Women's Basketball Tips Off Season Friday Against Florida A&M

Women's Basketball vs. Florida A&M
Date	Friday, Nov. 10 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. - Convocation Center (8,783)
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| FAMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats vs. FAMU
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	N/A
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.3669

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team opens its second season under the guidance of Head Coach Fred Castro Friday, Nov. 10, against Florida A&M University. Tipoff inside the Convocation Center is scheduled for approximately 1 p.m. and will be the second leg of a doubleheader with the EMU's men's basketball team.
Fans unable to attend the game can catch the action on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley providing play-by-play and Kyler Ludlow serving as the analyst.
    Eastern Michigan men's and women's basketball season tickets are now available for purchase at EMUEagles.com/tickets, by calling 734.487.3669 or by visiting the EMU Ticket Office daily between 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

EAGLES IN LID LIFTERS: In 41 seasons, the Green and White have compiled a 28-13 record in season openers. In fact, the Eagles have won seven consecutive lid lifters dating back to the 2008-09 season. That year, EMU fell to North Dakota, 80-71, on the road. Most recently however, Eastern topped Georgia State, 69-59, in its first game of the Donna Murphy Classic, Nov. 12, 2016. Phillis Webb led the Green and White with 24 points and a team-best four steals.

AGAINST THE RATTLERS ALL-TIME: The Eagles and Rattlers have met just one other time previously. Eastern Michigan holds a 1-0 lead in the all-time series following an 81-61 win over Florida A&M back in the 2002 season. In that meeting, six players scored in double figures as the Eagles shot 46.9 percent from the floor.

OPENING UP AT HOME: Eastern Michigan has kicked off the season at home in four of the past five seasons, posting a 4-0 mark in those games. EMU has outscored opponents 372-216 over that stretch, averaging 93.0 points per game, while holding opponents to 54.0 points per contest.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan has won 76 of the last 106 home games dating back to the 2008-09 season. The Eagles have 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 has won 65.9 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 170-88 all-time mark.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: EMU will open the season, Nov. 10, against Florida A&M, marking the first time the Eagles will play on the 10th of November since the program began in 1976.

TAKING ON THE MEAC: Eastern boasts an unblemished 8-0 record against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference all-time. Having faced six institutions from the Norfolk, Va. based league, EMU has won all eight meetings by an average of 17.4 points per game (EMU 74.8, OPP 57.4).
   The Eagles' last clash with a MEAC member came during the 2004-05 campaign when EMU hosted Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Green and White moved to 2-0 on the season with a dominating 80-52 win over the Hawks. Eastern's defense forced 26 turnovers, while Ryan Coleman and Nikki Knapp paced the scoring with 14 points apiece.

STANDING TALL: Measuring in at 6-foot-5, freshman Autumn Hudson joins Colleen Russell (2004-08) as the tallest Eagle in program history. A four-year letterwinner, Hudson eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in high school. She was also named first team all-league, second team all-district, and All-Ohio Honorable Mention.

O'CANADA: Lorraine Enabulele is the first Canadian to sport the Green and Whites since the 2007-08 season when Colleen Russell played for the Eagles. A transfer from Kansas, Enabulele has two seasons of eligibility remaining after transfering from Kansas prior to the 2016-17 campaign.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: Eastern Michigan's 14-player roster has combined for 6,452 career minutes ahead of the 2017-18 season, the third-fewest in the Mid-American Conference. Additionally the Eagles are the least experienced team in the West Division. Ohio brings back just 3,877 minutes, the fewest in the league, while Akron returns 4,964. Meanwhile, Miami is the most experienced squad in the league with 13,782 career minutes on the roster.

EAGLES CRUISE TO EXHIBITION WIN: All 14 Eagles recorded a point as EMU cruised past Hillsdale, 70-57, Wednesday, Nov. 1. Eastern Michigan led by as many as 31 in the contest as the Eagles knocked down shots at a 45.3 clip.
   Danielle Minott led the balanced offensive attack for the Eagles, scoring a game-high 15 points, while adding six rebounds and an assist to round out the box score. Lorraine Enabulele and Esabelle Levine added eight points each. Micah Robinson dished out a team-high five assists, in addition to stuffing the stat sheet with a game-high nine rebounds and a steal.

BACK FOR MORE: The Eagles return 58.2 percent of their scoring from a season ago, including Sasha Dailey who led the team with 475 points scored. Dailey was one of three Eagles to average double figures (15.8), as Phillis Webb and Micah Robinson averaged 14.6 and 10.5 points per game.

FILLING THE SHOES OF WEBB: Head Coach Fred Castro and his squad will look to a combination of returners and newcomers to fill the shoes of workhorse Phillis Webb. In her final season donning the Green and White, Webb ranked second on the team in points scored per game (14.6) and steals (40), while the Minnesota native led EMU with 8.4 rebounds per game.

EAGLES ADD A PAIR OF TRANSFERS: The Eagles will be with the services of transfers Lorraine Enabulele and Danielle Minott this season, after the duo sat out the 2016-17 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules. In addition to Enabulele and Minott, the Green and White added Tiffany Suarez and Emoni Jackson. A pair of graduate transfers, Suarez and Jackson are immediately eligible.

RACKING UP THE FREQUENT FLYER MILES: The Eagles will soar from coast-to-coast this season, racking up a total of 12,256 miles traveled. EMU's longest trip of the season is a trek to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving, a roundtrip of 4,544 miles. The Green and White's trip to California is 1,000 miles more than the mileage the Eagles will wrap up in a combined nine conference roadtrips.

OH, THE PLACES WE WILL GO: Eastern Michigan will make stops in seven different states this season, including Michigan, Ohio, New York, California, Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana. Eastern's most popular destination is the Buckeye State, where the Green and White will play a total of five contests.

PACK YOUR BAGS!: After opening the season at home with games against Florida A&M and Rochester, Eastern Michigan hits the road for a 10-game 37-day long road trip, spanning from Nov. 13-Dec. 20. It is believed to be the longest road trip in all of NCAA Division I women's basketball.

WELCOMING IN THE TOP CLASS IN THE MAC: Fred Castro and his staff have hit the recruiting trail hard since arriving in Ypsilanti, brining in the top-ranked class in the Mid-American Conference and 58th overall according to prospectnation.com. EMU's freshman class features four nationally ranked recruits, including one four-star and one three-star according to prospectnation.com.

ALL THE LEAGUES: The Eagles non-conference schedule pits the Green and White against institutions from 10 different leagues. Eastern Michigan will face off against member schools of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Horizon League, Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Missouri Valley Conference, Mid-American Conference, United States Collegiate Athletic Association, Summit League, West Coast Conference, and the Big South. EMU will battle three teams from the Horizon in the form of Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, and Illinois-Chicago, while it will square off against one team from each of the other conferences.

36TH YEAR IN MAC: The 2017-18 season marks the 36th season Eastern Michigan will compete as a member of the Mid-American Conference. Having been a member of the Cleveland, Ohio based league since the 1981-82 campaign, the Green and White have compiled a 267-336 record against conference opponents all-time.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles remain at home Monday, Nov. 13, as Eastern Michigan hosts Rochester College in non-conference aciton. Tipoff from the Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.

Women's Basketball Tips Off Season Friday Against Florida A&M

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Players Mentioned

Sasha Dailey

Lorraine Enabulele

Autumn Hudson

Emoni Jackson

Esabelle Levine

Danielle Minott

Micah Robinson

Tiffany Suarez

Eastern Michigan Athletics