Women's Hoops Renews Rivalry with WMU in Saturday's Double Dip

Women's Basketball vs. Western Michigan
Date	Saturday, Jan. 12 \| 2:30 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,784)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	WEMU 89.1 FM
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 welcomes in-state rival Western Michigan University to the Convocation Center for a Mid-American Conference matchup Saturday, Jan. 12. The EMU-WMU battle will serve as the second leg of a doubleheader with the EMU men's basketball team and is expected to get underway at approximately 2:30 p.m.
   Eastern (7-6, 0-2 MAC) is still in search of its first league win of the year following a 91-84 overtime loss to the University at Buffalo, Jan. 9. Western is also looking to get back on track having come up short, 72-59, against University of Akron in Kalamazoo, Jan. 9.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 where Ryan Wooley will call the action on the court alongside analyst Greg Steiner. Chad Bush will also have the call on WEMU 89.1FM. Additional coverage can be found by following @EMUWBB on Twitter, and through live stats at EMUEagles.com.

BULLSEYE!: Danielle Minott takes her game to another level when Eastern squares off against Buffalo, most recently torching the Bulls for a season-best 43 points to go along with 12 rebounds, three steals, two assists, and two blocks, Jan. 9. The Miami, Fla. native was one point off the school record, which she set last season against the Bulls in Buffalo, Jan. 27, 2018.
   In two career games against UB, Minott is averaging 43.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 assists per contest. Not only is she putting up gaudy numbers, but she is doing it efficiently, converting 50 percent (28-of-56) of her shots and 51.7 percent (15-of-29) of her triple attempts.

WHAT A SHOW!: Redshirt senior Danielle Minott and Buffalo's Cierra Dillard put on quite the show for the Convocation Center, Jan. 9, as both players scored 43 points for their team. Based on survey of Sports Information Directors around the country, it is the first time two players have scored 40-or-more points in the same game since Feb. 21, 2016, when Rachel Banham dropped 52 points for Minnesota and Michigan State's Aerial Powers registered a 40-point performance.

WINTER MIGHT BE COMING, BUT AUTUMN IS HERE: Making just her ninth career start, and just her fourth in conference play, sophomore Autumn Hudson turned in a strong showing against Buffalo, Jan. 9. Hudson went 5-of-7 from the floor for a career-high 12 points, while also adding five boards in a career-high 27 minutes of action.

WHY NOT, MINOTT: Almost one year after setting the school record against Buffalo, Danielle Minott tied the Convocation Center record against UB. Minott's 43 points, is tied with Buffalo's Cierra Dillard for the most in Convo history. Akron's Rachel Tecca set the standard against EMU, Jan. 26, 2014.

PLENTY OF POINTS: In its 91-84 overtime loss versus Buffalo, Jan. 9, Eastern Michigan and UB pieced together one of the best offensive games in Convocation Center annals. EMU and UB's 175 combined points rank as the fourth-most in Convo laurels, as well as the most since the 2014-15 season.

CLIMBING THE LADDER: Danielle Minott stuffed the stat sheet in EMU's overtime tilt against Buffalo, Jan. 9, coming away with 43 points and 12 rebounds for the third double-double of her career. In doing so, Minott moved into a tie for 16th in EMU history with three double-double efforts and is now the team's active leader.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!: Eastern Michigan came up short in overtime against Buffalo, Jan. 9, falling to the Bulls, 91-84. It was EMU's second overtime game of the season, as EMU dropped a heartbreaker, 72-66, at Illinois in OT, Dec. 1. With the setback, Eastern fell to 22-21 in overtime games all-time.

FACING IN-STATE FOES: The Broncos are one of four opponents on the Eagles' 2018-19 schedule that call Michigan home. Eastern Michigan has thrived against in-state competition over the years, compiling a 157-146 advantage over in-state opponents. The Eagles have been most successful against Western Michigan, piecing together a 48-36 mark versus the Broncos. Meanwhile, Michigan State has been the toughest opponent for EMU, leading the all-time series 15-1 over the Eagles.

ALL-TIME VERSUS WESTERN MICHIGAN: The weekend contest against Western Michigan marks the 84th meeting between the Broncos and Eagles, who first met during the 1976-77 season. Eastern leads the all-time series by a count of 48-36, including winning 20 of the last 28 meetings.
The Eagles and Broncos split last season's meetings with each squad coming away victorious at home. EMU outlasted WMU in overtime, 69-67, in Ypsilanti, Jan. 17, 2018, behind Danielle Minott's 29-point effort. WMU evened the season series in Kalamazoo, Feb. 28, 2018, using a big second half to send Eastern home with a 74-66 setback.

OLD FACES IN NEW PLACES: Western Michigan Head Coach Shane Clipfell spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan, and was the acting head coach for most of the 2006-07 season when then-Head Coach Suzy Merchant was on maternity leave.
While serving as the acting head coach at EMU for a majority of the 2006-07 season, he guided the Eagles to a 16-13 overall record and a 10-6 finish in the MAC, good for second place in the West Division. Individually, Sarah VanMetre became the first women's basketball player in program history to be named Academic All-American, Patrice McKinney was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year and Alyssa Pittman was named the MAC Freshman of the Year.

SO MUCH FOR CHARITY: Free throws have been anything but free for the Eagles this season. The Green and White connect on just 58.7 percent of its shots from the charity stripe and boast the worst FT percentage in the league. In five of its six losses, missed free throws have been the difference, as EMU's margin of defeat could have been made up at the charity stripe (L at Illinois, 66-72 - 11-of-20 - (-9); L, vs. UNCG, 44-49 - 12-of-18 (-6); L, vs. Butler, 63-73 - 16-of-29 (-13); L, at Kent State, 64-71 - 8-of-19 - (-11); LOT, vs. Buffalo, 84-91 - 17-of-27 (-10)).

YONNIE OR LAUREL? WE SAY YONNIE!: Corrione Cardwell's work this offseason is paying dividends for the Eagles this season as the redshirt sophomore finds herself amid a career-year.
   For the season, Cardwell is averaging a career-best 13.9 points per game, more than a 10-point improvement over last season's mark of 3.7. Cardwell has seen her field goal percentage improve from 36.7 percent to 44.2, while she has already made six triples after going 0-for-8 from the long line in 2017-18. Her rebounding average is up from 1.7 per game to 3.8. Moreover, Cardwell scored 108 points all of last season and has already surpassed that mark this season as she has scored 181 points.

HELPING HAND: Freshman Jenna Annecchiarico has embraced the role of floor general to the tune of 4.2 assists per game, the ninth-best mark in the MAC. Moreover, the Baldwin, N.Y. native leads the conference, while ranking 21st nationally, with a 2.70 assist to turnover ratio, and is one of four freshmen to rank in the NCAA's top-50 (18. Brianna Breedy, Oakland; 38. Chloe Jackson, Baylor; 44. Mikayla Markham, Columbia).

GETTING AFTER IT ON DEFENSE: Eastern Michigan's high intensity defense has caused opponents fits this season as the Eagles have forced the opposition into 20+ turnovers seven times, while picking their pockets 10+ times in seven of their 13 games. EMU's 9.3 steals per game are the third-most in the MAC, as well as the 93rd-best nationally. Meanwhile, Eastern is turning opponents over 19.38 times per game, the fourth-highest mark in the conference and the 63rd-best in the country.

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 273-350 record against conference opponents all-time.

RESPECT THE GAME: The MAC proved how strong of a league it was a year ago as both Central Michigan and Buffalo advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. This year has not been any different as CMU, UB, and Ohio have each received votes in the top-25, while four teams are currently ranked in the Mid-Major Top-25 - No. 3 Ohio, No. 5 Central Michigan, No. 9 Buffalo, and No. 21 Toledo.

THE EMERALD YEAR: Home to EMU's basketball and volleyball teams, the Convocation Center is celebrating its 20th birthday this season. In its Emerald year, the Convo has been the home of EMU women's basketball since the 1998-99 season. The Convocation Center has been the backdrop of 173 wins for the program, with the Green and White holding a .658 win percentage on its home court.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan hits the road for a two-game roadtrip next week, beginning with a Wednesday night MAC crossover clash with the University of Akron, Jan. 16. Tipoff between the Eagles and Zips is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside James A. Rhodes Arena.

Women's Hoops Renews Rivalry with WMU in Saturday's Double Dip

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Annecchiarico

Corrione Cardwell

Autumn Hudson

Danielle Minott

Eastern Michigan Athletics