Eagles Eye Third Straight at Western Saturday

Women's Basketball vs. Ball State
Date	Saturday, Feb. 23 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Kalamazoo, Mich. \| University Arena (5,421)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live stats
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	N/A
Twitter	@EMU WBB \| @EMUAthletics

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -  With eyes set on its third straight victory, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team begins a brief Mid-American Conference West Division road swing at Western Michigan University Saturday, Feb. 23. Tipoff between the Eagles and Broncos is slated for 2 p.m. inside University Arena.
   Eastern (12-12, 5-8 MAC) moved into the top-eight in the MAC standings with a crucial 67-60 win over the University of Akron at the Convocation Center, Feb. 20. Meanwhile, Western (8-16, 2-11 MAC) has lost seven in-a-row following a heartbreaking 56-52 home setback at the hands of Kent State University, Feb. 20.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Conor Clingen calling the action on the court alongside Jay Crain. Additionally, coverage can be found on the team's Twitter account, @EMUWBB, and through live stats at EMUEagles.com.

REBOUND THE BALL!: Eastern Michigan dominated the glass in its win over Akron, Feb. 20, holding a 50-29 rebounding advantage over the Zips. The Eagles 50 boards were not only a season-high, but the most since EMU grabbed 51 in a double-overtime tilt at Buffalo, Jan. 27, 2018. Autumn Hudson paced the strong effort with 11 caroms, while five other players recorded five-or-more rebounds.

AN EVEN DOZEN: With its 67-60 win against Akron, Feb. 20, EMU surpassed its win total from a year ago. Eastern's 12 victories are the most in the Fred Castro era, as well as the most since the 2015-16 campaign.

THEFT REPORTED IN YPSILANTI: Eastern Michigan has made a living behind its defensive play this season, forcing the fourth-most turnovers per game (17.50) in the conference, while ranking 90th nationally. Additionally, Eastern is one of two schools (Buffalo) in the league to have three players ranked inside the MAC's top-15 in steals per game. Corrione Cardwell and Danielle Minott lead the way, ranking tied fifth with 2.3 thefts per contest, while Jenna Annecchiarico (1.7) is tied for 12th.

UNCHARTERED TERRITORY: Eastern Michigan and Akron have only met multiple times in a year on eight occasions, with the most recent taking place during the 2015-16 campaign. When the two squads squared off in the Convocation Center, Feb. 20, the Eagles swept the season series with the Zips for the first time in program history.

SEEDING SCOOP: With five games left in the regular season, 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 to No. 9 seeded Akron. Miami, Ohio, Central Michigan, and Buffalo would hold byes to Cleveland as the top four seeds.

ALL-TIME VERSUS WESTERN MICHIGAN: The weekend contest against Western Michigan marks the 85th meeting between the Broncos and Eagles, who first met during the 1976-77 season. Eastern leads the all-time series by a count of 49-36, including winning 21 of the last 29 meetings.
   Eastern outlasted Western, 64-61, in Ypsilanti when the two squads squared off, Jan. 12. Danielle Minott led all scorers with 25 points, while also grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds to lead the way for the Green and White. Kiara Johnson added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Corrione Cardwell chipped in 12 points.

WINNING IN THE ZOO: Eastern Michigan is 17-21 against Western Michigan in Kalamazoo all-time, but has lost three of the last five meeting's at University Arena. EMU is looking for its first road win over WMU since knocking off the Broncos, 63-52, March 2, 2016. Chanise Baldwin fueled the Eagles to victory in a defensive battle, scoring a team-high 19 points and adding a team-best nine boards.

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.

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 158-147 advantage over in-state opponents. The Eagles have been most successful against Western Michigan, piecing together a 49-36 mark versus the Broncos. Meanwhile, Michigan State has been the toughest opponent for EMU, leading the all-time series 15-1 over the Eagles.

GLANCING DOWN THE ROAD: Eastern Michigan's previous conference opposition own a combined 189-126 record this season, good for a .600 winning percentage. Meanwhile, EMU's remaining conference opponents own a 65-58 record (.528) winning percentage) on the year.

MAKING THEM PAY: Eastern Michigan has turned conference opponents over an average of 16.0 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 15 points a game, including 22 points off 18 Northern Illinois turnovers, Feb. 2.

WHEN WE BENCH MORE, GOOD THINGS HAPPEN: The Eagles have been most successful when their bench players have been at their best, which probably is not all that shocking. In fact, nine of Eastern's 12 wins have come when EMU has held the advantage in bench points. Overall, the Eagles are 9-4 when leading in bench scoring.

SHARING IS CARING: Eastern Michigan dished out 10 assists in its win over Akron, Feb. 20. It was the 13th time this season the Eagles have totaled 10-or-more dimes. EMU is 9-4 this year when recording at least 10 assists, with two of its four losses taking place in overtime (at Illinois and vs. Buffalo).

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 6.4 rebounds per contest, alongside Hudson's 7.1 points and 6.8 boards to lead the Eagles in the post.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan continues it MAC West road swing Wednesday, Feb. 27, when the Eagles travel to DeKalb, Ill. with hopes of avenging an overtime loss to Northern Illinois University. Tipoff of the MAC West clash is set for 6 p.m. CT inside NIU's Convocation Center.

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Annecchiarico

Corrione Cardwell

Autumn Hudson

Kiara Johnson

Danielle Minott

Eastern Michigan Athletics