Eagles Return to the Postseason WNIT for the Fifth Time

*** Notice *** WEMU 89.1 FM will broadcast the game, but due to a University infrastructure upgrade will not be able to stream the game on its website. The game can still be heard locally on the radio. The online audio feed to listen will be available for your computer and mobile device still for free via Eagle All-Access and can be found at http://emueagles.com/watch/?Live=587.

DES MOINES, IOWA -- After a three-year hiatus from postseason play in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to action in it Friday, March 20, against Drake University. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. The winner of the game will face the winner of Tulsa versus Missouri State at a site that is still to be determined.
   Coming off an incredible run through the Mid-American Conference Tournament, the Eagles enter the game with a mark of 22-12 after becoming the first No. 6 seed to reach the women's title game. Meanwhile, Drake sports a 20-10 (15-3 MVC) mark after bowing out in the quarterfinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a 84-79 overtime loss to Evansville, March 13.
   Fans can catch the game on WEMU (89.1 FM) beginning 10 minutes prior to tipoff with Chad Bush and Greg Steiner on the radio call.

EIGHTH POSTSEASON TRIP FOR EMU: Playing in late March has become a regular tradition for Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles will participate in the postseason for the eighth time in the past 12 years. Prior to the 2003-04 campaign, EMU had never participated in the postseason. However, all that changed when EMU won the 2004 MAC Tournament and earned the automatic bid to the program's first NCAA Tournament.
   The Green and White has since followed it up with appearances in the 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 WNIT. EMU again returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 after winning the MAC Tournament and last season hosted two rounds of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI).

EMU IN THE POSTSEASON: The Eagles are 3-7 all-time in the postseason including a pair of victories over Michigan and UNC Wilmington during their 2011 run to the WNIT "Sweet 16." In 2014, EMU knocked off Evansville in the opening round of the WBI before falling in the final moments to Illinois-Chicago.

ABOUT THE EAGLES: The Eagles posted a memorable run to close out the MAC season, winning 11 of its last 13 games and earning the first 20-win season since the 2011-12 campaign. Eastern also tied the third-longest winning streak in EMU women's basketball history with eight-straight wins, while the team was the first No. 6 seed to make the tournament finals and the fourth team to win four games at the conference tournament. A Second Team All-MAC selection, sophomore guard Cha Sweeney is the team's top scorer at 17.0 points per contest. Sophomore guard Janay Morton also ranks in the MAC's top 15 in steals (2nd - 2.2), free throw percentage (5th - 79.8), three-pointers made (11th - 1.6) and scoring (14th - 12.3).

MAC IN THE WNIT: Eastern is one of six Mid-American Conference schools participating in the 2015 Postseason WNIT. Including this season, 40 MAC teams have been selected to compete in the Postseason WNIT posting a 30-32 record since 1998. Toledo leads the way capturing the 2011 WNIT Championship by knocking off Southern California at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

EASTERN VERSUS 2015 POSTSEASON TEAMS: When examining the brackets for the 2015 NCAA, WNIT and WBI tournaments, EMU recognizes nine teams that it met during the 2014-15 regular season. Out of the NCAA bracket, the Eagles played just Ohio. Out of the WNIT, Eastern played Akron, Ball State, Buffalo, Cleveland State, Michigan, Toledo and Western Michigan, while also meeting Oral Roberts and Texas Pan-American, which are participating in the WBI. The Eagles' recorded an 8-10 record against those teams.

SWEENEY'S RECORD-SETTING WEEK: Sophomore guard Cha Sweeney set the Mid-American Conference Tournament record with 123 points in the team's five-game run. The previous record, 83, was held by former Eagles guard Tavelyn James. The Toledo, Ohio native also set the tournament record with 39 field goals, surpassing the 36 of Central Michigan's Crystal Bradford.
   Sweeney opened her tournament with 21 points in 32 minutes against Kent State on Monday at home. With all games having moved to The Q, she scored 29 in 38 minutes against Toledo on Wednesday; 24 in 29 minutes against Akron on Thursday; and 25 in 36 minutes of a semifinal against Ball State on Friday. In the championship game against Ohio University, Sweeney scored 24 but went 7-of-25 from the field in 35 minutes. In addition to high-volume scoring, the 5-2 Sweeney brought relentless effort at both ends of the court. Her teammates followed her lead; Eastern Michigan became the first No. 6 seed to reach the women's title game.

SWEENEY CONTINUES EMU SCORING SURGE: 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 totalling 578. Former Eagle Tavelyn James set that record by grabbing 641 points during the 2009-10 campaign.
   Sweeney is currently riding an eight-game streak of scoring 20-or-more points.

NOW THIS IS MARCH MADNESS: The Green and White has posted a 35-27 record during the month of March over the last 17 years, including a 6-1 mark this season.    This year marks the second consecutive year that both the men's and women's basketball teams have earned a postseason berth. The EMU men learned on Sunday, March 15, that it would travel to Louisiana-Monroe as part of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

THE NEW LAW OF AVERAGES: Eastern Michigan used a relentless offensive attack to take opponents out of games early in the MAC Tournament. By game's end EMU outscored the opposition by a +11.6 margin (EMU 71.6, OPP 60.0).

EMU ALL-TIME AGAINST THE MISSOURI VALLEY: Eastern has struggled against the MVC, going 9-14 all time versus the St. Louis, Mo.-based conference. Having played against seven of the 10 member institutions. EMU is 6-2 versus Loyola, 2-1 against Evansville, 0-1 with Bradley, 0-1 versus Southern Illinois, 0-4 against Illinois State, and 0-5 versus Indiana State. Eastern Michigan and Drake are meeting for the first time on the hardwood.

COMMON BONDS: Surprisingly, Drake and Eastern Michigan have not played any common opponents in 2014-15. EMU's primary tie to the Des Moines, Iowa-based university is its football coach, as second-year Head Coach Chris Creighton took over the Eagles program in 2014 after leaving Drake. In his six seasons at the helm of the Bulldogs, Creighton racked up a 35-13 (.729) record in Pioneer Football League action and a 31-9 (.775) record in his final five seasons. Just the seventh DU coach to win 40-or-more games and the fastest to do so, Creighton needed just 60 games to accomplish the feat. In his time at Drake, Creighton boasted a 30-5 home record and a 21-2 home conference record, going undefeated against five conference opponents. Drake had an 11-game home win streak during Creighton's tenure as well as winning 16-straight home conference games with him at the helm.

NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES: Tory Verdi's Eagles became the fourth team in MAC Tournament history to win four games. In addition, the 2015 EMU squad was 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.

EMU COLLECTS SEVENTH 20-WIN SEASON: With the victory over Toledo, March 11, the Eagles nabbed their first 20-win season since the 2011-12 campaign when they were crowned the MAC Tournament Champions. Furthermore, the win marks the first time both the men's and the women's program have both notched 20 wins in the same season.

HIGHEST SCORING TOTAL: The Green and White put up an astounding 95 point output in the 95-66 win over No. 3-seeded Akron, 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 a 57.7 percent shooting from three-point range, making 15 triples in 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.

HOLDING ON TO THE ROCK: The Eagles tied a season-low with just six turnovers in the contest against Kent State, March 9. EMU has produced nine games this season that it has turned the ball over less than 10 times.

SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST: Eastern Michigan shoots at a 38.6 percent clip from the floor this season, but their average number wasn't what showed versus the Zips in the MAC Tournament, March 12. Eastern shot at a blistering 54 percent when it went 34-of-63 from the floor in the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals. That percentage was the best shooting performance by the Green and White over an NCAA Division I opponent this season.

EMU NAMED A FINALIST FOR THE 'TOGETHER WE R" AWARD: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team is one of three finalists for the fourth annual Russell Athletic "Together We R" Team Award, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced, March 16.
   In its fourth year, the "Together We R" Team Award honors programs that have strived to succeed in the face of adversity, overcoming extraordinary circumstances such as an unforeseen team crisis, barrier or unfortunate situation that caused extra stress. The team must exemplify strong commitment to core values of togetherness, courage, unparalleled work ethic and heart, and must personify the "Together We R" belief that teams are stronger than individuals.
   Women's basketball teams from California University of Pennsylvania and the University of Richmond are the other finalists. The finalists -- selected by a committee of WBCA past presidents -- have each submitted a video telling their story. The videos are posted on the WBCA's YouTube channel.
   Starting Monday, WBCA members and fans alike can vote by "liking" the video for the team they think is most deserving of the award. The fans' choice, determined by the video receiving the most "likes," will receive one additional vote when the selection committee chooses the winner. Voting ends at 5 p.m. ET Friday, March 20.

SELECT POSTSEASON COMPANY: Eastern Michigan University is one of just 69 NCAA Division I universities nationwide to send both its men's and women's basketball teams to postseason play. EMU, Western Michigan University and the University at Buffalo were the only Mid-American Conference schools to accomplish the feat.
   In total, 343 schools were eligible for the postseason in the NCAA Division I ranks this season. This is the second consecutive year Eastern Michigan has turned in the feat and makes the school one of 28 nationwide to be able to boast the accomplishment. Additionally, this year marks the first time both the men's and the women's program have both notched 20 wins in the same season.

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, March 12. 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.

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Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Janay Morton

Sera Ozelci

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Eastern Michigan Athletics