Women's Hoops Kicks Off Season Friday Against Cleveland State

Women's Basketball vs. Cleveland State
Date	Friday, Nov. 9 \| 1:30 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,784)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	Eastern Insider Podcast: Fred Castro
Twitter	@EMU WBB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.3669

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team lifts the lid on the 2018-19 season Friday afternoon, Nov. 9, against Cleveland State University inside the Convocation Center. Tipoff between EMU and CSU is slated for approximately 1:30 p.m., as it is the second leg of a doubleheader with EMU's men's basketball team.
Fans unable to attend the game can catch the action on ESPN3 with Greg Steiner 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.

SEASON OPENERS: In 42 seasons, the Green and White have compiled a 29-13 record in season openers. In fact, the Eagles have won seven consecutive lid lifters dating back to the 2008-09 season. Most recently however, Eastern topped Florida A&M, 83-61. Courtnie Lewis turned in an 18-point effort and Lorraine Enabulele added 10 points in their EMU debuts to pace the Eagles offensively.

BEGINNING THE SEASON IN YPSI: EMU has opened its season in Ypsilanti in five of the last six seasons, holding a 5-0 record in those matchups. In fact, the Eagles have outscored their opponents, 455-277, in season-opening games at the Convocation Center, scoring an average of 91.0 points/game and holding visitors to just 55.4 points per matchup.

MINOTT REELS IN PRESEASON HONORS: Redshirt senior Danielle Minott was named to the All-Mid-American Conference West Division Preseason team following an outstanding 2017-18 season. She is the first Eagle to be tabbed Preseason All-MAC West since 2015.
In her first season as an Eagle, Minott paced EMU in scoring, averaging 16.7 points per game, while adding 5.3 rebounds per contest. A Third Team All-MAC selection a year ago, Minott finished the season ranked inside the MAC's top-20 in four categories, including points per game (seventh-16.7), steals per game (eighth-2.1), three-point field goal percentage (14th-35.4), and three's made per game (eighth-2.3).

DOUBLE THE EASTERN BASKETBALL FUN: The Convocation Center will play host to four Eastern Basketball doubleheaders this season, including two #MACtion double features. The women's basketball team opens up the year with its matchup against Cleveland State, Nov. 9, at 1:30 p.m., after the men's team.
   In the past five seasons, the Eagles have played 16 doubleheaders in the Convocation Center, posting a 9-7 record.

DOUBLE FIGURES TRIO: Three Eagles posted double-digit scoring efforts in Eastern's exhibition game against Michigan Tech, Nov. 1. Redshirt sophomore Corrione Cardwell led the Eagles with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while sophomore Juanita Agosto and freshman Natalia Pineda added 14 and 10 points, respectively.

BRINGING BACK THE BUCKETS: Eastern Michigan returns eight members from last season's roster. Together, the group accounted for 61.8 percent of the Eagles points in 2018-19. EMU was paced in scoring by All-MAC Third Teamer Danielle Minott and All-MAC Honorable Mention Courtnie Lewis. Minott averaged 16.7 points per game, while Lewis added 15.0 points per contest.
   With both back for the Green and White, Eastern Michigan returns its top-two scorers for the first time since 2015-16. That season, the Eagles made their second straight Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament appearance and posted a 22-12 record.

REBOUNDING RETURNS: The Eagles grabbed nearly 1,200 rebounds in 2017-18, and the eight members who nabbed more than 64 percent of those boards return to the court in the Green and White for this season. Moreover, Eastern's top-three rebounders are back in Emoni Jackson, Danielle Minott, and Courtnie Lewis. Jackson grabbed a team-best 5.8 boards per game last season, while Minott and Lewis added 5.3 and 4.6 rpg, respectively.
   With all three back, it is the first time EMU has returned its three top rebounders since the 2004-05 season when Sarah VanMetre, Nikki Knapp, and Ryan Coleman came back after averaging 7.1, 6.8, and 6.5 caroms a game in 2003-04.

ALL-TIME AGAINST CLEVELAND STATE: The Eagles and Vikings have met 16 times in their respective histories, with Eastern holding an 11-5 advantage. The two teams most recently met last season in Cleveland, Nov. 16, 2017. CSU came out on top, 77-65, despite a 19-point, nine rebound effort by Danielle Minott in her Eastern debut as Cleveland State shot 52.9 percent (27-of-51) from the field and converted 10 triples to down the Eagles.

LOOKING AT THE HORIZON: The Green and White has a history of success against Horizon League members, registering a 56-34 record over teams that call the Indianapolis, Ind.-based league home. Cleveland State is the first of three Horizon League opponents EMU will face this season, as the Eagles also take on University of Illinois- Chicago and in-state rival Detroit-Mercy.

ALL THE LEAGUES EMU WILL FACE: The Eagles will play teams hailing from nine different conferences this season. In addition to its 18-game Mid-American Conference slate, EMU will face three Horizon League members, as well as one opponent from the Missouri Valley Conference, Big 12 Conference, Big Ten Conference, Summit League, Big South Conference, Southern Conference, Big East Conference, and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

STANDING TALL: Measuring in at 6-foot-5, sophomore 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 White since the 2007-08 season when Colleen Russell played for the Eagles. A transfer from Kansas, Enabulele is in her last season of eligibility after transferring from KU prior to the 2016-17 campaign.

BELTON CONNECTION: Courtnie Lewis is not the first Kansas City area native to land in Ypsilanti. In fact, Lewis and former EMU standout Paige Redditt both graduated from Belton High School. Redditt, a 6-foot-1 forward for the Eagles from 2008-12, averaged 6.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game during her time donning the Green and White. Currently, she ranks tied for ninth all-time with 13 double-doubles.

THE EMERALD YEAR: Home to EMU's basketball and volleyball teams, the Convocation Center is celebrating its 20th birthday in 2018. In its Emerald year, the Convo will play host to 31 men's and women's basketball games, as well as ten Eagles women's volleyball matches. EMU Women's Basketball's home since the 1998-99 season, the Convocation Center has been the backdrop of 170 wins for the program, with the Green and White holding a .659 win percentage inside the Convo.

FRESHER THAN THE REST: EMU's 2018 freshman class is one of the most talented groups to join the Eagles in recent history. Each of the four incoming members to the Eagles are three-plus star recruits, according to ProspectsNation.com, giving Eastern Michigan the 52nd-best recruiting class in the nation. The Green and White's additions of Jenna Annecchiarico, Natalia Pineda, Kiara Johnson, and Makenna Drabick give the team ProspectsNation.com's best incoming Mid-American Conference freshman class.

TRANSFER ADDS: The Eagles added two transfers to their expansive 2018-19 roster, bringing on Toyosi Abiola from Iona College and Areanna Combs from Oklahoma State. Abiola joins Eastern Michigan as the reigning Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, while Combs is coming off an impressive season, starting in all 14 games she appeared in, and averaging 8.5 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per contest. Both will not be eligible to play until the 2019-20 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules.

PINEDA'S INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE: Natalia Pineda split her time between Ypsilanti and playing with the Colombian National Team this summer, as the Miami, Fla. native took part in the FIBA U18 Women's Americas Championship, Aug. 1-7, in Mexico City, Mexico.
   The shooting guard poured in a game-high 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including 7-of-10 from beyond the arc, against Puerto Rico to push her team into the semifinals. Overall, Pineda and her squad posted a fourth-place finish.

NEW TO THE STAFF: Third-year head coach Fred Castro's staff got a makeover this offseason. Joining Castro's staff as an assistant coach, Carlos Adamson returns to the collegiate ranks after an extremely successful stint at the high school level. Spending time in Florida and Oklahoma, Adamson turned Hollywood Christian (Hollywood, Fla.) and Putnam City West (Oklahoma City, Okla.) into two of the best high school programs in the country.
   Castro also added Karen Del Carpio, formerly of UCF, as Director of Basketball Operations, while former Arizona State standout Katie Hempen is in her first year as a graduate assistant for EMU.

ANOTHER YEAR OF #MACtion: The Green and White's 2018-19 campaign marks the 38th 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, EMU has compiled a 273-348 record against conference opponents all-time.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles remain at home for another doubleheader with the men's basketball team as EMU welcomes Illinois State University to the Convocation Center Saturday, Nov. 17. The double dip gets underway with EMU versus ISU at noon.

Women's Hoops Kicks Off Season Friday Against Cleveland State

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Players Mentioned

Toyosi Abiola

Juanita Agosto

Jenna Annecchiarico

Corrione Cardwell

Areanna Combs

Makenna Drabick

Lorraine Enabulele

Autumn Hudson

Emoni Jackson

Kiara Johnson

Courtnie Lewis

Danielle Minott

Natalia Pineda

Eastern Michigan Athletics