Eastern Renews the Rivalry with Toledo Saturday

Women's Basketball vs. Toledo
Date	Saturday, Jan. 23 \| 2:30 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 returns home Saturday, Jan. 23, to host the University of Toledo. Game time is scheduled for 2:30 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 Ball State University at 11:30 a.m.
   Eastern Michigan enters the game with a 12-5 (3-3 MAC) record after falling to West Division leader Ball State, 76-54, in Muncie, Ind., Jan. 20. Meanwhile, the Rockets are 9-8 (4-2 MAC) following an 81-71 setback at the University of Akron, Jan. 20.
       Veteran broadcasters Chad Bush and Greg Steiner will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM). The game will be televised on Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN) as well as Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.

RAISE ANOTHER ONE TO THE RAFTERS: Prior to Saturday's contest, EMU will hang its 2015 Postseason WNIT "Sweet 16" banner. Last year's team was just the second in program-history to collect a pair of postseason victories en route to finishing with a 24-13 record.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE ROCKETS: This weekend's contest marks the 76th meeting between Toledo and Eastern Michigan, who first met during the 1977-78 season. The Rockets lead the overall series, 45-29, but the Eagles took two of the three meetings a season ago.
   EMU escaped with a 76-61 win in Toledo, Jan 23, 2015, before UT returned the favor with an 81-72 triumph in Ypsilanti, Feb. 22, 2015. Eastern took the rubber match to oust UT from the MAC Tournament with a 74-57 win in Cleveland, Ohio, March 11.

MUDDY'S BUDDIES: Cha Sweeney's left shoulder has a tattoo with a Toledo Mud Hens logo and an inscription that reads "Never Forget Where You Came From." It's safe to say Sweeney has remembered just fine when taking on her hometown team. In five career games versus Toledo, Sweeney has averaged 22.8 points while connecting on at least seven field goals in each of the contests. The Rogers High School product also has 16 career three-pointers versus the Midnight Blue and Gold to go along with 13 assists and nine thefts.

MR. ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD: Junior Cha Sweeney is joined by two former Rogers High School teammates – sophomore guard Sasha Dailey and sophomore forward Tori Easley. The two sophomores bring the total number of Rogers alumni to four with senior forward KaBria Walker returning to Eastern this season. Nationally, EMU was the only Division I women's program with four players from the same high school. Drexel University posts the next best mark with three teammates from Archbishop Carroll High School.

734 DAY AND SWOOPS PANTRY: Come join the Eastern Michigan University basketball teams this weekend, Jan. 23, for a doubleheader at the Convocation Center for 734 Corporate Partner Day where you can enjoy free samples and giveaways from multiple EMU corporate partners. The event is being held in conjunction with the Eagles' doubleheader
   There will be plenty of EMU corporate partners in attendance who will be providing samples to fans from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. inside the main atrium of the Convocation Center. Gates open at 10:30 a.m. for the men's contest. Partners in attendance include Arbor Brewing Company Microbrewery, EMU Financial, Domino's, The Lakeshore Apartments, Marco's Pizza, the Michigan Army National Guard and Noodles & Company.
   In addition, volunteers from Swoop's Food Pantry, a campus-based organization, will be collecting non-perishable food items for the pantry. Fans who donate an item will receive admission to both games for just five dollars.

TOLEDO TIDBITS: The Rockets sit one game outside of first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division, sporting an overall record of 9-8 and a 4-2 league mark after Wednesday's loss to the University of Akron. The 81-71 road setback snapped a four-game winning streak for Toledo.
   Brenae Harris enters Saturday's meeting as the Rockets' leading scorer, knocking down 40.5 percent of her shots while averaging 14.9 points per contest. Harris also adds 5.2 rebounds per game and a team-high 5.3 assists per game. Joining Harris in double figures is Ana Capotosto, carrying an average of 11.5 points per contest while converting 27-of-74 three-point attempts this season. Janice Monakana paces the rebounding effort for the Rockets, leading the team with 5.8 boards per game.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have won 68 of the last 90 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 68.1 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 162-76 all-time mark.

FINDING THAT TOUCH: Junior Cha Sweeney and some other Eagles are fighting through the toughest stretch of their collegiate careers. For the first time in Sweeney's career, the Toledo, Ohio native has been held below double-figures points in three consecutive contests. Sweeney is just 4-for-42 from the field (9 percent) in games against Ohio, Kent State and Ball State, Jan. 13-20. Meanwhile, Sera Ozelci is 6-for-33 (19 percent) over her last five contests while the team is shooting just a 26.4 percent clip (28-of-106) from three-point range during that same stretch.

PERCENTAGE DIPS: In Mid-American Conference play the Eagles have seen their shooting percentage dip to 35.9 percent from the field and just 26.8 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.

FIELD GOAL WOES: EMU's aggressive defense has forced six of its last 10 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.

WEST VERSUS EAST: As the Eagles turn their attention to Mid-American Conference West Division play, a look at cross divisional games shows the depth of the West in a race that is geared up to be tight down the stretch. In crossover games, the West holds a 15-9 edge over its opponents from the East. Four of the East's nine wins have come from Ohio, who is 6-0 in league play and 4-0 against the West this season.

ON THE HORIZON: Saturday afternoon's matinee between the Eagles and the Rockets closes out the home schedule for the Green and White in the month of January. Eastern hits the road for back-to-back MAC crossover contests next week against Bowling Green (Jan. 27) and Akron (Jan. 30). While the mid-week meeting with the Falcons will be the first meeting between the two this season, the Eagles will look to avenge a 68-65 overtime loss, Jan. 6, when they take on Akron.

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Players Mentioned

Sasha Dailey

Tori Easley

Sera Ozelci

Cha Sweeney

KaBria Walker

Eastern Michigan Athletics