Women's Hoops Heads to Muncie to Battle Ball State

Women's Basketball at Ball State
Date	Wednesday, Feb. 7 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Muncie, Ind. \| Worthen Arena (11,500)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	E SPN3
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMUW BB \| @EMUAthletics

MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team looks to snap a three-game losing skid when it travels to Worthen Arena to take on Ball State University in a Mid-American Conference clash Wednesday, Feb. 7. Action in Muncie is slated for 7 p.m.
   Eastern Michigan is 9-12 on the season, and 5-5 in MAC play, after dropping a 95-72 affair to Central Michigan University at home Saturday, Feb. 3. Ball State enters the game with an 18-4 record, including a 7-4 MAC mark, after seeing its four-game win streak snapped, 80-76, at the Ohio University Saturday, Feb. 3.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN3, while Greg Steiner will also have the game on WEMU 89.1 FM. Fans can also follow via Twitter through the team's account, @EMUWBB.

ABOVE 40: In its game against Central Michigan, Feb. 3, Eastern Michigan finished 29-of-62 from the floor. EMU's 46.8 field goal percentage marked the fourth straight game in which the Eagles have shot above 40.0 percent, as well as the 10th time this season.
   The Green and White have been much more consistent since MAC play began, shooting above 40.0 percent in six of 10 conference contests. Last year, EMU only shot above the 40.0 percent mark eight times, and never topped 44.0 percent.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE: Freshman Courtnie Lewis is just 21 games into her Eastern Michigan career, but has already put people on notice. The Belton, Mo. native is averaging 13.6 points per game, the second-best mark on the team, as well as the 12th-highest scoring average among "true" freshmen nationally. In the MAC, Lewis ranks 10th in three-point field goal percentage (38.3) and 14th in scoring, both of which are the best of any freshman in the league.

PAST THE HALFWAY POINT: With more than half of the Mid-American Conference season in the books, Eastern Michigan finds itself in the thick of things when it comes to tournament seeding. If the MAC Tournament began today, the Eagles would hold the No. 8 seed and host No. 9-seeded Kent State. Central Michigan, Buffalo, Ball State, and Ohio would hold byes to Cleveland as the top four seeds.

90 BACK-TO-BACK: Eastern Michigan gave up 97 points to Buffalo on the road, Jan. 27, and then allowed 95 points against Central Michigan, Feb. 3. The two-game stretch marks the first time the Eagles have allowed 90-or-more points in back-to-back games since Jan. 19-22, 1994. The Green and White dropped a 90-63 decision at Miami, Jan. 19, before coming up short against Western Michigan, 93-77, Jan. 22. Since the inaugural season back in 1976-77, the Eagles have never given up 90-or-more points in three consecutive games.

RETURNERS AGAINST BALL STATE: Just four players on EMU's 13-person roster have played against the Cardinals previously ahead of Wednesday's showdown. Seniors Sasha Dailey, Tori Easley, and Micah Robinson, as well as sophomore Nailah Mitchell, have combined for 58 points and 56 rebounds in eight games against Ball State.
   Individually, Dailey leads the group, having averaged 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest against the Cardinals.

BATTLE OF THE BIRDS: The Eagles will meet Mid-American Conference West Division rival Ball State on the hardwood for the 77th time in program history Wednesday, Feb. 7. Holding a 40-36 lead in the all-time series, the Eagles have lost four of the last five meetings with the Cardinals.
   Eastern Michigan is in search of its first win over Ball State since knocking the Cardinals out of the 2016 MAC Tournament in the quarterfinals, 67-53, March 9, 2016.

WORTHEN WOES: Ball State's Worthen Arena has not been kind to Eastern Michigan over the past six years, as EMU is just 2-4 in the building since the 2011-12 season. Having come up short in their last two trips to Worthen, the Eagles have not walked away from BSU's home court victors since besting Ball State, 56-41, Feb. 25, 2015.

COURTNIE'S CONVO: If Courtnie Lewis continues to put on the type of performances she has inside the Convocation Center in her first seven home games, Eastern Michigan may have to consider renaming the arena. In six games on her home court, Lewis is averaging 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while shooting a blistering 50.6 percent from the field and 45.2 from three-point range, as well as 91.3 percent (21-of-23) from the free throw line.

FINDING HER STRIDE: Danielle Minott has been incredible in MAC play this season, leading the team in scoring (19.3 ppg) and steals (25), while ranking second on the team in rebounding at 4.5 boards per game.
   Over the last six games, Minott is averaging 22.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 steals, and 1.0 assist, while shooting 46.1 percent (47-of-102) from the floor and 48.9 percent (22-of-45) from three-point range.

SWEET CHARITY: A key to Eastern Michigan's ability to win close games this season has been how the Green and White perform at the free throw line. In its nine victories EMU is shooting 67.7 percent (111-of-164), while Eastern is converting just 62.6 percent (128-of-208) of its attempts from the stripe in losses.

CREATING SECOND CHANCES: The Green and White have owned the offensive glass, racking up 331 offensive rebounds. EMU's 15.8 offensive rebounds per game ranks top in the MAC and 21st nationally, while leading to 273 points or 19.2 percent of Eastern's scoring this season.

OFF TO THE RACES: Eastern Michigan has been dominant in transition, outscoring the opposition, 235-102, in fast break points. Offensively, the Green and White average 11.2 transition points per game, while giving up just an average of 4.9 points per contest. For the season, EMU is 5-4 when scoring 10+ fast break points.

SHARING IS CARING: EMU's ability to distribute the ball has been a true-tale sign of its success offensively this season. Eastern has racked up 10-or-more assists in 12 games this year and has averaged 72.3 points in those contests. On the flip side, the Eagles score more than 10 points less (60.5 ppg) when finishing with a single digit assist total.

ON THE HORIZON: The Green and White are back in action as hosts to the Zips of the University of Akron Sunday, Feb. 11. The rare Sunday MAC contest is slated for 2 p.m. inside EMU's Convocation Center.

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Players Mentioned

Sasha Dailey

Tori Easley

Courtnie Lewis

Danielle Minott

Nailah Mitchell

Micah Robinson

Eastern Michigan Athletics