EMU Looks to Run Its Winning Streak to Eight in the MAC Semifinals

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EAGLES BACK IN MAC SEMIFINALS: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to the court Friday afternoon, March 12, squaring off with the Cardinals of Ball State University in the semifinals of the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. The Eagles, who advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2012, sport a 21-11 mark while the Cardinals boast a 17-12 record as the West Division Champions. The contest will be shown locally on Comcast Television, digital cable channel 900 in the Ypsilanti area, as well as ESPN3. Dave Bacon will handle the play-by-play and Jacki Windon adds analysis for the women's semifinal. WEMU (89.1 FM) will air the game with Chad Bush and Greg Steiner on the call at approximately 2:20 p.m.'

RED-HOT!: The Eagles enter the game riding a seven-game winning streak that began with a 56-41 win at Ball State, Feb. 25. The winning streak is the longest of the year by EMU and is tied for the fifth-longest streak in program history. EMU could tie the longest unbeaten streak should it win the MAC title as the 2005-06 and 2011-12 both notched nine-game marks.

HIGHEST SCORING TOTAL: The Green and White put up an astounding 95 point output in the 95-66 win over No. 3-seeded Akron Wednesday, March 12, in the quarterfinal round of the 2015 MAC Women's Basketball Tournament. That number marks the most scored by an EMU squad in MAC Tournament history. The previous best was 94 against Kent State in double overtime, March 3, 2000.

LOVING THE LONG LINE: The Eagles used 57.7 percent shooting from three-point range, making 15 triples the quarterfinal victory over the Zips which not only topped EMU's previous best of 11 in conference tournament action, but also ranks second in Mid-American Conference Tournament history behind Western Michigan who holds the tournament record, making 17 treys, March 2, 2000.

SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST: Eastern Michigan shoots at a 39.2 percent clip from the floor this season, but their average number isn't what showed Wednesday versus the Zips. Eastern shot at a blistering 54 percent when it went 34-of-63 from the floor in the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals. That percentage is the best shooting performance by the Green and White over an NCAA Division I opponent.

THE LAST TIME THAT...: The Green and White saw five student-athlete score in double-figures during the Eagles' victory over Akron in the quarterfinals. Cha Sweeney led the charge scoring 24, while Sera Ozelci and Jamaica Bucknor each poured in 17 while knocking down five three-balls. Janay Morton and Brianna Puni added 11 and 10 points, respectively. It was the first time since EMU opened the season with a 127-40 win over Kent State-Tuscarawas that the Eagles had five players post double-digit scoring performances.

SEEKING MAC TITLE NUMBER THREE: The Eagles advanced to the championship game of the MAC Tournament in 2004, 2011 and 2012. EMU is 2-1 all-time in the contest that decides the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Green and White defeated BGSU, 65-56, in the 2004 finale, March 13, and then fell to the Falcons, 51-46, in the 2011 title game, March 12. One year later, EMU defeated CMU 72-71 thanks to a Paige Redditt layup with 1.8 seconds left in the contest.

EIGHTH SEMIFINAL APPEARANCE: For the third time in five years and the eighth time overall, the Eagles have advanced to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament. All of EMU's semifinal appearances have occurred since the 2000 tournament, with the Green and White holding a 3-4 record in those contests.

MOVING THROUGH MAC: The EMU women's team defeated Akron to record its third win in the MAC Tournament this season, which is a rare feat. In fact, the Eagles have only won three games in a MAC Tournament twice since its inception. Most recently, the Suzy Merchant-led Eagles in 2004 cruised to its first tournament championship, while they fell in the finals against Bowling Green in the 2010-11 season after winning a trio of tournament games.

EAGLES LIKING THE Q: Eastern Michigan is very familiar with the Quicken Loans Arena floor, as the school has posted a 12-8 record, including capturing the 2004 and 2012 MAC Championships. EMU is riding a four-game winning streak on the former Gund Arena floor.

IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT: The Eagles sport a 21-19 mark in 21 trips to the conference postseason and are making their third appearance under Head Coach Tory Verdi. The Eagles have faced Bowling Green (2-5) the most times of any squad in the tournament. Eastern is 5-1 against Toledo, 2-2 versus Ohio, 2-2 against Miami and 2-3 versus Kent State. EMU is 1-1 in postseason play versus Ball State and Akron, and 1-2 against Northern Illinois. The Green and White are 2-0 against Buffalo, 1-0 versus Central Michigan and winless against Western Michigan.
EMU's lone meeting in the postseason against Ball State in 2004-05, as the Eagles knocked off the fifth-seeded Cardinals 72-64, in the MAC semifinals. However, EMU would falter in the championship game that season, falling to No. 1 Bowling Green, 77-57, the next day.

EMU Looks to Run Its Winning Streak to Eight in the MAC Semifinals

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Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Janay Morton

Sera Ozelci

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Eastern Michigan Athletics