Women's Basketball Welcomes CMU to the Convo Saturday

Women's Basketball vs. Central Michigan
Date	Saturday, Feb. 4 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,784)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	N/A
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.2282 \| Clear Bag Policy

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – After enjoying the midweek away from the court, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to the floor Saturday, Feb. 4, to battle in-state rival Central Michigan University. Tipoff from the Convocation Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
   The Eagles are 6-15 (1-8 MAC) following an 80-62 setback at the University of Akron, Jan. 28. The Chippewas are 15-6 (7-2 MAC) after snapping a two-game losing skid by knocking off MAC East Division leader Ohio University at home, 64-59, Feb. 1.
   The game will be televised on ESPN3 as part of the campus connection initiative. Ryan Wooley and Sean Hostetter will have the call of the MAC West Division tilt, while live stats will be available at EMUEagles.com.

APPROACHING RARE AIR: Senior Phillis Webb is nearing 1,000 points and 700 rebounds in her career, which would make her just the seventh player in program history to register the feat. Webb, who still needs 32 points and 12 rebounds, would join 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.

PAST THE MID-POINT: With teams past the mid-point of the conference slate some parts of the MAC Tournament picture are becoming clearer. If the season ended today, EMU would be the 11th seed traveling to the University of Toledo in the first round. Northern Illinois, Ball State, Central Michigan, and Ohio would have byes directly to Cleveland.

ALL-TIME WITH CMU: Saturday's contest marks the 80th meeting between the Chippewas and Eagles, who first met during the 1976-77 season. CMU leads the overall series, 44-35, but EMU has won 22 of the last 34 meetings dating back to the 2000-01 campaign. The Chippewas eked out a 66-65 victory in Ypsilanti, Feb. 3, last this season and then recorded a 78-70 decision in Mount Pleasant, March 5, in the regular season finale. The teams were then pitted against each other in the MAC Tournament Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, CMU ousted EMU with an 86-71 victory to advance to the championship game against Buffalo.

LAST TIME WE MET: EMU looked to secure a spot in the Mid-American Conference Championship when it tangled with No. 2 seed Central Michigan University in the semifinals, March 11, 2016. The Eagles could not overcome CMU's 15 three-pointers, falling by a final tally of 86-71.
   A career-day from Phillis Webb paced the Green and White with 20 points. The Brooklyn Park, Minn. product knocked down a then-career-high four three-pointers, while also adding six rebounds, and an assist. Cha Sweeney and Janay Morton also reached double figures, adding 18 and 12 points, respectively.
   Eastern converted 27-of-67 shots from the field good for a 40.3 field goal percentage, including a 9-of-28 performance from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Central knocked down 51.7 percent of its shots (31-of-60) and 15-of-27 triples. The Chippewas held a 41-29 advantage on the boards while the Eagles held the upperhand in the turnover battle, 18-12.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!: On Saturday, EMU Head Coach Fred Castro will celebrate his birthday.

HOME COOKING: The Eagles are nearly five points a game better at home than on the road, averaging 67.1 ppg inside the Convocation Center while shooting 37.1 percent from the field. The Eagles have also benefited from an average of 17.4 points off turnovers on its home floor, compared to just 11.9 in away venues.

GETTING BETTER WITH AGE: Seniors Phillis Webb and Sheyna Deans have been bright spots for the Eagles over the past five games, combining for 156 of EMU's 310 points. Making up 50.3 percent of Eastern's scoring over that span, the senior duo has also paced the Eagles on the glass. Webb and Deans average 8.8 and 6.8 rebounds per game, respectively, the top two marks on the team over the span.

WEBB WORKING TOWARDS 1,000 POINT MARK: Senior Phillis Webb stands 32 points short of the 1,000-point mark in her final season donning the Green and White. If Webb eclipses four-digits, she will become the 21st player in program history to score at least 1,000 points during their career.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: Senior Phillis Webb came into her final season ranked 21st in Eastern Michigan history with 509 rebounds. This season, Webb has grabbed 179 boards, moving her into eighth-place with 688 caroms. Nikki Knapp holds the program record with 802 career rebounds, while Webb is 59 boards behind Ryan Coleman for seventh on the all-time list.

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 62.2 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 62.1 percent (113-of-182).

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 15 losses, the Eagles average nearly seven rebounds less per game (39.4), while the opposition's per game average jumps to 44.9, making the Eagles -5.5 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 59.7 points per contest when it is out-rebounded.

SHEYNA'S STRETCH: Senior Sheyna Deans has been one of the most consistent Eagles over the past six games. The Detroit native is averaging 13.8 points per game, and has turned in a pair of 20-point performances for the first time in her career. Deans poured in a career-high 21 points in EMU's heartbreaking loss to Western Michigan, Jan. 14, and led the Eagles with 20 points against Ball State, Jan. 18. Deans is not just making buckets, she's doing so at an efficient rate. Over the six-game span, she has converted 39.1 percent (34-of-87) of her shots from the field. Deans has also added 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game to round out her stat line.

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 777 minutes, the most of any player in the conference and the 33rd-most in the country. Additionally, Robinson's 37.1 minutes per game average ranks 17th nationally.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles return to the road Wednesday, Feb. 8, for a trip to Kent, Ohio, to battle the resurgent Golden Flashes of Kent State University. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (M.A.C. Center). Chad Bush will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM) beginning at 6:50 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Sheyna Deans

Janay Morton

Micah Robinson

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics