matched basket-for-basket for the next three minutes, the EMU offense started to find a groove, going on a 9-1 run with 9:25 remaining in the contest to take a 41-26 lead over BSU.
The Eagles extended their lead to 11 with 5:17 left to play when Puni got position on the low block to make an easy layup to give EMU a 45-34 advantage with just over five minutes to play. A foul from Bennett brought Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) to the line, where she made both of her free throws to allow EMU to take the 47-34 lead with four minutes left to play.
In the closing minutes, Ball State attempted to come back, but the Eagle offense kept the Cardinals at bay, matching shot-for-shot before taking a 17-point lead, 55-38, on a Morton three with less than a minute to play. The Cardinals found three final points in the remaining 53 seconds, but it was not enough as EMU went on to a 56-41 victory inside John E. Worthen Arena.
EMU returns home to battle Northern Illinois University Saturday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
Team Stats
EMU
BALLST
FG%
.345
.236
3FG%
.250
.192
FT%
.632
.588
RB
47
41
TO
14
16
STL
9
4
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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