Women's Basketball Readies for Sunday Showdown with Illinois State

Women's Basketball at Illinois State
Date	Sunday, Dec. 10 - 2 p.m. CT
Venue	Normal, Ill. - Redbird Arena (10,200)
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| ISU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats vs. ISU
Watch	ESPN3
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics

NORMAL, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) - Remaining in the Land of Lincoln, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team wraps up the weekend against Illinois State University Sunday, Dec. 10. Tipoff from Redbird Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.
Both teams enter the game after heartbreaking losses in their most recent outings. EMU squandered a double-digit lead against the University of Illinois-Chicago, Dec. 8, falling 73-70, while ISU dropped an overtime tilt with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 61-59, Dec. 7.
The EMU-ISU contest will be broadcast on ESPN3. Fans can also follow the game via Twitter through the team's account, @EMUWBB.

SWIPE!: Eastern Michigan racked up a season-high 18 steals in its loss to Illinois-Chicago Friday, Dec. 8. Courtnie Lewis led the defensive effort with a career-high five steals, becoming the third Eagle to record five-or-more thefts in a game this season. EMU's 18 swipes were its most since registering 19 against Western Michigan, March 2, 2016.

HUDSON RAISES HER GAME: Freshman Autumn Hudson turned in her best performance as an Eagle Friday, Dec. 8, flirting with a double-double. Making her third consecutive start, Hudson tallied a career-best seven points on 3-of-3 shooting, grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, and added a steal in 17 minutes of action.

BATTLE OF THE BIRDS: Sunday afternoon will be just the fourth all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and Illinois State, as well as the first since 2008. EMU is winless in the previous three meetings, with ISU winning the most recent clash 83-47 in Redbird Arena, Dec. 6, 2008.

EMU AND THE VALLEY: EMU holds a 10-14 record against the Missouri Valley Conference all-time, having hit the hardwood against eight different member institutions of the St. Louis, Mo.-based league. Eastern has been most successful against Loyola Chicago (6-2), winning six of eight meetings between the two, while adding wins against Drake (1-0), Evansville (2-1), and Missouri State (1-1). ISU is one of three MVC squads EMU has yet to post a win against (Bradley, 0-1 & Indiana State, 0-5).

FINDING HER STRIDE: Shaking off a slow start to the season, senior Sasha Dailey has looked more like herself in the past three games. The Toledo, Ohio native shot 24.0 percent from the field over the first five games, going 12-of-50 from the field, but has bounced back to shoot at a 42.5 percent clip over the last three games. She has also been solid from beyond the arc in the last three games, knocking down 40 percent of her three-point attempts.

ROAD TRIP TROUBLES: The Green and White are in search of its first win away from the Convocation Center since beating Incarnate Word, 66-47, in San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 29, 2016. Since knocking off UIW, the Eagles have lost 16 consecutive games away from the Convo.

WORKING TOWARDS THE 1000-POINT CLUB: Senior Sasha Dailey stands 75 points short of the 1,000-point mark in her final season donning the Green and White. Dailey amassed 855 points for her career through her first three seasons, and has scored 70 points so far this year. If Dailey eclipses four-digits, she will become the 22nd player in program history to score at least 1,000 points during their career.

I'LL TAKE STEALS FOR 200, ALEX: Senior Sasha Dailey has frustrated opponents with her knack for racking up steals over the course of her career. The Toledo, Ohio native has registered 23 swipes on the season. As of Dec. 6, her steals ranked as the fourth-most in the league and the 79th most in the country, while her 2.71 steals per game are sixth-best in the MAC and 57th in the nation. For her career, Dailey has tallied 196 steals and sits just four shy of the 200-mark.

BUTTERFINGERS: EMU and UIC combined for 52 turnovers in a sloppy showing Friday, Dec. 8. Eastern's 27 miscues were its most since turning it over 27 times against Michigan, Dec. 22, 2014. On the flip side, EMU's 18 steals were also a season-high.

SO MUCH FOR CHARITY: Free throws have been anything but free for the Eagles through the first eight games of the season. The Green and White connect on just 61.5 percent of its shots from the charity stripe and boast the third-worst FT percentage in the league. In three of its six losses, missed free throws have been the difference, as EMU's margin of defeat has been misses from the line (L vs. Denver, 54-60 - 13-of-19 - (-6); L, vs. LMU, 64-73 - 11-of-20 (-9); L, at UIC, 70-73 - 11-of-21 (-3)).

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern closes out the longest road trip in NCAA Division I women's basketball next weekend, Dec. 17, when the Green and White motor into Detroit to take on the University of Detroit Mercy. Tipoff from Calihan Hall is slated for 12 p.m.

Women's Basketball Readies for Sunday Showdown with Illinois State

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Players Mentioned

Sasha Dailey

Autumn Hudson

Courtnie Lewis

Eastern Michigan Athletics