Women's Hoops Travels to California for WNIT Clash with Saint Mary's

Women's Basketball at Saint Mary's
Date	Thursday, March 17 \| 7 p.m. (PT)
Venue	Moraga, Calif. \| McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	L ive Stream
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.2282

MORAGA, Calif. (EMUEagles.com) -- After winning 21 games and advancing to its fourth Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinal in the last six years, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team was rewarded with a berth to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), announced Monday, March 14, by the tournament selection committee. The Eagles will open the Postseason WNIT with a game Thursday, March 17, in Moraga, Calif., against Saint Mary's College.
The Eagles (21-11, 10-8) come into the first round matchup after falling in the MAC semifinals, 86-71, March 11, at the hands of second-seeded Central Michigan. Meanwhile the Gaels (24-7, 14-4) are coming off a loss in the West Coast Conference semifinals last week. EMU garnered an at-large selection while St. Mary's earned an automatic bid after taking the top-seed into the WCC Tournament.

EMU IN THE POSTSEASON: The Eagles are 5-8 all-time in the postseason including a pair of victories over Drake and Tulsa in last season's run to the WNIT "Sweet 16." The Green and White's run to the round of 16 marked the second time since 2011 that EMU won it's first two games in the tournament.

MAC IN WNIT PLAY: Eastern Michigan is one of five Mid-American Conference schools participating in the 2015 Postseason WNIT. Including this season, 45 MAC teams have been selected to compete in the tournament, posting a 33-38 record since 1998. Toledo leads the way capturing the 2011 WNIT Championship by knocking off Southern California at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

AGAINST THE WCC: In its 39 seasons, Eastern Michigan has only competed against a West Coast Conference institution once. The lone meeting pitted the Green and White against Santa Clara University, Jan. 2, 2003. SCU topped EMU by a final tally of 73-49 in the non-conference tilt.

THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Thursday evening's first round clash marks the first meeting between the Eagles and Gaels all-time.

JETTING WEST: For just the second time in program history and first time in more than 25 years, the Eagles will play a game in the state of California. The Eagles hold a 3-2 record against teams hailing from California, with all but one meeting taking place outside of the state. The lone trip to the Golden State came during the 1990 campaign when Eastern Michigan defeated Cal. State Northridge 78-69, Dec. 29, inside the Matadome in Northridge, Calif.

RACKING UP THE MILES: The Eagles will trek 2,543 miles and three time zones to take on St. Mary's in the first round of the WNIT, March. 17. To put that in perspective, the Green and White racked up 3,226 miles over nine road games in all of Mid-American Conference play.

THE EAGLES AGAINST POSTSEASON TEAMS: When examining the brackets for the 2016 NCAA and WNIT tournaments, EMU recognizes 10 teams that it met during the 2015-16 campaign. Out of the NCAA bracket, the Eagles tangled with the University at Buffalo and Kentucky. Out of the WNIT bracket, Eastern played Central Michigan, Akron, Ohio, Ball State, UT Rio Grande Valley, Abilene Christian, Harvard, and Michigan. The Eagles compiled a 6-10 record against those teams.

THIS DATE IN EMU HISTORY: The Eagles will play on St. Patrick's Day for just the fourth time in program history, Thursday, March. 17, when they square off with St. Mary's in the opening round of the WNIT. Eastern holds a 1-2 record on the shamrock filled day, last competing on the date during the 2012 season. That season, the Green and White fell at the hands of South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

SURVIVE AND ADVANCE: The winner of the EMU-SMC game will advance to take on either TCU or UT Rio Grande Valley in the second round. That game will take place March 19-22 with time and venue to be determined.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Women's Hoops Travels to California for WNIT Clash with Saint Mary's

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