The Road to a Championship Begins Monday

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YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team begins its postseason run Monday, March 9, by hosting Kent State University in the opening round of the 2015 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. The game is the first leg of a doubleheader with the EMU men's basketball team, which tangles with Miami University at 7:30 p.m.
   The Eagles, seeded sixth in the tournament, took the lone regular season meeting with the No. 11-seed Golden Flashes. EMU won 70-53 in Kent, Ohio Feb. 4, for its eight consecutive victory over Kent State dating back to the 2009-10 campaign.
   Coming off a 93-86 victory at Central Michigan University, March 7, the Eagles enter the game with a mark of 18-11 (11-7 MAC) and a 10-4 record this season inside the confines of the Convocation Center. Meanwhile, KSU is 5-24 (3-15 MAC) after falling to the University at Buffalo, 68-58, at home on the final day of the regular season.
   The winner advances to play either No. 7 University of Toledo or No. 10 Miami University Wednesday, March 11, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Tipoff for the second round contest is scheduled for approximately 2:30 p.m.

#MACTION AT THE CONVO: Eastern is 6-3 all-time in MAC Tournament games played at the Convocation Center. EMU's home postseason setbacks were in 2001 to 10th-seeded Ohio, 80-75, in 2013 No. 9 Western Michigan, 80-72, and last season to No. 9 Northern Illinois in overtime, 81-76.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000 IS COMPLETE: Sophomore Cha Sweeney became the 19th player all-time in EMU history to reach the 1,000-point club. The sophomore guard notched 20 points in the Eagles' March 7 win at Central Michigan to become the second-fastest player in school history to reach the grand total, needing just 61 games.
   EMU's all-time leading scorer Tavelyn James (2008-12) was also a sophomore when she joined the elusive club in 57 career games. James ended with 2,470 points in her distinguished career.

MICHIGAN MAC TROPHY RETURNS TO YPSI: With its 93-86 victory at Central Michigan, March 7, the Eagles' reclaimed the Michigan MAC Trophy, which is given to the Michigan MAC university that defeats the other two schools in the same sport in the same regular season. This season in the rivalry games, EMU was 3-1, WMU was 2-2 and CMU was 1-3.
   Created in 2005 by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, CMU had previously held the women's basketball trophy.    The EMU women's basketball team also won the trophy title during the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2009-10 seasons.

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT: Each season under Head Coach Tory Verdi the Eagles have taken steps to return to the programs's previous championship form. The 2014-15 squad is no different as the Green and White recoreded 11 Mid-American Conference wins for the first time in three seasons under Verdi. His 2012-13 team went 6-10 in the league while last year the club was 7-11 in MAC play.
   EMU has posted at least 10 victories in Mid-American Conference play on nine different occasions. Prior to the 2001-02 season, the Eagles had never won more than nine games in league action.

SUPER SOPHOMORES: The sophomore trio of Janay Morton, Cha Sweeney and Phillis Webb have been a large part of the team's success in 2014-15. The trifecta has combined for 47.6 percent of EMU's points (941), 28.6 percent of its rebounds (344) and 63.1 percent of the assists (198).
   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 an 8-2 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 eight of its last 10 contests. During the streak, Cha Sweeney is pouring in an average of 19.1 points a contest while Janay Morton is contributing 15.3. The outside shooting is the biggest difference with EMU making 35.7 percent (74-207) of its three-point attempts after shooting just 27.4 percent (85-of-310) in its first 19 contests. EMU also is averaging 12.3 assists, up from 9.9.

NOW THIS IS MARCH MADNESS: The Green and White has posted a 31-26 record during the month of March over the last 16 years, including a 1-2 mark last season. Eastern is 18-19 all-time in 21 trips to the MAC Tournament. The 1999-2000 campaign marked the first season that all teams qualified for the tournament.

ALL-TIME AGAINST TEAMS IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT: The Eagles sport an 18-19 mark in 21 trips to the conference postseason and are making their third under Head Coach Tory Verdi. The Eagles have faced Bowling Green (2-5) the most times of any squad in the tournament. Eastern is 4-1 against Toledo, 2-2 versus Ohio, 2-2 against Miami and 1-3 versus Kent State. EMU is 1-1 in postseason play versus Ball State and 1-2 against Northern Illinois. The Green and White are 2-0 against Buffalo, 1-0 versus Central Michigan and winless against Akron and Western Michigan. EMU was 2-0 versus Marshall in tournament play before the Thundering Herd departed for Conference USA.

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.

SEVEN POSTSEASON TRIPS IN THE PAST 11 YEARS: Playing in late March has become a regular tradition for Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles have participated in the postseason seven times in the past 11 years. Prior to the 2003-04 campaign, EMU had never even advanced to the championship game of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. 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 have since followed it up with appearances in the 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 Women's National Invitational Tournaments (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).

ALL-TIME VERSUS KENT STATE: Monday's contest marks the 59th meeting between the Kent State Golden Flashes and Eastern Michigan Eagles, who first met during the 1980-81 season. Kent State leads the series, 34-24, but Eastern Michigan has won 10 of the last 11 meetings.    EMU is currently riding a program-best eight-game winning streak in the series.
   The Green and White downed the Golden Flashes, 70-53, earlier this season in Kent, Ohio, Feb. 4. In that game Cha Sweeney led all players with 17 points and three steals. Three more Eagles scored double digits, as Janay Morton tallied 13 points, Jamaica Bucknor added 12 points, and Brianna Puni chipped in 10 points. Puni was flawless from the free throw line, making six charity shots, and fell just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds to lead the team on the boards.

THE LAST POST-SEASON MEETING WITH KENT STATE: Despite giving up a double-digit lead with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, EMU persevered and withstood an offensive onslaught, capturing a 69-65 win over the No. 4 Kent State in the quarterfinals of the 2011 MAC Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena, March 9.
   Sydney Huntley, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, poured-in 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and added two assists and a pair of rebounds. Tavelyn James also netted 21 points along with four steals, and Cassie Schrock turned-in a stellar all-around performance with 16 points, 11 assists, five rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot.
   Kent State had three players score in double figures led by Jamilah Humes' 19 points. Ellie Shields chipped-in with 17 points, and Taisja Jones added 15.

EMU AT THE 'Q': Eastern Michigan is very familiar with the Quicken Loans Arena floor, as the school has posted a 10-8 record, including capturing the 2004 and 2012 championships. However, no current players or coaches have ever played a game at the former Gund Arena.

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.

STAT YOU VERY MUCH: For the sixth consecutive season the EMU Athletic Media Relations Office will be called upon to serve as the official statistics crew of the 2015 MAC Tournament. Under the direction of Greg Steiner, the office worked the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 tournament logging more than 60 hours over a four day span at Quicken Loans Arena. The office has also worked as the stat crew for the past seven Marathon MAC Football Championship games and the previous eight MAC Baseball Tournaments. The this year's MAC basketball crew consists of Greg Steiner, Sean Hostetter, Chris Puzzuoli, Megan Samassa, Chloe Smith, Michael Craig and Ken Dewey.

TOP OF THE MAC: The Eagles rank in the top-five in eight different statistical categories, including being second in steals with 10.4 per game and offensive rebounds with 15.1 per games. EMU is third in scoring offense at 67.3 ppg and fifth in free throw percentagr (71.4).
   Individually, Cha Sweeney is second in steals at 2.1 swipes a contest, while Janay Morton is third with 2.1 takeaways. Sweeney is also eighth in scoring with Morton following closely in 14th and Jamaica Bucknor in 21st.

INTERESTING STATS ABOUT EMU: In its 18 victories this season, EMU is averaging 73.8 points while the opposition is posting just 57.9 points. In those games, opponents are shooting 35.65 percent from the field compared to 41.2 percent for the Eagles. In defeats, the Eagles are only scoring 58.9 points, while giving up 73.3. Another factor in the Eagles' success has been the ability to control the glass. EMU is grabbing 42.8 rebounds to just 39.0 for the opponents in the wins, while in setbacks the rebounding edge tracks in the opponents favor (EMU 39.2, OPP 45.9).

DEFENSE LEADING TO EASY OFFENSE: Over the previous 15 games, the ultra-athletic Eagles have forced 19.3 turnovers a game while snagging 11.3 steals. The 289 turnovers by the opposition led to 278 points-off-turnovers or 27.7 percent of the EMU's offense.

MORTON GOES OFF FOR 34 AT CMU: Sophomore Janay Morton tied a career-best, dropping 34 points and going 13-for-13 from the charity stripe in the Eagles' 93-86 victory over Central Michigan, March 7. Morton's 13 free throws rank fourth all-time in EMU laurels, while her perfect 1.000 free throw percentage (13-of-13) is tied for 13th all-time in Eagle history. The Minnesota native connected on 6-of-9 from the floor in the second half for 23 points in the stanza

HOLDING ON TO THE ROCK: The Eagles tied a season-low with just eight turnovers in the contest against Central Michigan, March 7. EMU has produced seven games this season that it has turned the ball over less than 10 times.

AGAINST IN-STATE SCHOOLS: Eastern Michigan has had great success against other collegiate programs in the state of Michigan over the past 12 seasons. Since the beginning of the 2002-03 season, the Eagles are 57-26 (68.7 winning percentage) against in-state rivals.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 60 of the last 80 home games dating back to the 2008-09 season. Eastern Michigan has racked up a solid home-court advantage inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center since the doors opened during the 1998-99 campaign. The Green and White has won 67.8 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 153-74 all-time mark.

CHA CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Leading the team in scoring at 15.7 points per game, sophmore Cha Sweeney continues to make her mark in her second season as an Eagle. With 455 points thus far in 2014-15, the EMU guard is ranked third in the EMU record books for most points scored by a sophomore. She is just 52 points away from surpassing Holly Mitchell for second on the all-time list. EMU great Tavelyn James scored 641 points throughout the 2009-10 season to top that freshman scoring chart.

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Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Shannise Heady

Janay Morton

Brianna Puni

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics