Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
12-13, 5-9MAC
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Western Michigan
9-16, 3-11MAC
Fourth-Quarter Frenzy Too Much for EMU to Overcome at WMU
2/23/2019 4:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Corrione Cardwell and Courtnie Lewis scored 20 points apiece for the Eagles
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - A last second shot rimmed out as a fourth quarter fury of three-pointers was too much for the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team to overcome at Western Michigan University Saturday, Feb. 23. The Eagles led by as many as six in the third quarter, but six fourth-quarter triples by the Broncos sent EMU home with a 71-68 setback.
Eastern (12-13, 5-9 MAC) trailed by seven with 3:29 to play, but used a late push to make it a one possession game with 10.1 seconds left on the clock. Freshman Natalia Pineda (Miami, Fla.-John A. Ferguson) pulled down a defensive rebound on a missed free throw, and redshirt senior Danielle Minott's (Miami, Fla.-Miami Country Day (Syracuse)) let a three-pointer fly, but the attempt rimmed out to cut the comeback short.
Both teams shot the ball well, with WMU (9-16, 3-11 MAC) holding a slim 53.2 to 53.1 edge in field goal percentage. The strong shooting performances extended to the long line, where Western went 11-for-24 and Eastern finished 7-of-16.
Sophomore Courtnie Lewis (Belton, Mo.-Belton) and redshirt sophomore Corrione Cardwell (Cleveland,Ohio-New Tech East) led the Eagles with 20 points apiece. Lewis went 6-of-10 from the field, and 4-for-7 from distance, while Cardwell converted 8-of-15 shots. Rounding out the trio of Eagles finish in double figures was Minott, who net 13 points.
Sophomore Autumn Hudson (Richwood, Ohio-North Union) won the tip and immediately reaped the benefits as Minott found the Eagles' starting center for the first bucket of the game. From there, Western Michigan inched ahead by five amid an EMU scoring drought, but Cardwell found Lewis for a three and freshman Kiara Johnson (Buffalo, N.Y.-Cardinal O'Hara) for another bucket to cut the deficit to two, 9-7, at the first media timeout.
Lewis caught fire from there, knocking down two more triples, to give Eastern a slim, 21-20, lead after one quarter.
The second period was much of the same, as the Green and White went 8-for-11 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from distance. Eastern's hot shooting culminated in a step-back three by Cardwell at the buzzer to send the Eagles into the half with a 41-36 advantage.
Western came out strong out in the third, using an 8-2 run to take a 44-43 lead three and a half minutes in but it did not last long. On EMU's next possession, Cardwell drove and dished to Pineda for a corner three to reclaim a two-point edge, 46-44. Eastern extended its lead to six with less than three minutes to go in the frame, but Western converted back-to-back buckets to make it 52-50 in favor of EMU into the final stanza.
All six of the Broncos' fourth quarter makes came from beyond the arc, thwarting the Eagles' comeback, 71-68.
Eastern wraps up its two-game MAC West Division swing Wednesday, Feb. 26, at Northern Illinois University. Tipoff between the Eagles and Huskies is set for 7 p.m. inside NIU's Convocation Center.
