Women's Basketball Battles Ohio for MAC Title

Live Stats: Fan. Media.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The 2015 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Championship game will be for bragging rights between the states of Michigan and Ohio, as the No. 6-seeded Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team tangles with top-seeded Bobcats of Ohio University. Game time is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. inside Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Eagles sport a 22-11 mark, while the Bobcats boast a 26-4 record.
WEMU (89.1 FM) will broadcast the game, while Comcast Television, digital cable channel 900 in the Ypsilanti area, will televise the title tilt.

EAGLES WING IT TO MAC FINAL: The No. 6-seeded Eagles secured their third bid to the Mid-American Conference Tournament final this decade and first since 2012 with a decisive 75-65 victory over second-ranked Ball State University Friday, March 13, at Quicken Loans Arena. Third-year head coach Tory Verdi leads an inspired EMU squad for the first time in the Conference's pinnacle matchup as the Eagles look to raise a third MAC Championship banner. EMU's opponent will be top-ranked Ohio University Saturday, March 14, at 1 p.m.

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.

RED-HOT!: The Eagles enter the game riding an eight-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 third-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.

SWEENEY MARCHING INTO MAC RECORD BOOKS: Senior guard Cha Sweeney shot her way into the MAC Tournament record books in Friday's semifinal win over Ball State. Sweeney's game-best 25 points made her the all-time leading scorer in tournament history (99), surpassing former Eagle Tavelyn James (83). Coming into the contest, Sweeney needed just nine points to set the record and did so at the 5:14 mark of the first half on a jumper just inside the arc. The Toledo, Ohio native's 32 field goals through four games are just four shy of the MAC Tournament record of 36, set by Central Michigan's Crystal Bradford in 2012.

SWEENEY CONTINUES EMU SCORING SURGE: Senior guard Cha Sweeney first set a single season record for most points by an EMU freshman last season by totaling 556 points. This year, Sweeney has already recorded the second-most points in a single season by an EMU sophomore by grabbing 554. Former Eagle Tavelyn James set that record by grabbing 641 points during the 2009-10 campaign.

NOT MANY BETTER THAN EMU: The Green and White's field goal pace (43.2 percent) through four games is second in MAC Tournament annals. Ball State holds the record with a 48.0-percent clip in 2014. That hot shooting has translated to 314 points, which is just 15 points shy of tying CMU's total of 329 (four games) in 2012 and 48 behind the all-time mark of 369 set by CMU in 2012 (five games).

NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES: Tory Verdi's Eagles have become the fourth team in MAC Tournament history to win four games. In addition, the 2015 EMU squad is the first No. 6-seed to make it to the final. Marshall was the last team in the sixth spot to make it to the semifinal 11 years ago in 2004, when the Eagles eliminated the Thundering Herd en route to the school's first conference title.

THE NEW LAW OF AVERAGES: Eastern Michigan has used a relentless offensive attack to take opponents out of games early in MAC Tournament. By game's end EMU is outscoring the opposition by a 78.5-60 margin. In comparison to the regular season, the Green and White earned a differential of 69.4-63.3. When you do the math, the Eagles are averaging 9.1 more points-per-game and allowing opponents 3.3 fewer points while widening the margin of victory by a robust 12.4 points.

EAGLES LIKING THE Q: Eastern Michigan is very familiar with the Quicken Loans Arena floor, as the school has posted a 13-8 record, including capturing the 2004 and 2012 MAC Championships. EMU is riding a five-game winning streak on the former Gund Arena floor.

MAC TOURNAMENT SEEDING FACTS: In the 33 years of the tournament, the top seed has won the title 21 times. In 2011, the No. 5 Eastern Michigan Eagles became the highest seed to ever advance to the tournament championship game. In 2012, No. 5 Central Michigan repeated the feat by advancing to the title game that year. Western Michigan, a No. 4 seed in 2003, is the highest seed to ever win the title. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have met 15 times in the championship game, with the top seed winning 13 times.

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Players Mentioned

Cha Sweeney

Eastern Michigan Athletics