Second Half Free Throws Propel Eagles to Victory Over Western Michigan

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Behind a season-best 30 points from sophomore Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers), the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team capped off its 2014-15 home season with a 74-65 Mid-American Conference victory over the Broncos of Western Michigan University Wednesday, March 4, inside the Convocation Center.

The win not only marked the 10th EMU victory in the last 14 contests, but also clinched at least a first round home game for the Green and White for the first round of the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Prior to the game, Eastern honored seniors Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver (ASA College)) and Brianna Puni (St. Charles, Mo.-Incarnate Word (Illinois State)) for their time and dedication to the program over the past two seasons.

The Eagles (17-11, 10-7 MAC) shot just 33.9 percent from the field, but knocked down an impressive 29 free throws in 32 trips to the line for a 90.6 shooting percentage. The 29 free throws made ties for sixth all-time in Convocation Center history, while the 90.6 free throw percentage ranks seventh all-time in Convo laurels. Sweeney led all scorers with her 30 points, going 10-for-11 from the charity stripe, eight of which came in the final two minutes of the contest. Along with Sweeney, Puni and Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) scored 13 points apiece for the Green and White, 11 of which came from the line for Puni. Bucknor and sophomore Phillis Webb (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) grabbed a team-best eight rebounds, while Webb also added eight points for the Green and White offense.

EMU committed just 10 turnovers, compared to Western's 20 miscues, while the Eagles also notched 12 points off of WMU turnovers. The Broncos were led by Miracle Woods who poured in a team-best 15 points, while LaTondra Brooks and Marquisha Harris each added double-digit points with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Western Michigan held the slight edge over EMU with 43 rebounds compared to the Eagles 38, while the bench added 34 points to the WMU offensive effort.

After Western opened the contest with an easy jumper inside the arc 30 seconds into the contest, the Eagles went on an 11-0 run, including two three-pointers to take an 11-2 advantage over the Broncos and holding WMU scoreless for almost eight minutes. Western found its first shot in almost eight minutes from a three at the top of the arc, but the Green and White responded with a jumper from Morton on its next trip down the court to carry a 13-5 lead with 11:32 left in the opening half.

The Broncos surged a comeback with an 11-5 run coming out of the second media timeout of the half to trail by just two points before Sweeney converted on an and-one play to keep the EMU lead at five, 18-13. Western Michigan continued its comeback with a second double-digit run over the Green and White to come within one, 24-23, following a LaTondra Brooks free throw.

Despite WMU's best effort, the Eagle defense shut down the Broncos' offensive production in the closing minutes of the first half to take a five-point lead, 32-27, into the locker room at half time.

Eastern was led by Sweeney who went 5-for-12 from the field for a team-best 12 points, while Morton added seven points for the Green and White. As a team, the Eagles shot a mere 35.2 percent from the floor, making 12 of the 34 shots they took in the first 20 minutes, including scoring 12 points in the paint and 10 points off of fastbreaks.

Western held the rebounding advantage in the first half, 22-16, and shot 39.3 percent from the floor, going 11-for-28. Brooks notched a team-best 10 points in the first half, while Woods poured in seven points for WMU.

WMU started the half with a 17-14 run over Eastern Michigan to take its first lead since the opening play on a Jessica Jessing trey from the corner. However, the lead was short-lived as Puni knocked down two free throws to put the contest back into EMU's favor, 48-47. Neither team could gain more than a one-point advantage over the other, exchanging free throws as both teams were plagued with fouls early on, with the Green and White leading 50-49 with 6:53 left to play in second half.

The Eagles started to find some offense with 5:26 left to play when Morton made two free throws and Bucknor followed it up with a jumper from the top of the key to allowed EMU to take a 58-51 advantage. A trey from Sweeney and two free throws from Puni gave EMU its largest lead of the half, 63-55, before a fade away jumper from Bucknor put the Green and White up by nine with 1:44 left in the contest.

With EMU in double bonus, Sweeney dropped in five-straight free throws for the Eagles to break the 70-point barrier and take a 71-63 lead over Western Michigan with 52 seconds left on the clock. With time dwindling, the Broncos were forced to throw up quick triples that led to missed shots and forced fouls. Sweeney closed out the contest with eight free throws to propel EMU to a 74-65 Senior Night victory over the Western Michigan Broncos.

EMU hits the road for the final time in the regular season with a trip to Central Michigan University Saturday, March 7. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside McGuirk Arena.

Second Half Free Throws Propel Eagles to Victory Over Western Michigan

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Team Stats

Cha Sweeney

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Phillis Webb

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics