Women's Hoops Hosts Northern Illinois Saturday

Women's Basketball vs. Northern Illinois
Date	Saturday, Feb. 25 \| 2:30 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,782)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	WEMU 89.1 FM \| Mobile Apps: iPhone or Android
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.2282 \| Clear Bag Policy

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to the Convocation Center Saturday, Feb. 25, to begin a two-game homestand that will close out the home portion of the regular season. EMU welcomes in Northern Illinois University for a true doubleheader with the men's team's squaring off at noon followed by the women's game at approximately 2:30 p.m.
   The Eagles enter the game with a mark of 6-21 (1-14 MAC) after coming up short in a 65-57 setback at the University of Toledo, Feb. 22. Meanwhile, the Huskies are 18-8 (11-4 MAC) following a 109-86 road loss to West Division frontrunner Central Michigan University, Feb. 22.
   Veteran broadcaster Chad Bush will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM) beginning at 2:20 p.m. The game will also be shown on ESPN3 as part of the campus connection initiative.

PLENTY FOR EVERYONE ON SATURDAY: Saturday marks the final weekend game of the 2016-17 regular season, but it is still a great opportunity to catch plenty of other activities on the EMU campus.
   The Department of Athletics has partnered with Last Day Dog Rescue in Livonia, Mich. for Adopt-A-Pet Day during the doubleheader. Beginning at 11 a.m. in the atrium of the Convocation Center, LDDR staff will be on-site conducting adoption applications, as well as signing up anyone interested in volunteering with the organization. Dogs and cats will be in attendance, and fans are encouraged to come prepared to find their new best friend to take home.
   Additionally, the American Heart Association will be in attendance for a "Green Goes Red" promotion. There will be various events throughout the day to help raise awareness for heart disease prevention.

WEBB SETS RECORD FOR GAMES PLAYED: At Toledo, Feb. 22, senior Phillis Webb suited up for the 130th time in an EMU uniform. A durable cog in the EMU lineup the past four years, Webb passed EMU greats Tavelyn James and Paige Redditt for the all-time mark for games played in a career. Webb also ranks 12th with 3,264 career minutes played.
   Each 1,000-point scorers in their careers, James and Redditt played in 129 games from 2008-12 with their final game coming in the 2012 NCAA Tournament against the University of South Carolina. The duo posted 77 wins and three postseason appearances during their tenure.

OH WHAT A WEBB WE WEAVE: Senior Phillis Webb has been putting on a show as of late, averaging 17.6 points and 9.2 caroms a contest in her last nine appearances. During that time frame, the Brooklyn Park, Minn. native is shooting 39.5 percent (60-of-152) from the floor, including 16 trilighters. Webb has carried 28.5 percent of the Eagles' offensive output, and has taken 42 more shots than anyone else on the squad.

THE 400 CLUB: Junior Sasha Dailey passed the 400 point plateau this season, and is knocking on the door of being of one of the most prolific junior seasons in program history. With 425 points, she needs three points to catch Traci Parsons (1995-96 - 428 points) for the eighth most points scored by an EMU junior. Tavelyn James holds the all-time third-year mark with 642 points during the 2010-11 campaign. At her current pace of 16.5 points per game, Dailey is on pace for 489 points which would rank fifth all-time. For the complete list, turn to page 10 of these notes.

THE 400 CLUB, PART DEUX: Not to be outdone, Phillis Webb needs eight points to pass 400 points during her senior season. Currently at 392, the Broolyn Park, Minn. product is on pace for 435 which would rank eighth most by an EMU senior.

EMU WORKHORSE: Coming into the season, junior Micah Robinson had played a total of 378 minutes over 50 games in the first two seasons of her collegiate career, averaging just 7.5 minutes per contest. This season, Robinson has been one of the most utilized players in the country. The Ann Arbor product has played 994 minutes, the most of any player in the conference and the 49th-most in the country. Additionally, Robinson's 36.7 minutes per game average ranks 28th nationally.

MAKING IT LOOK EASLEY: Junior Tori Easley has picked up her game in the last nine outings, averaging 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds a contests dating back to Jan. 21. During that span, the Toledo, Ohio, product has a pair of double figure rebounding games against Bowling Green (12) and Central Michigan (10). She also tied her career-high in points and field goals with 10 and five, respectively, against the Chippewas, Feb. 4.

SWIPING RIGHT MORE THAN TINDER: Junior Sasha Dailey is the team leader with 61 steals this season, the third-most in the league, and good for 77th nationally. Meanwhile, her 2.32 steals per game are fourth-most in the conference and ranks 71st in the nation.

THE THREE FOUR: Down the backstretch of the season the Eagles have not been dealt an easy hand by the schedule makers. EMU plays teams with a combined winning percentage of .725 (58-22) with all of the squads having 18-or-more victories.

EMU's MAC TOURNAMENT ADVENTURE TO BEGIN ON THE ROAD: Eastern Michigan now knows that it will open the 2017 Mid-American Conference Tournament on the road Monday, March 6. An opponent is yet to be determined based on seeding, but it will mark the first time since 1998-99 that the Eagles will not have either a bye to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, or a first round home game at the Convocation Center.
   Since the MAC switched to the 12-team format in 1998-99, Eastern Michigan has hosted 11 first round contests while accumulating three free-passes to the second round at "The Q". In addition, the Green and White played a trio of first round contests in Cleveland during a stretch when all the teams were brought directly to the neutral site.
   The last time EMU traveled in the MAC Tournament was as the sixth-seed to No. 3 Western Michigan. The Broncos posted a 95-68 victory inside University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. All-time, Eastern Michigan is 0-5 in road tournament games going 0-2 at Bowling Green, 0-1 at Toledo, 0-1 at Kent State, and 0-1 at WMU.

MAC TOURNAMENT SEEDING: If the season ended today, EMU would be the 12th seed traveling to Ohio University in the first round. Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ball State, and Kent State would have byes directly to Cleveland. For the complete bracket, turn to page nine of these notes.

HITTING THE HARDWOOD WITH THE HUSKIES: Saturday's meeting between Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois will be the 48th meeting all-time. EMU holds the edge, leading the series 34-13, and has won three of the last four meetings.
   In the conference opening in DeKalb, NIU handed EMU an 85-73 setback, Dec. 31. As a team, the Eagles struggled offensively, connecting on just 39.7 percent of their shots from the floor. Miscues compounded EMU's shooting woes, as the Green and White turned the ball over 16 times. Meanwhile, NIU converted 45.1 of its shots from the field, including six three-pointers, and coughed the ball up 15 times, 10 of which came in the second half. Senior Phillis Webb turned in a career-day for the Eagles, picking up her ninth career double-double in the loss. Webb finished the day with a career-high 30 points, becoming just the second Eagle to score 30-or-more points in a game this season.

LAST MEETING AT THE CONVO: In the teams last meeting in Ypsilanti, the Eagles ran away with an 84-60 victory over the Huskies, Feb. 20, 2016. The Eagles grabbed the lead early, and did not relinquish it throughout the game.
   Cha Sweeney led the Eagle attack, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Additionally, the junior was five-of-10 from downtown. Three other EMU players also finished in double-digits, with senior Chanise Baldwin dropping 17 to go along with six boards and two blocks. Finally, Sheyna Deans and Janay Morton both finished with 16 points. Deans also chipped in six rebounds, while Morton had three treys and three assists as well.
   As a team, the Green and White finished 32-of-73 from the floor and 10-of-21 from three-point land. The Eagles were perfect from the free-throw line, going 10-of-10. Eastern's defense was a key part of the game, forcing the Huskies into 21 turnovers, of which 12 were EMU steals. EMU also held a huge advantage in points off turnovers at 26-10.

HOME COOKING: The Eagles are nearly four points a game better at home than on the road, averaging 65.2 ppg inside the Convocation Center while shooting 37.4 percent from the field. The Eagles have also benefited from an average of 16.0 points off turnovers on its home floor, compared to just 12.3 in away venues.
   Sasha Dailey has also fared much better at home, averaging 20.0 points a contest compared to 13.8 on the road

DIFFERENCES IN CONFERENCE PLAY: Eastern Michigan's defense has been giving up an average of 76.1 points per game, while the offense is managing just 61.3 points a contest. Since beginning MAC play, one of the team's biggest challenges has been at the free throw line, as the Eagles are shooting just 62.6 percent (164-of-262).

CHANGE IT UP: Against Buffalo, Feb. 15, Head Coach Fred Castro and staff made the decision to slow the tempo of play knowing his players were having to play significant minutes due to a limited bench. The move paid off, as EMU nearly knocked off the defending MAC Tournament Champions if it was not for some late-game heroics in the waning moments.
   EMU had 69 possessions in the contest with an average scoring possession length of 23 seconds, compared to 71 for UB and an average of 16 seconds. In the five games prior, the Eagles averaged 78 trips up the floor with an average of 15.4 seconds. EMU had 96 possessions in its victory over Bowling Green, Jan. 25, needing just 14 seconds per score.

FEELING GOOD AT THE BREAK: Eastern Michigan went to the locker room against Buffalo, Feb. 15, with a 28-26 advantage at the half. The two-point edge marked the first time since Dec. 21, 2016, that the Eagles had outscored the opposition in the first 20 minutes of play.
   EMU is 4-2 on the year when leading at halftime.

DAILEY FROM DOWNTOWN: Against Buffalo, Feb. 15, junior Sasha Dailey led EMU with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-4 from three point land. It marked the 10th time this year that Dailey had led EMU in three-pointers made, while it was the fourth time she had connected on at least three outside shots in a game.    In the second half, the Toledo, Ohio native scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

RARE AIR FOR WEBB: Senior Phillis Webb surpassed 1,000 points and 700 rebounds in her career against Kent State, Feb. 8, making her just the seventh player in program history to register the feat. Webb finished the night with 21 points and seven rebounds
   The Brooklyn Park, Minn. native joins Nikki Knapp (1,511 pts./802 reb.), Stephanie Smiley (1,401 pts./785 reb.), Paige Redditt (1,001 pts./781 reb.), Sarah VanMetre (1,3611 pts./770 reb.), Cassie Schrock (1,506 pts./761 reb.), and Ryan Coleman (1,793 pts./747 reb.) in the group.

SUCCESS STEMS FROM WINNING THE REBOUNDING BATTLE: Winning the rebounding battle has proven to be a true-tale sign of Eastern Michigan's ability to win this season. In their six wins, the Eagles have out-rebounded opponents by 5.3 boards per game. In fact, EMU averages 47.3 rebounds per game compared to opponents' 41.8 boards per contest average in its six wins. Conversely, in its 21 losses, the Eagles average nearly nine rebounds less per game (37.3), while the opposition's per game average jumps to 43.4, making the Eagles -6.3 on the glass in losses.
   EMU's ability to rebound and control the glass has had an impact on the squad's ability to score this season. Eastern Michigan averages 67.8 points per game when winning the rebound battle, compared to 60.1 points per contest when it is out-rebounded.

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Players Mentioned

Chanise Baldwin

Sasha Dailey

Sheyna Deans

Tori Easley

Janay Morton

Micah Robinson

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics