Women's Basketball Readies for Ball State in MAC Quarterfinal Round

Women's Basketball vs. Ball State
Date	Wednesday, March 9 \| 7:30 p.m.
Venue	Cleveland, Ohio \| Quicken Loans Arena (20,562)
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	MAC-Sports.com
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.2282

CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team continues its postseason run Wednesday, March 9, against Ball State University in the quarterfinal round of the 2016 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. The contest is the finale of the four second round tilts and is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m. from Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
    The Eagles, seeded sixth in the tournament, were swept by the No. 3-seeded Cardinals in their two regular season meetings. BSU raced to a 76-54 victory in Muncie, Ind., Jan. 20, and held on for a 67-63 decision on senior day in Ypsilanti, Feb. 27. The winner advances to play either No. 2 Central Michigan or No. 7 Western Michigan Friday, March 11, at 2:30 p.m.
    Coming off a 73-60 victory over 11th-seeded Kent State, March 9, the Eagles enter the game with a mark of 20-10 and will be playing its second game on a neutral court this season. Meanwhile, Ball State earned the right to advance to Cleveland with a 68-58 victory in the regular season finale at Toledo, March 5, to up its record to 21-8.

EMU AT THE 'Q': Eastern Michigan is very familiar with the Quicken Loans Arena floor, as the school has posted a 13-9 record, including capturing the 2004 and 2012 championships.

PACK YOUR BAGS!: With the win over KSU, the Eagles are headed to Cleveland, Ohio for the fifth time in the past seven years and first time in back-to-back seasons since traveling to the Buckeye State at the end of the 2011-12 and 2010-11 campaigns.

EMU POSTS EIGHTH 20-WIN SEASON: With the first-round win over Kent State University, March 7, EMU picked up its eighth 20-win season in the past 13 campaigns. Prior to the 2003-04 year, Eastern Michigan had never won more than 18 games in a single season.

20-WIN SEASONS, MAC SCHOOLS SINCE 2003-04
Bowling Green   11   2004-05-06-07-08-09-10-11-12-13-14
Eastern Michigan   8   2004-05-06-10-11-12-15-16
Central Michigan   5    2011-12-13-14-16
Kent State   4    2005-06-10-11
Toledo   4    2010-11-12-13
Akron   3   2013-14-15
Miami   3   2004-08-12
Ball State   3   2007-09-16
Ohio   3   2008-15-16
Western Michigan   1   2015

SWEENEY AND MORTON COLLECT ALL-MAC HONORS: Juniors Cha Sweeney and Janay Morton were named to the 2016 All-Mid-American Conference teams, March 7. Sweeney earned second team honors for the third consecutive season. Meanwhile, Morton reeled in her first postseason honors since being named to the MAC All-Freshmen Team at the end of the 2013-14 campaign, earning a spot on both the All-MAC Third Team as well as the first-ever All-MAC Defensive Team.
   The 5-foot-2 guard led the Eagles in scoring (17.9 ppg) which ranked as the fifth most in the MAC, highlighted by 11 occasions in which she scored 20 points or more. In addition to her stellar scoring effort, the Toledo, Ohio native also led the Green and White in assists (4.0 apg), which was sixth-best in the league, while also placing third with 1.9 steals per contest. Sweeney ranked fifth in free throw percentage, knocking down 82.7 percent of her shots from the charity stripe this season while she is 10th in the league with a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio and 11th in three-point field goals made (59).
   In the midst of the best season of her career, Morton is second on the team in scoring. Averaging 13.2 points per contest, the Brooklyn Park, Minn. product led the Green and White in steals (2.8 spg). Her 82 thefts rank 19th nationally while also tying the fifth-most in EMU history. One of five players to earn a slot on the first-ever All-MAC Defensive Team, Morton recorded at least one steal in every game this season.

DROPPING DIMES: The Eagles shared the wealth, dishing out 18 assists on 24 baskets on their way to a 73-60 win over Kent State, March 7. EMU's 18 assists ranks as the second-most this season and most against a NCAA Division I opponent. The Green and White totaled 24 dimes in a 104-45 win over Madonna, Dec. 18, 2015.

STAT STUFFER: Junior Cha Sweeney may not have had her best scoring performance in the Eagles' 73-60 win over Kent State, March 7, but the 5-foot-2 guard filled up the stat sheet to keep EMU's MAC Championship hopes alive. Flirting with a triple-double, Sweeney recorded the third double-double of her career. Scoring 14 points, Sweeney tied a career-high with 10 assists, while also tying a career-high with six steals in 38 minutes of action.

AH, WE MEET AGAIN: Wednesday evening's battle with Ball State marks the second consecutive season in which the Eagles will tangle with the Cardinals three times. Eastern held a 2-1 edge in last year's series, while BSU has handed EMU a pair of setbacks this season. The Eagles have played the same team three times in a season on five occasions under the direction of Head Coach Tory Verdi, posting a 2-3 mark in such rubber match games. Coincidentally, EMU's two wins came last season when the Green and White knocked off both Ball State and Toledo in the MAC Tournament.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE CARDS: The Eagles will meet Mid-American Conference West Division rival Ball State on the hardwood for the 74th time in program history Wednesday, March 9. Holding a 39-34 lead in the all-time series, Eastern Michigan will look for its fourth win in the last seven against the Cardinals, and first this season.
    EMU held a 2-1 advantage over Ball State last season after the Cardinals took the first of three meetings, 72-62, at the Convocation Center. The Eagles got revenge later in the season, defeating Ball State, 56-41, at Worthen Arena before bouncing the No. 2 seeded Cardinals in the MAC semifinal game, 75-65.
   This season, Ball State holds the upperhand, 2-0. The Cardinals handed the Eagles a 76-54 setback in Muncie, Ind., Jan. 20, before spoiling senior day in the Convo, 67-63, Feb. 27.

LAST POSTSEASON MEETING VERSUS BALL STATE: Just a season ago, the No. 6-seeded Eagles secured their third bid to the 2015 MAC Tournament Championship game with a decisive 75-65 victory over second-ranked Ball State University, March 13, at Quicken Loans Arena. As a team, the Eagles shot 33.3 percent from the floor, making 23 shots, while knocking down 10 three-pointers in the win. Cha Sweeney made a team-best four triples and Janay Morton dropped three for the Green and White. Morton had 19 points for EMU, including going 8-for-10 from the charity stripe in the final five minutes of action, while Jamaica Bucknor was the final Eagle to notch double-digit scoring with 12 points. The Eagles overpowered the Cardinals on the boards, grabbing 52 rebounds compared to Ball State's 34, including 22 offensive rebounds which converted to 19 second chance points. The Eastern bench outscored the Ball State bench 21-9, but it was BSU who led in the paint scoring 30 points compared to EMU's 26.

#MACTION AT THE CONVO: Eastern moved to 8-3 all-time in MAC Tournament games played at the Convocation Center. EMU's home postseason setbacks were in 2001 to 10th-seeded Ohio, 80-75, in 2013 to No. 9 Western Michigan, 80-72, and in 2014 to No. 9 Northern Illinois in overtime, 81-76.

POTENTIAL PAIRINGS: The winner of Wednesday night's tilt will advance to face off with No. 2 Central Michigan or No. 7 Western Michigan in the MAC Semifinals. Eastern holds a 2-0 record against the Broncos this season, while the Chippewas handed the Eagles a pair of heartbreaking losses during the regular season.

NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!: EMU has won seven of its last nine games and now looks more like the team that was the league's West Division preseason favorite. During the current stretch, the Eagles have poured in an average of 69.0 points per game while shooting 40.7 percent (231-of-567) from the floor. Despite being out-rebounded by more than six boards a contest, EMU has limited the opposition to 38.2 percent shooting (199-for-520) and 58.9 ppg.
   Even more impressive has been the team's ability to cause havoc on defense, as the team managed a streak of four consecutive games that it did not trail for even a second of game action. With the team forcing 181 turnovers and blocking 21 shots, Cha Sweeney has been able to chip in 18.4 points while Chanise Baldwin is averaging 12.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks a game as well.

NOW THIS IS MARCH MADNESS: The Green and White has posted a 39-29 record during the month of March over the last 18 years, including an 8-2 mark last season.

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT: Each season under Head Coach Tory Verdi the Eagles have taken steps to return to the programs's previous championship form. The 2015-16 squad is no different as the Green and White surpassed 10 Mid-American Conference wins for the second time in four seasons under Verdi. EMU has posted at least 10 victories in MAC play on 10 different occasions. Prior to the 2001-02 season, the Eagles had never won more than nine games in league action.
   Eastern Michigan also has a chance to capture 20 victories for the eighth time in program history with another win in 2015-16. The team had consecutive 20-win seasons from 2003-2006 and again from 2009-11.

Women's Basketball Readies for Ball State in MAC Quarterfinal Round

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Chanise Baldwin

Jamaica Bucknor

Janay Morton

Cha Sweeney

Eastern Michigan Athletics