Eastern Hosts Ball State in Battle of the Birds Saturday

Women's Basketball vs. Ball State
Date	Saturday, Feb. 16 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,754)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	N/A
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 continues its three-game homestand Saturday, Feb. 16, against Ball State University. The Mid-American Conference West Division showdown is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
   Both teams have fallen on tough times as of late, as both the Eagles and Cardinals have hopes of snapping five-game losing skids. Eastern (10-12, 3-8 MAC) could not overcome a second-quarter surge by Kent State University at home, Feb. 13, falling, 67-54. Meanwhile, Ball State fell behind out of the gate and dropped a MAC crossover contest, 91-61, at the University of Akron, Feb. 13.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley calling the action on the court alongside Greg Steiner. Additionally, coverage can be found on the team's Twitter account, @EMUWBB, and through live stats at EMUEagles.com.

KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR: Redshirt freshman Ja'Bria Knight made her home debut Wednesday night, Feb. 13, against Kent State. After joining the team following a stint as team manager, Knight played the final two minutes against the Golden Flashes, pulling down the first two rebounds and scoring the first two points of her collegiate career.

YO YO YONNIE!: Redshirt sophomore Corrione Cardwell put together a stat-stuffing performance that Eastern Michigan has not seen in quite some time against the Golden Flashes, Feb. 13. Cardwell scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and added five assists and five steals versus Kent State.
   It is the first time an Eagle has turned in a stat line of at least 10 pts - 8 rebs. - 5 ast. - 5 stls. against a NCAA Division I opponent since Desyree Thomas racked up 19 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, and five steals in EMU's MAC Tournament Quarterfinals clash with Western Michigan, March 9, 2013.

THEFT REPORTED IN YPSILANTI: Eastern Michigan has made a living behind its defensive play this season, forcing the fourth-most turnovers per game (17.86) in the conference, while ranking 86th nationally. Additionally, Eastern is the only school in the league to have three players ranked inside the MAC's top-15 in steals per game. Corrione Cardwell leads the way, ranking fifth with 2.4 thefts per contest, while Danielle Minott (2.2) and Jenna Annecchiarico (1.7) are slotted seventh and tied for 11th, respectively.

BACK AT HOME: Eastern Michigan is currently amid its longest homestay of the year, as well as it is its longest since hosting Detroit Mercy, St. Bonaventure, and Monmouth, Dec. 6-12, 2016.
   Furthermore, it marks the first time Eastern has played three straight home MAC games since Jan. 14-21, 2015. That year, Eastern Michigan fell to Ohio, 82-59, before besting Bowling Green, 64-52, and Miami, 56-38.

PAST THE MIDPOINT: 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. 9 seed and travel to No. 8 seeded Akron. Miami, Ohio, Central Michigan, and Buffalo would hold byes to Cleveland as the top four seeds.

REMAINING SLATE: Eastern Michigan's conference opposition through the first half of league play own a combined 143-79 record this season, good for a .644 winning percentage. Meanwhile, EMU's remaining conference opponents own a 94-84 record (.528 winning percentage) on the year.

A WIN WOULD...: With a win, Eastern Michigan would tie its overall win total from a season ago. Additionally, a victory would secure the Eagles' first winning record at home since the 2015-16 season.

LAST WIN OVER BALL STATE: 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. Cha Sweeney paced the Eagles with 29 points, while Chanise Baldwin added nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Since that meeting in Cleveland, the Eagles have lost four straight against the Cardinals.

BATTLE OF THE BIRDS: The Eagles will meet Mid-American Conference West Division rival Ball State on the hardwood for the 78th time in program history Saturday, Feb. 16. Holding a 40-38 lead in the all-time series, the Eagles have lost six of the last seven meetings with the Cardinals.
   Ball State swept the season series a year ago, using a slew of free throws to escape with a 91-85 win at Worthern Arena, Feb. 7, 2018, before spoiling EMU's senior day, 88-63, March 3, 2018.

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 175 wins for the program, with the Green and White holding a .658 win percentage on its home court.

NOT MUCH LOVE FOR FEBRUARY: Eastern Michigan has not fared particularly well in the second month of the calendar year in recent years, as EMU is just 1-18 in February since 2017. Ironically, the Eagles' last win in the month came on Valentine's Day of last year when Eastern knocked off Ohio, 73-58, in Ypsilanti.

MAKING THEM PAY: Eastern Michigan has turned conference opponents over an average of 16.3 times per game this season and has made a habit of cashing in on the other end. EMU is turning opponents' mistakes into more than 17 points a game, including 22 points off 18 Northern Illinois turnovers, Feb. 2.

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 more than doubled their outputs in MAC games. Johnson is averaging 5.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest, alongside Hudson's 7.3 points and 6.5 boards to lead the Eagles in the post.

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 13.1 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 42.9, while she has made 15 triples after going 0-for-8 from the long line in 2017-18. Her rebounding average is also up from 1.7 per game to 4.3. Moreover, Cardwell scored 108 points all of last year, a mark she surpassed nine games into this season.

HOW ABOUT HUDSON!: Sophomore Autumn Hudson has found her stride as of late, posting double digit rebounds in back-to-back-to-back games. Hudson grabbed a career-high 12 boards in an overtime loss to Northern Illinois, Feb. 2, before following it up with 11 rebounds at Miami, Feb. 6, and then adding in 12 caroms at Toledo, Feb. 9.
   She is the first Eagle to post three straight games with 10-or-more boards since Emoni Jackson did so Jan. 17-24, 2018, grabbing 15 against Western Michigan, 14 at Northern Illinois, and 13 versus Miami.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan wraps up its three-game homestand Wednesday, Feb. 20, against MAC East foe the University of Akron. The Eagles are looking for a season sweep of the Zips after knocking off UA, 72-60, in Akron, Jan. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and will serve as the Eagles' Play4Kay game in support of breast cancer awareness.

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Annecchiarico

Corrione Cardwell

Autumn Hudson

Emoni Jackson

Kiara Johnson

Danielle Minott

Eastern Michigan Athletics