Home Slate Begins to Wind Down with Visit from NIU Saturday

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YPSILANTI, Mich. -- With another road victory under its belt against a division leader, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to the Convocation Center to open its final homestand of the 2014-15 season Saturday, Feb. 28, against Northern Illinois University. The Mid-American Conference West Division battle is scheduled for 2 p.m..
   The Eagles enter the game with a mark of 15-11 (8-7 MAC) after upending MAC West Division frontrunner Ball State 56-41, in Muncie, Ind., Feb. 25. The Huskies are 11-14 (7-8 MAC) following a 69-62 home victory over Central Michigan University to snap a four-game losing skid, Feb. 25.
       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 the game for on Eagle All-Access (emueagles.com/watch) beginning at 1:50 p.m. with Greg Steiner on the call.

STANDING TALL AGAINST THE LEADERS: After weathering an extremely emotional month, the Eagles have come closer together as a group and its paid massive dividends on the hardwood.
   The Eagles are the only team in the Mid-American Conference to have defeated both East Division champion Ohio University and West Division frontrunner Ball State this year. Furthermore, both of EMU's triumphs over the two leaders occurred on their hostile home courts.
   The Eagles downed the Bobcats, 73-61, in Athens, Ohio, Feb. 18, and exactly one week later shutdown the Cardinals, 56-41, in Muncie, Ind., Feb. 25.

CLIPPING THE CARDS: EMU picked up a road win over MAC West Division leader Ball State, as the Eagles downed the Cardinals, 56-41, at John E. Worthen Arena, Feb. 25. The Cards' 41 points were tied for the lowest offensive output ever by Ball State against Eastern Michigan. Coincidently, the then-Hurons notched an identical 56-41 decision in Munice in the only other time BSU has managed the point total, Jan. 23, 1993.
   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 notched a game-best 17 points, while Brianna Puni 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 and Phillis Webb. Webb pulled down all seven of her boards in the second half, four of which were offensive.

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT: Each season under Head Coach Tory Verdi the Eagles have taken steps to return to the programs's previous championship form. The 2014-15 squad is no different as the Green and White surpassed eight Mid-American Conference wins for the first time in three seasons under Verdi. His 2012-13 team went 6-10 in the league while last year the club was 7-11 in MAC play.
   EMU has posted at least 10 victories in Mid-American Conference play on eight different occasions. Prior to the 2001-02 season, the Eagles had never won more than nine games in league action.

MAC TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK: With the 2015 MAC Basketball Tournament quickly approaching, it is time to gaze into the crystal ball to see where the Eagles could possibly end up to begin conference tournament play. If the regular season ended today, Eastern would be the No. 7 seed for the tournament, hosting No. 10-seeded Miami for a first round contest set to take place March 9. For a complete MAC Tournament outlook, please check page 11 of these notes.
   EMU does control its destiny in the final three games of the year and could still finish anywhere between the fourth or ninth seeds. EMU closes the year at home against Northern Illinois, Feb. 28, and Western Michigan, March 4, before trekking to Central Michigan, March 7.

DEFENSE LEADING TO EASY OFFENSE: Over the previous 12 games, the ultra-athletic Eagles have forced 19.3 turnovers a game while snagging 11.8 steals. The 231 turnovers by the opposition led to 230 points-off-turnovers or 29.6 percent of the EMU's offense.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000: Sophomore Cha Sweeney has scored 940 points in her career and is 22nd all time for EMU. There are currently 18 players in the 1,000-point club for EMU women's basketball.

TOP OF THE MAC: Despite not leading any conference statistics, the Eagles rank in the top-five in seven different statistical categories, including being second in steals with 10.4 per game and offensive rebounds with 15.2 per games. EMU also ranks second in turnover margin at +4.24.
   Individually, Janay Morton is second in steals at 2.2 swipes a contest, while Cha Sweeney is third with 2.0 takeaways. Sweeney is also ninth in scoring with Morton following closely in 15th and Jamaica Bucknor in 19th.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE HUSKIES: The contest marks the 44th meeting between the Northern Illinois Huskies and Eastern Michigan Eagles, who first played during the 1981-82 season. Eastern leads the overall series, 31-12, however, Northern Illinois has taken three of the last four meetings.
   Earlier this season, the Cardinal and Black secured a 54-48 overtime victory in DeKalb to open the MAC portion of the schedule. The Eagles were plagued by shooting inefficiency, going 17-of-68 from the field for just 25.0 percent while also turning over the ball 18 times, which resulted in 15 points for the Huskies. Cha Sweeney led all players in scoring with 21 points, while Phillis Webb had the second-most points for the team with nine points, all of which were by way of free throws. On the boards, Jamaica Bucknor pulled down 10 rebounds.

MUDDY'S BUDDIES: Cha Sweeney's left shoulder has a tattoo with a Toledo Mud Hens logo and an inscription that reads "Never Forget Where You Came From." It's safe to say Sweeney has remembered just fine when taking on her hometown team. In four career games versus Toledo, Sweeney has averaged 21.3 points while connecting on at least seven field goals in each of the contests. The Rogers High School product also has 13 career three-pointers versus the Midnight Blue and Gold to go along with 10 assists and eight thefts.
ALLOWING 50 OR LESS: Eastern Michigan is 101-1 all time when allowing 50 points-or-less. Since 2003-04, the Green and White has accomplished the feat 57 times with 31 of those coming against Mid-American Conference foes.

INTERESTING STATS ABOUT EMU: In its 15 victories this season, EMU is averaging 73.5 points while the opposition is posting just 56.0 points. In those games, opponents are shooting 34.0 percent from the field compared to 41.4 percent for the Eagles. In defeats, the Eagles are only scoring 58.9 points, while giving up 73.3. Another factor in the Eagles' success has been the ability to control the glass. EMU is grabbing 44.1 rebounds to just 39.1 for the opponents in the wins, while in setbacks the rebounding edge tracks in the opponents favor (EMU 39.2, OPP 45.9).

DEFENSE, DEFENSE: The Eastern Michigan defense has held five opponents to less than a 30.0 percent field goal percentage this season. The most recent occurrence came Feb. 25 against Ball State, when the Eagles limited the Cardinals to a 23.6 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, Northern Illinois shot just 26.2 percent and Miami finished at 23.4 percent.
   Furthermore, five of EMU's opponents have made less than four three-point field goals in a game this season.

ON THE HORIZON: Following the NIU contest, EMU stays at home for Western Michigan University Wednesday, March 3. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
   Wednesday's contest marks the 78th meeting between the Western Michigan Broncos and Eastern Michigan Eagles, who first played during the 1976-77 season. EMU leads the all-time series, 44-33, and has won 16 of the last 21 meetings. Last season, at the Convocation Center, the Eagles fended off the Broncos with an 83-77 victory, Jan. 15, 2014. Five Eagles reached double figures, led by 20 points from Cha Sweeney.

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Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics