Women's Basketball Plays at Tulsa in WNIT Second Round on Sunday

TULSA, Okla. -- With the program's second postseason road victory under its belt, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team remains on the road for the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Sunday, March 22, against the University of Tulsa. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla.
   Coming off an 80-70 victory over Drake University in the opening game of the WNIT, March 20, the Eagles enter the TU game with a mark of 23-12 (11-7 Mid-American Conference). Meanwhile, Tulsa sports an 18-13 (12-6 American Athletic Conference) mark after knocking out Missouri State University with a 78-72 road victory, March 20.
   The winner of Monday's game will advance to the "Sweet 16" round to face the winner of the game between TCU and Southern Mississippi, which will also be played on Sunday.
   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 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 4-7 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. The Eagles 10-point win at Drake in the 2015 WNIT marks the first time the school has posted victories in back-to-back years in postseason play.

ABOUT THE EAGLES: The Eagles have posted a memorable run to close out the season, winning 11 of its last 14 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 17.3 points per contest. Sophomore guard Janay Morton also ranks in the MAC's top 15 in steals (2nd - 2.1), free throw percentage (6th - 78.9), three-pointers made (11th - 1.6) and scoring (13th - 12.4).

NEARING THE MARK FOR MOST WINS IN SCHOOL HISTORY: With the win at Drake, the Eagles improved to 23-12 and are now one win shy of tying the school record for the most wins in a season. The 2010-11 club set the standard with 24 triumphs as it advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the WNIT with postseason wins over Michigan and UNC Wilmington.

WINNING ON THE ROAD IN THE WNIT: The first round of the WNIT featured just 11 road teams posting victories out of the 32 opening matchups. Furthermore, the Eagles' second round contest at Tulsa Sunday, March 22, will be one of just three contests that feature both teams having won on the road to open the postseason. The two other games to boast this accomplishment are Eastern Washington at Sacraemento State and Richmond at Duquesne.

PUNI STANDS TALL AT DRAKE: Senior Briann Puni's return to the Missouri Valley was a memorable one as she grabbed 20 rebounds in the 80-70 victory at Drake, March 20. A transfer from Illinois State University, her total is tied for the second-most in EMU laurels and is the best rebounding performance since the record of 21 was set by Kristin Staples on Jan. 2, 1991. The other player to reach the 20 carom plateau in school history is Denise Allen, who also pulled down 20 back on Jan. 20, 1979.

PLENTY TO LIKE IN DES MOINES: Eastern Michigan University's women's basketball team won on the road in the postseason for just the second time in program history, advancing to the second round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) with an 80-70 victory over Drake University, March 20, at the Knapp Center.
   Drake entered the contest touted as the best rebounding team in the Missouri Valley Conference, but the Eagles came away with a 53-49 edge on the glass paced by a career day by Brianna Puni. The Green and White's senior class truly shone in the postseason, as Jamaica Bucknor also notched double-digit rebounds with 10 boards and swatted two shots to match her career high. Offensively, Cha Sweeney posted 28 points to go with five assists, while Janay Morton added 15 points and Phillis Webb posted 10 points.
   The Bulldogs, ranked 23rd nationally in field-goal percentage at 44.2, were held 13.4 percentage points below their average for the second-worst ratio of the season.

NOW THIS IS MARCH MADNESS: The Green and White has posted a 36-27 record during the month of March over the last 17 years, including a 7-1 mark this season. This year marks the second consecutive year that both the men's and women's basketball teams earned a postseason berth. The EMU men fell to Louisiana-Monroe in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
   This year's team has already set the new EMU standard for wins in the month of March bettering the 6-2 record in 2010-11.
RPI FUN!: With the late season surge, Eastern Michigan checks in at No. 94 in the most recent RPI rankings from the NCAA. Ohio is the only Mid-American Conference team to better the Eagles, checking in at No. 53. Eastern Michigan's next opponent, Tulsa, is listed at 116th.

RETURNING TO TULSA: For the second-time this season the Eagles will play a game in the city of Tulsa. EMU dropped a last-second 63-62 decision at Oral Roberts back on Dec. 6. In that matchup, Shannise Heady hit both her free throws with 1:36 to play to deadlock the score at 60-all. ORU took the slight edge once more with a Vicky McIntyre layup and extended the lead to three with a free throw by Jordan Gilbert, but the Green and White kept fighting back and cut the deficit to one point with a short jumper by Phillis Webb with 13 seconds still showing. Following a time out, Jamaica Bucknor stripped the ball with 11 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, Cha Sweeney's shot was off target as Oral Roberts escaped with the one-point victory.

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 606. Former Eagle Tavelyn James set that record by grabbing 641 points during the 2009-10 campaign.
   Sweeney is currently riding a nine-game streak of scoring 20-or-more points.

EMU ALL-TIME AGAINST THE AMERICAN: Eastern has a limited history with one of the nation's newest conferences, having posted a 6-7 all-time against schools from the American Athletic Conference. However, the Eagles have never meet any of the league's members since they have been a part of the AAC. The most recent meeting for the Eagles came just last year when the team dropped a 71-65 decision at Tulane, Dec, 29, 2013.
   EMU is 1-4 against Cincinnati 1-4, 0-1 versus SMU, 3-0 with South Florida, 1-1 against Temple, 0-1 versus Tulane and 1-0 with UCF.
   Eastern Michigan and Tulsa are meeting for the first time on the hardwood.

COMMON BONDS: Tulsa and Eastern Michigan have two common opponents in 2014-15 – the University at Buffalo and Oral Roberts University. The Golden Hurricane upended the Bulls, 87-77, during an in-season tournament game at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Fla., Nov. 28. Meanwhile, EMU dropped its only regular season meeting with UB, 75-53, at the Convocation Center, Jan.31. ORU downed both schools, posting a 73-71 win against Tulsa, Nov. 21, and a 63-62 win against EMU, Dec. 6

GRAGG AND THE EAGLES: Despite having never played before, Eastern Michigan and Tulsa are certainly linked together. TU's Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Derrick Gragg spent seven years as the Director of Athletics in Ypsilanti and was responsible for the hiring of EMU Head Coach Tory Verdi. Gragg left EMU for Tulsa on March 20, 2013, and was replaced in July by current EMU Vice President and Director of Athletics Heather Lyke.
    Under Gragg's leadership, Eastern Michigan enjoyed successful campaigns not only on the field, but also in the classroom. EMU athletic teams accumulated 22 Mid-American Conference (MAC) championships in that time. Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan's student-athlete graduation rate exceeded the general student body graduation rate by 20%. Impressively the EMU student-athletes posted the highest cumulative grade point average in history four consecutive semesters during Gragg's tenure.
   Additionally, Tulsa's Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing Katie Thompson earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern Michigan. She received a bachelor's degree in public relations in 2007 and a master's degree in sport management in 2010. At EMU, Thompson assisted with creating and implementing significant marketing strategies for football, men's and women's basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball, including the planning and execution of gameday promotions.

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 32-36 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.

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 situations 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 award will be given out at the Final Four.

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.

SUPER SOPHOMORES: The sophomore trio of Janay Morton, Cha Sweeney and Phillis Webb has been a large part of the team's success in 2014-15. The trifecta has combined for 49.8 percent of EMU's points (1,202), 30.1 percent of its rebounds (441) and 65.9 percent of the assists (251).
   Surprisingly, it is nearly the same pace as their freshman campaign, when the three players combined for a season total of 1,078 points, 312 rebounds and 164 assists.

#HEADYREADY: The Kent State contest on Feb. 4 may have been the turning point for the EMU basketball team, as since that date the squad has compiled a 13-3 record as it plays in honor of Shannise Heady and Jordan Hopkins. Heading to Kent, Ohio, the Eagles were just 10-9 on the year and had lost back-to-back games following the accident to drop to 3-5 in the MAC. Since then the Eagles have played inspired and unselfish basketball to become one of the hottest teams nationally, winning 12 of its last 14 contests. During the streak, Cha Sweeney is pouring in an average of 21.4 points a contest while Janay Morton is contributing 14.8. The outside shooting is the biggest difference with EMU making 35.8 percent (121-of-338) of its three-point attempts after shooting just 27.4 percent (85-of-310) in its first 19 contests. EMU also is averaging 120 assists, up from 9.9.

TOP OF THE MAC: The Eagles rank in the top-five in nine different statistical categories, including being second in steals with 10.1 per game and offensive rebounds with 15.1 per games. EMU is third in scoring offense at 69.0 ppg and scoring margin (+5.6). Individually, Janay Morton is second in steals at 2.2 swipes a contest, while Cha Sweeney is third with 2.1 takeaways. Sweeney is also fourth in scoring with Morton following closely in 13th and Jamaica Bucknor in 25th.

INTERESTING STATS ABOUT EMU: In its 23 victories this season, EMU is averaging 74.9 points while the opposition is posting just 58.8 points. In those games, opponents are shooting 35.3 percent from the field compared to 41.4 percent for the Eagles. In defeats, the Eagles are only scoring 57.7 points, while giving up 73.3. Another factor in the Eagles' success has been the ability to control the glass. EMU is grabbing 43.5 rebounds to just 39.8 for the opponents in the wins, while in setbacks the rebounding edge tracks in the opponents favor (EMU 38.8, OPP 45.7).

Women's Basketball Plays at Tulsa in WNIT Second Round on Sunday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Shannise Heady

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics