Eagles Cannot Shake Slow Start in Loss to Huskies

Photo Gallery

Highlights

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team's comeback bid came up short in an 84-75 defeat to Northern Illinois University Saturday, Feb. 24, inside the Convocation Center.

Trailing by as many as 18 in the second half, the Eagles (10-17, 6-10 MAC) cut the deficit to four with 2:08 remaining in regulation, but were denied their first sweep of the Huskies (14-13, 6-10 MAC) since the 2015-16 campaign.

For the fourth time this season, four Eagles reached double figures. Redshirt junior Danielle Minott (Miami, Fla.-Miami Country Day (Syracuse)) led the Green and White with 18 points and a season-high 12 rebounds for her first career double-double. Senior Sasha Dailey (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) hit double-digits for the sixth consecutive game, recording 14 points, four boards, and was one of three starters with a pair of assists. Redshirt freshman Corrione Caldwell (Cleveland, Ohio-New Tech East) tallied 10 points and a team-best four steals, while senior Micah Robinson (Ann Arbor, Mich.-Huron) added 14 points and three boards off the bench.

EMU finished 44.6 percent from the field, connecting on 33-of-74 field goal attempts, while NIU shot at a 50 percent (26-of-52) clip. The Green and White dominated in the post, outscoring the Huskies in the paint, 50-24, and notched 22 bench points compared to NIU's total of 14.

The Eagles fell behind, 9-2, in the early stages, but freshman Juanita Agosto (Seattle, Wash.-Garfield) responded by sinking a pair of layups to cut the Huskies' lead to three with 5:01 to go in the first quarter. Despite pulling down six offensive boards in the opening frame, the Green and White trailed 19-11 after one quarter of play.

Down 30-19, Agosto connected on a jumper before Dailey buried a layup to trim the Huskies' advantage to 30-23 with 4:32 remaining in the second period. However, NIU regained control of the momentum as the Eagles took a 44-30 deficit into the locker room.

EMU slowly got back into the contest, at one stage going on a 7-1 run to shorten NIU's lead to 58-48 with under five minutes to play in the third quarter. Trailing 65-50, Robinson scored six unanswered points to get EMU back to within single-digits with 8:35 remaining in the fourth frame.

The Eagles continued to give the Huskies everything they could handle as Robinson sank a pair of free throws to cap an 11-3 run and shrink the deficit to 75-71 with 2:08 to go in the fourth quarter. This time, the comeback bid ran out of steam as the Green and White fell by a nine-point margin, 82-73, as Northern Illinois closed things out at the charity stripe.

Eastern Michigan returns to the road with a trip to Kalamazoo Wednesday, Feb. 28, as the Green and White travel to University Arena to take on the Broncos of Western Michigan University in a Mid-American Conference West Division battle with plenty of seeding implications. Tipoff between EMU and WMU is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Next Event

Team Stats

Danielle Minott

Sasha Dailey

Micah Robinson

Corrione Cardwell

Players Mentioned

Juanita Agosto

Sasha Dailey

Danielle Minott

Micah Robinson

Players Mentioned

Juanita Agosto

Sasha Dailey

Danielle Minott

Micah Robinson

Eastern Michigan Athletics