Women's Hoops Returns Home for Battle with BGSU

Women's Basketball vs. Bowling Green
Date	Wednesday, Jan. 23 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,784)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN +
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 looks to get back on track Wednesday night, Jan. 23, when EMU plays host to Bowling Green State University. Tipoff for the Mid-American Conference cross-divisional clash is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
   Eastern (9-7, 2-3 MAC) is looking to bounce back from an 85-44 loss at MAC East-leading Ohio University, Jan. 19, that snapped a two-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Bowling Green (7-9, 0-5 MAC) is in search of its first conference win of the year after a 79-65 loss to the University of Toledo.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley and Kyler Ludlow calling the action on the court. Additional coverage can be found by followingthe team's account, @EMUWBB, on Twitter, and through live stats at EMUEagles.com.

RAISING THEIR GAME: Freshman Kiara Johnson and sophomore Autumn Hudson have taken their games to another level since conference play began. After combining for just 4.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in EMU's 11 non-conference games, the duo have nearly doubled their outputs in MAC games. Johnson is averaging 6.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest, alongside Hudson's 6.0 points and 4.0 boards to lead the Eagles in the post.

IN GOOD COMPANY: Third-year Head Coach Fred Castro is looking for his third straight win against Bowling Green Wednesday, Jan. 23. Castro is the second coach in EMU history to win their first two clashes with the Falcons, joining Kathy Hart who led the Eagles to five consecutive wins from 1977-82. The Eagles knocked off the Falcons, 81-74, his Castro's first season at the helm and then topped BGSU 54-52 last year.
   With an Eagles win on Wednesday night, Eastern's three-game win streak over Bowling Green would be the best since EMU won five in-a-row from March 8, 2003 to Feb. 19, 2005. Additionally, Castro would be the thid coach to post a three-game win streak against the Falcons, joining Kathy Hart and Suzy Merchant.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY [AT OHIO]: The good, the bad, and the ugly that came out of Eastern Michigan's trip to Ohio, Jan. 19...
THE GOOD: Manager-turned-player Ja'Bria Knight made her debut for the Eagles at Ohio, Jan. 19. Knight came in off the bench to play the final three minutes     of the game.
   THE BAD: EMU was hampered by its worst shooting performance of the season at OU, as the Eagles shot just 27.4 percent from the floor.
   THE UGLY: Eastern's shooting woes paired with Ohio's strong offensive showing led to EMU's largest MAC defeat since Feb. 4, 2017 when Eastern was     overpowered, 104-63 by Central Michigan.

EMU VS. FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACHES: Wednesday night's MAC crossover clash will mark the Eagles' fifth game against a first-year head coach this season as BGSU's Robyn Fralick leads the Falcons into Ypsilanti. Eastern Michigan is 4-0 against first-year bench bosses this year, having posted wins against Cleveland State (69-63), Illinois-Chicago (52-38), Longwood (64-45), and Akron (72-60).

LONG DISTANCE LUST: The Green and White has attempted 20-or-more three-pointers in 12 of its 16 games this season, including 36 at Illinois, Dec. 1. Furthermore, Eastern is 9-24 when taking 20-or-more threes since the start of the 2016-17 season.

FACING THE FALCONS: Wednesday's contest marks the 68th meeting between Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan, who first met during the 1976-1977 season. BGSU has dominated the all-time series, 50-17, including winning 14 of the last 17 meetings between the two schools. Eastern Michigan won last season's clash in thrilling fashion, as a putback by Emoni Jackson at the buzzer lifted EMU to a 54-52 win over BGSU inside the Stroh Center, Jan. 3, 2018. Eastern's two-point win marked the Eagles' second straight victory over the Falcons.

FREE THROWS - THE GOOD AND THE BAD: The Eagles are one of the best in the conference at getting to the free throw line, ranking fourth in the league and 104th nationally with 310 free throw attempts. Unfortunately, EMU has not been able to cash in on its chances at the charity stripe, converting just 181 of its attempts. Eastern's free throw percentage sits at 58.4 percent on the season, the lowest mark in the MAC and the 336th-worst in the country.

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 13.3 points per game, nearly 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 43.6, while she has already made eight triples after going 0-for-8 from the long line in 2017-18. Her rebounding average is up from 1.7 per game to 4.1. Moreover, Cardwell scored 108 points all of last season, a mark she surpassed nine games into the campaign.

HELPING HAND: Freshman Jenna Annecchiarico has embraced the role of floor general to the tune of 3.8 assists per game, the 10th-best mark in the MAC. Moreover, the Baldwin, N.Y. native leads the conference, while ranking 38th nationally, with a 2.31 assist to turnover ratio, and is one of three freshmen to rank in the NCAA's top-50 (19. Chloe Jackson, Baylor; 33. 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 16 games. EMU's 8.9 steals per game are the third-most in the MAC, as well as the 108th-best nationally. Meanwhile, Eastern is turning opponents over 18.38 times per game, the fourth-highest mark in the conference and the 85th-best in the country.

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)).

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 174 wins for the program, with the Green and White holding a .660 win percentage on its home court.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan heads north for a clash with in-state rival and MAC West-leading Central Michigan University Saturday, Jan. 26. Tipoff inside McGuirk Arena is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Annecchiarico

Corrione Cardwell

Autumn Hudson

Emoni Jackson

Kiara Johnson

Eastern Michigan Athletics