EMU Come Out Victorious in Cross-Division Showdown with Kent State

KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University's women's basketball team secured its fourth Mid-American Conference victory of the 2014-15 campaign when it took down Kent State University, 70-53, Wednesday, Feb. 4, at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. With the win, the Eagles improve to 11-9 (4-5 MAC), while the Golden Flashes fall to 3-17 (1-8 MAC).

The Green and White was paced by Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers), who led all players with 17 points and three steals. Three more Eagles scored double digits, as Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) tallied 13 points, Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver-ASA College) added 12 points, and Brianna Puni (St. Charles, Mo.-Incarnate Word Academy-Illinois State) chipped in 10 points. Puni was flawless from the free throw line, making six charity shots, and fell just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds to lead the team on the boards.

As a team, the Eagles shot 24-of-66 for 36.4 percent, which was impacted by a second half clip of 25.8 percent on 8-of-31 shooting. The team swiped seven balls and forced an additional 14 miscues by the Golden Flashes, as the Eagles took advantage of the situation with 23 points off turnovers compared to just seven for KSU. Additionally, the Eastern bench outscored Kent State, 28-12, and had a slight edge on rebounding at 38-37 despite the stellar performance on the glass from CiCi Shannon, who racked up 15 caroms to go with four blocks.

Larissa Lurken was the offensive leader for Kent State with 16 points, as she hit three triples to bolster her count, while Melanee Stubbs came alive in the second half to post 14 points in her team's setback. The Golden Flashes shot consistently throughout both halves, going 22-of-52 for a 42.3 clip.

Eastern opened up scoring quickly when a triple attempt by Sera Ozelci (Ankara, Turkey-TED Ankara College-Odessa College) was picked up and laid in by Rachel Kehoe (St. Clair, Mich.-St. Clair-St. Clair Country CC) for a two-point edge, but the Golden Flashes retaliated by sinking a trey out of the hands of Larissa Lurken. However, Eastern's perimeter shooting warmed up with back-to-back three-pointers from Sweeney and Morton to put the Green and White up 8-5 with 17:36 to play in the opening half.

Coming out of the first media timeout, the Eagles put a full press on the Golden Flashes, with Sweeney causing a turnover under the EMU basket. The speedy sophomore quickly put the ball up for an easy bucket, and another steal on the opposite end of the court by Puni set the team up for a three-pointer by Bucknor. With 14:24 remaining, the Eagles held a 13-7 advantage.

Eastern continued to put up points while making big stops on defense. The Eagles forced two shot clock turnovers before Bucknor drained another three-pointer to cap off the 8-0 scoring run before Stubbs hit a mid-range jumper to bring the score to a count of 16-9 in favor of the Eagles. The team kept up the intensity on the defensive end, nabbing steals and rejecting shots while keeping control of the pace of the game on offense.

Morton went on an offensive tear, scoring seven points in just over three minutes. Her performance helped the Eagles quickly string together 12 points, putting the Green and White up with a comfortable cushion, 28-14 with 7:00 to play.

Kent State bounced back slightly with a five points while the Eagles were held scoreless for nearly four minutes. Eastern was able to quench its scoring drought after Sasha Dailey (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) drove in for a pair of points in the paint and started off another run for the Green and White. Dailey scored all six of her first half points in the final four minutes of the game during an 11-5 run to close out the half.

At the end of the first half, the Eagles were led by Morton with 10 points, while Bucknor chipped in six. On the boards, Puni paced the team with four rebounds, while Sweeney led the team in steals with two. The team was hot from three-point range, sinking seven treys on 16 attempts for a 43.8 percent clip. Additionally, Eastern was 16-of-35 from the floor, good for 45.7 percent. KSU had a comparable percentage at 45.5 percent, but the Eagles only allowed the Golden Flashes to put up 22 shots in the half.

The Golden Flashes came out looking like a different team to open up the second half, drilling six points in the opening minute of action that caused Head Coach Tory Verdi to call a timeout for his squad. Coach Verdi ignited a fire under the Eagles, as the Green and White answered back with seven points within a minute of action, keeping the lead at 46-32 with 17:53 remaining.

Eastern was stifled offensively by the Golden Flashes, while Kent State rode five straight points by Lurken to bring itself within seven points of the Eagles, trailing 48-41 with 11:53 remaining. Morton brought the margin back to 10 points with a long ball, but Lurken came back with a three-pointer of her own.

The two teams continued to trade buckets, with the Eagles bouncing around a 10-point advantage. The Eagles managed to pull away more with a quartet of free throws from Puni, marking the first time that a member of the Green and White had gone to the charity stripe in the entirety of the contest. Her first trip to the line broke the seal for EMU free throw shooting, with the Eagles scoring its next nine consecutive points courtesy of free throws.

With the help of the run of free throws while also keeping the Golden Flashes to just two points in the final three minutes, Eastern built up a considerable lead and closed out the game with a 70-53 victory.

As a reminder, the team's previously scheduled Saturday, Feb. 7, game at Miami University was postponed until Tuesday, Feb. 17. The contest will now be played at 6 p.m. inside Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio. The postponement allows the squad to attend junior Shannise Heady's funeral which is scheduled for Feb. 7. Heady and fellow EMU student Jordan Hopkins passed away in an automobile accident, Jan. 25,

The Eagles will return home for their next contest, hosting Ball State University Wednesday, Feb. 11. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on Eagle All-Access.

EMU Come Out Victorious in Cross-Division Showdown with Kent State

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Team Stats

Cha Sweeney

Janay Morton

Jamaica Bucknor

Brianna Puni

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Sasha Dailey

Shannise Heady

Rachel Kehoe

Janay Morton

Sera Ozelci

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Sasha Dailey

Shannise Heady

Rachel Kehoe

Janay Morton

Sera Ozelci

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Eastern Michigan Athletics