Women's Hoops Hosts Kent State Saturday

Women's Basketball vs. Kent State
Date	Saturday, Jan. 16 \| 4:30 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,784)
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.2282

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team remains at home Saturday, Jan. 16, to host Kent State University. Game time is scheduled for approximately 4:30 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. The game is the second leg of a doubleheader with the EMU men's basketball team, which tangles with Bowling Green State University at 2 p.m.
   Eastern Michigan enters the game with an 11-4 (2-2 MAC) record after falling to defending Mid-American Conference Champion Ohio University, Jan. 13. Meanwhile, the Golden Flashes are 3-11 (0-4 MAC) and looking to snap an eight-game road slide that dates back to last season after coming up short at Western Michigan, 73-52, Jan. 13.
   Veteran broadcasters Chad Bush and Greg Steiner will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM) beginning at 4:20 p.m. The game will also be shown on ESPN3 as part of the campus connection initiative.

PLENTY GOING ON AT THE CONVO: Saturday's doubleheader will be a jam-packed afternoon on the hardwood. This weekend, EMU Athletics will be hosting the first of four EMU Faculty-Staff Appreciation Days. EMU employees are eligible to pickup two free tickets in advance of the game by showing their Eagle Card ID at the Ticket Office. The offer is available until 2 hours prior to tip off.
   In addition, EMU has teamed with Go4TheGoal for the pediatric cancer awareness game as both the EMU men's and women's teams and coaches will wear special gold shoe laces as part of the event. There will also be a raffle event taking place for a chance where lucky fans can win season tickets, as well as exclusive EMU adidas gear. Go4theGoal's unwavering mission is to improve the lives of children battling cancer by providing financial support, developing and implementing unique hospital programs, funding innovative research, and granting personal wishes.
   The E-Club will also be presenting letterjackets to first-year award winners from EMU's fall sports at 1:30 p.m. upstairs in the Champions Club.

INSIDE THE SERIES: Saturday's matinee meeting between Eastern Michigan and Kent State marks the 60th time the two squads have squared off on the hardwood. The Eagles trail in the all-time series, 34-25, but hold the upperhand as of late. Winners of the last nine games against the Golden Flashes, EMU has won all five meetings with Head Coach Tory Verdi running the show from the sideline. Kent State's last win over the Green and White came Jan. 31, 2009 at KSU's place. In that game, the Golden Flashes used a 58.8 to 33.3 field goal percentage advantage to down the Eagles, 84-52.
   EMU last clashed with KSU in the opening round of the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Golden Flashes carried a one-point lead into the locker room at halftime but a second half comeback gave the Eagles a 70-52 victory. Cha Sweeney scored a game-high 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting, highlighted by a 3-of-6 showing from deep. Janay Morton and Jamaica Bucknor added 16 points apiece while Morton nearly registered a triple double, adding nine rebounds and seven assists.

LOOKING FOR A PERFECT 10: EMU will be looking for its 10th consecutive victory over Kent State Saturday, Jan. 13, when the two square off. Prior to the current streak, EMU had never posted more than three straight wins over KSU. During the string of dominance the Eagles are winning by an average of 15 points a contest (EMU 73.6, KSU 58.6).
   However, this has been a series dominated by lengthy runs as the Golden Flashes under then-Head Coach Bob Lindsay posted 19 triumphs in a-row from March 10, 1992 to Jan. 25, 2003 with an average margin of victory of 19.1 points (EMU 69.6, KSU 88.7).

PROGRAM CHANGERS: There is a moment in every program that changes the course of history, and for Kent and Eastern you can maybe circle the date of March 10, 2006. On that date, the Eagles were ousted from the 2006 Kraft MAC Tournament by the Golden Flashes, 70-56, at Quicken Loans Arena. KSU outscored the Eagles 49-19 in the second half after trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half. Kent State's Lindsay Shearer, the conference's Player of the Year, keyed the comeback with a game-high 24 points and 19 rebounds.
   Eastern Michigan has dominated Kent State since that game, winning 11 of the last 12 meetings. A larger picture view though is even more impressive with EMU posting a 171-131 record (.566) and KSU going 110-173 (.389) during the same span.

REBOUND THAT BASKETBALL!: EMU posted a season-best 60 rebounds in the Jan. 13 tilt against Ohio. The mark is tied for seventh-most in Convocation Center history and ranks 15th all-time in a single-game. EMU turned in a 19-1 edge in second chance points in the contest thanks to 26 offensive caroms.

PERCENTAGE DIPS: In Mid-American Conference play the Eagles have seen their shooting percentage dip to 34.6 percent from the field and just 24.1 percent from three-point range. Ohio held EMU to just 28.8 percent (23-for-80) as the Green and White missed 57 shots in the MAC Tournament Championship Game rematch, Jan. 13.

DOUBLE THE TROUBLE AGAINST OHIO: Phillis Webb and Chanise Baldwin each turned in a double-double performance in the team's setback to the Bobcats of Ohio, Jan. 13, at the Convocation Center. Webb poured in 17 points and tied her career-best with 15 rebounds while Balwdin managed 10 points and 12 boards. The pair of double-doubles is thought to be the 24th occurrence in program history as detailed records of the feat only date back to the 1999-2000 campaign. The last time it happened was March 20, 2014 when Jamaica Bucknor (11p/13r) and Webb (14p/10r) accomplished it against Evansville in the Postseason WBI. For the complete list of multiple double-double games, turn to page 11 of these notes.

...AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME: Each of EMU's opening four MAC games have been nail biters in the closing moments, as each contest has been within five points with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. EMU has trailed with two minutes to play in all but the Buffalo contest.
   With the pressure fully on, the Eagles have excelled posting a 48.5 field goal percentage (16-of-33) in the final two minutes while going 23-for-31 at the free throw line. Not surprisingly, Cha Sweeney has been the most likely Eagle to find the ball in her hands with 17 points in the final two minutes while Phillis Webb has 14.

FIELD GOAL WOES: EMU's aggressive defense has forced five of its last eight opponents to shoot less than 40 percent from the floor during the contest. Even more impressive, two of those teams (Madonna and Akron) have been limited to less than 30 percent for the contest.

SLUMPBUSTER: EMU has not lost three straight home games since the 2013-14 campaign.

PLENTY TO GO AROUND: Eastern Michigan is the only MAC school to boast three players that average 13-or-more points a contest.

DEFENSE LEADING TO EASY OFFENSE: Over the first 15 games, the ultra-athletic Eagles have forced 18.3 turnovers a game while snagging 11.0 steals. The 275 turnovers by the opposition has led to 280 points-off-turnovers, or 24.4 percent of EMU's offense.

MAC TITANS AT IT AGAIN: The past two seasons have found Eastern Michigan and Ohio carrying the league's top winning percentages and are the only MAC teams to have totalled 35-or-more wins over that span. Ohio is 39-8 (.830) with a first round NCAA Tournament exit, while EMU is 35-17 (.673) and an appearance in the "Sweet 16" of the WNIT.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 67 of the last 89 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 have won 67.9 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 161-76 all-time mark.

ON THE HORIZON: After a pair of games inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center, the Eagles return to the road for a Mid-American Conference tilt with MAC West Division rival, Ball State. The Eagles and the Cardinals are set to tangle in Muncie, Ind., Jan. 20, at 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Chanise Baldwin

Jamaica Bucknor

Janay Morton

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics