Eastern Michigan Athletics

Saturday, November 12
Morehead, Ky.
6 p.m.

Eastern Michigan University

1-0

69
vs
59

Georgia State

1-1

1
2
3
4
F
Georgia State
11
20
15
13
59
Eastern Michigan
17
20
20
12
69
Phillis Webb vs. Lawrence Tech
Photo by: EMU Athletics/Andrew Mascharka

Women's Basketball Opens Season with Win Over Georgia State

11/12/2016 9:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The win marked the first of Head Coach Fred Castro's career

MOREHEAD, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team opened the 2016-17 season with a 69-59 win over Georgia State University Saturday night, Nov. 12, at the Donna Murphy Classic. The Eagles (1-0, 0-0 MAC) led by as many as 21 points, while Fred Castro picked up his first career win as a head coach.

Offensively, senior Phillis Webb (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) paced the Eagles, scoring a career-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Webb also added six rebounds, four steals, and two assists to round out her stat line. Junior Sasha Dailey (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) also reached double figures, notching 18 points and six rebounds. Freshman Esabelle Levine (Eden Prairie, Minn.-Eden Prairie) finished the day 3-of-6 from deep for nine points to go along with six assists and a steal in her EMU debut.

As a team, the Green and White connected on 43.9 percent of its field goals, including converting 6-of-15 shots from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the EMU defense forced Georgia State to commit 23 turnovers on 10 steals.The Eagles turned the  Panthers' miscues into 22 points. 

The Eagles rallied around their aggressive defense and transition game in the first quarter, forcing five Georgia State turnovers over the first five minutes of play to jumping out to a 7-3 lead. With the Panthers charging back out of the media timeout senior Sheyna Deans (Mt. Clemens, Mich.-Mt. Clemens (St. Clair County C.C.)) corralled her own and kicked out to Dailey for the triple. The next time down the floor, GSU cashed in from the charity stripe to cut EMU's lead to two, 10-8. EMU came right back with an answer, moving the ball around the outside before Levine knocked down a three to extend the Eagles' lead. The late surge by the Green and White put Eastern in front, 17-11, through one quarter of play.

In the second quarter, the Eagles pushed their lead to as many as 16, but a 7-0 run by the Panthers pulled GSU within nine, 29-20 as the teams approached the midway mark. From there, EMU's defense locked in again, holding the Panthers without a field goal for more than three minutes, while Dailey led an 8-2 run. Scoring six points over the course of a two minute stretch, Dailey pushed Eastern's lead 15. The Panthers rallied in the closing minutes, outscoring the Eagles, 9-0, to cut EMU's edge to 37-31 at halftime.

Georgia State came out of halftime hot, using an early run to pull within four, 35-31, but the Eagles responded with five minutes of shutdown defense. The Green and White held the Panthers without a basket and forced five turnovers over a four minute span to force and GSU timeout with 4:30 to play in the third quarter. Offensively, the Webb, Dailey, and juniors Tori Easley (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) and Micah Robinson (Ann Arbor, Mich.-Huron) scored to give EMU a 14-point cushion.

Out of the timeout, GSU scored but Webb provided the answer, banking in a jumper from the free throw line. EMU went shot-for-shot with the Panthers to close out the third frame with a 57-46 advantage.

The Panthers scored first in the final quarter before EMU went on a 12-0 run to get out to its largest lead of the game, 69-48, with four minutes to play. A pair of baskets and a free throw cut the score to, 69-53, in favor the Eagles with just over three minutes to play.

From there, Georgia State shrunk Eastern's advantage to as few as 10 but the Eagles stood strong, eventually coming away with a 69-59 victory.

At the conclusion of the game Webb was named the Most Valuable Player by the Morehead State athletic department.

The Eagles close out play at the Donna Murphy Classic tomorrow, Nov. 13, against Morehead State University. The game versus MSU is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Johnson Arena.

 

Team Stats

GSU
EMU
FG%
.400
.439
3FG%
.125
.400
FT%
.692
.722
RB
36
36
TO
23
19
STL
6
10

Game Leaders

Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5

Players Mentioned

G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
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