Eagles Travel to Oxford, Ohio for a Crossover Tilt with the RedHawks

Women's Basketball at Miami
Date	Saturday, Feb. 13 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Oxford, Ohio \| Millett Hall (9,200)
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	N/A
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics

OXFORD, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- Looking for back-to-back wins in Mid-American Conference play for the first time this season, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team hits the road Saturday, Feb. 13, for a cross-divisional showdown at Miami University. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Millett Hall.
    Eastern Michigan enters the game with a 14-8 (5-6 MAC) record, after surviving in double-overtime at home against the Broncos of Western Michigan University, 70-66, Feb. 6. The RedHawks are 9-13 (3-8 MAC) and have dropped seven of their last nine contests, including a 92-73 road setback at Northern Illinois University, Feb. 13.

LIVING ON THE ROAD: With seven games remaining in the regular season, the Eagles will see plenty of time on the road with five of those contests away from the friendly confines of the Convocation Center. Eastern Michigan and Ball State are the only MAC teams that close out the year primarily on the road with five away tilts each, while Western Michigan has to leave Kalamazoo, Mich. just twice down the stretch.

PLENTY OF PINK: After hosting its Play4Kay game against Western Michigan, the Eagles will now take part in a pink game at Miami University Saturday, Feb. 13. The RedHawk's third annual Love•Honor•Care game will raise money for the Luna Cares Foundation.

BACK-TO-BACK TRIUMPHS: For the first time since league play began, the Eagles will attempt to win consecutive contests when they battle Miami. Eastern won five in-a-row to close out non-conference play but the team has struggled with consistency in the MAC.

ALL-TIME VERSUS MIAMI: Saturday's contest with Miami marks the 56th meeting between the RedHawks and Eagles, who first met during the 1979-80 season. Miami has dominated the all-time series, 38-17, but the Eagles have won five of the last seven meetings. Last year, EMU cruised past Miami, 56-38, at the Convocation Center, Jan. 21, 2015, before squeaking out a 54-51 decision in Oxford, Feb. 17.
   In the matchup in Ypsilanti, the RedHawks were held without a field goal for a total of 21:04 in a pair of scoring droughts during the contest. MU experienced a 10:06 swoon in the first half and the Eagles' defense locked down the RedHawks for another 10:58 in the second half. During the two runs, Miami was a combined 0-for-24 with 11 turnovers.
   The second meeting was much more balanced, as EMU needed to rally from a 12-point first half deficit. The Eagles, who trailed 22-10 at the 8:24 mark of the first half, closed the opening stanza on a 16-6 run to head into the locker room down just a pair at the intermission. Following the break, the momentum continued in the Eagles' favor, as a 23-10 spurt built the advantage to as many as 11 points. The host RedHawks would not go quietly, as they held EMU to just two field goals through the final six minutes; however, their rally fell just short despite a pair of attempts to tie the game with the clock winding down.

MILLETT NOT KIND TO EMU: Miami University's Millett Hall has been a building that has caused EMU coaches to have nightmares. The Eagles have posted an all-time record of 8-16 in the venerable building. However, things of late have started to change, as the Eagles have posted victories in four of their last five trips to Oxford, Ohio.

DOUBLE OT THRILLER: For the first time in nearly six years, the Eagles needed double overtime to decide a winner, as Eastern Michigan outlasted rival Western Michigan, 70-66, at the Convocation Center, Feb. 6. The contest featured a pair of buzzer-beaters, as the Broncos hit a desperation three as time expired to knot the game at 49-all to force overtime. In overtime, a missed shot by Cha Sweeney fell short of the rim, allowing Phillis Webb to collect the offensive rebound and convert another layup to send the game to a second overtime.
   EMU's last two-OT contest was an instant classic at the then-Rose Center in Mount Pleasant, Mich.. However, it was the Eagles on the short side of the 113-107 double-overtime decision at Central Michigan, Feb. 20, 2010. The contest, which featured 40 lead changes and 24 ties, saw the Eagles and Chippewas combine for 220 points to break the Mid-American Conference record for most combined points in a league contest. It also marked the first time in EMU history both teams had scored more than 100 points.

FINDING SOME CONSISTENCY: #MACtion has not been kind to Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles have dropped six of its 11 conference games. In those tightly-contested battles, the Eagles have dropped four of them by a combined total of 11 points. EMU had a pair of 12 point leads against Akron, but on each occasion lost by three points. The Green and White also mounted a late rally from 16 points down at Bowling Green before suffering a four-point setback. Most recently, Eastern fell to Central Michigan, 66-65, despite a final frantic nail-biting two minutes that featured several missed shots, turnovers and blocks - the last of which was delivered as time expired. In the five MAC losses, EMU is averaging 63.8 points while shooting just 34.4 percent from the field. Meanwhile, the opposition has averaged 9.2 three-pointers while shooting 42.3 percent overall.

CONSISTENCY PART DEUX: The razor-thin line between triumph and tragedy is just a combined eight points during the team's most recent three-game skid. During those contests versus Bowling Green, Akron and Central Michigan, EMU forced 47 turnovers but missed 34 layups in the trio of contests that could have changed the course of the games to the total of 68 points.

THIRD QUARTER THORN: The third quarter has been a shaky one for the Eagles this season. In fact, it is the only frame in which the Green and White have been outscored. Opponents hold a 403-374 edge over EMU in the third period this season. Specifically in MAC losses, the Green and White has been outscored 115-97.

MAC TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK: With the 2016 MAC Basketball Tournament quickly approaching, it is time to gaze into the crystal ball to see where the Eagles could possibly end up to begin conference tournament play. If the regular season ended today, Eastern would be the No. 7 seed for the tournament, hosting No. 10-seeded Northern Illinois for a first round contest set to take place March 7. For a complete MAC Tournament outlook, please check page 11 of these notes.

DEFENSE LEADING TO EASY OFFENSE: Over the team's 22 games, the ultra-athletic Eagles have forced 19.1 turnovers a game while snagging 11.2 steals. The 421 turnovers by the opposition has led to 420 points-off-turnovers, or 26.2 percent of EMU's offense.

PLENTY TO GO AROUND: EMU is the only MAC school to boast three players that average 12-or-more points a contest.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles return to the court Wednesday, Feb. 17, when they travel to Buffalo, N.Y. for a Mid-American Conference cross-divisional clash with the University at Buffalo. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. inside Alumni Arena.

Eagles Travel to Oxford, Ohio for a Crossover Tilt with the RedHawks

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics