Women's Hoops Readies for Regular Season Finale at Ball State

Women's Basketball at Ball State
Date	Saturday, March 9 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Muncie, Ind. \| Worthen Arena (11,500)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN +
Listen	WEMU 89.1 FM
Twitter	@EMU WBB \| @EMUAthletics

MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team looks to spoil Ball State University's Senior Day in a Mid-American Conference West Division clash Saturday, March 9. Tipoff of the regular season finale between the Eagles and Cardinals is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Worthen Arena.
   Eastern (12-16, 5-12 MAC) is hoping to bounce back from a heartbreaking double-overtime loss, 70-67, to the University of Toledo on Senior Day, March 6. Meanwhile, Ball State (8-21, 3-14 MAC) looks to build off a thrilling 67-64 win over Northern Illinois, March 6.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, while Chad Bush will return to the airwaves on WEMU 89.1 FM. Additional coverage can be found through live stats on EMUEagles.com or by following the team's Twitter account, @EMUWBB.

MAC TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS: Eastern's postseason journey will begin on the road Monday, March 11, but the Eagles' destination is yet to be determined with one game to go. EMU could be the No. 9 or No. 10 seed in the upcoming tournament depending on the outcomes of this weekend's games. Scenarios are listed below...

   - If Eastern wins, EMU is the No. 9 seed and will travel to No. 8 seed Akron.
   - If Eastern loses and WMU loses, EMU is the No. 9 seed and will travel to No. 8 seed Akron.
   - If Eastern loses AND WMU wins, EMU is the No. 10 seed and heading to No. 7 seed NIU.

STUNNED IN EXTRA TIME: Eastern Michigan fell in heartbreaking fashion Wednesday, March 6, as the Eagles' were clipped, 70-67, by Toledo in double overtime. It was EMU's fourth overtime game of the season, as EMU dropped OT heartbreakers at Illinois, Dec. 1, and against Buffalo, Jan. 9, and versus Northern Illinois, Feb. 2.
   Meanwhile, it was the Eagles' first double-overtime tilt since Feb. 6, 2016, when EMU bested Western Michigan, 70-66, inside the Convo.
   With the setback, Eastern fell to 22-23 in overtime games all-time and 4-4 in double OT.

HUDSON'S CAREER DAY: Sophomore Autumn Hudson was dominant on the glass in Eastern Michigan's double OT game against Toledo, March 6. Playing a career-high 37 minutes, Hudson grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds. She fell just shy of a double-double with nine points on 4-of-9 shooting. Her 16 boards are the second-most by an Eagle this season (Lorraine Enabulele, 17, vs. Detroit Mercy, Dec. 5), and are tied for the ninth-most in Convocation Center history.

TWICE IS NICE: With 16 rebounds against Toledo, March 6, Autumn Hudson became the second Eagle this season to grab 15-or-more boards in a game, as Lorraine Enabulele tallied 17 to accomplish the feat against Detroit Mercy, Dec. 5.
   Hudson and Enabulele are the first Eagles to record 15+ rebounds in a game in the same season since the 2013-14 campaign when Olivia Fouty and Natachia Watkins did so. Fouty grabbed 18 boards in an overtime loss at Buffalo, Jan. 18, while Watkins recorded 15 caroms at Central Michigan, Jan. 30.

BATTLE OF THE BIRDS: The Eagles will meet Mid-American Conference West Division rival Ball State on the hardwood for the 80th time in program history Saturday, March 6. Holding a 41-38 lead in the all-time series, the Eagles snapped a four-game skid against the Cardinals in the last meeting between the two squads.
   Eastern Michigan outlasted Ball State, 56-53, inside of the Convocation Center, Feb. 16. Four Eagles scored in double figures, while EMU's defense turned BSU over 20 times. Jenna Annecchiarico tallied a team-high 13 points and Corrione Cardwell contributed a 12-point effort. Annecchiarico, Cardwell, and Danielle Minott also recorded three steals apiece.

WORTHEN WOES: Ball State's Worthen Arena has not been kind to Eastern Michigan over the past seven years, as EMU is just 2-5 in the building since the 2011-12 season. Having come up short in their last three trips to Worthen, the Eagles have not walked away from BSU's home court as victors since besting Ball State, 56-41, Feb. 25, 2015.

SWEEP SWEEP: Eastern Michigan is looking to break out the brooms against Ball State for the first time in nearly 10 years after EMU outlasted BSU, 56-53, in the Convocation Center, Feb. 16. The last time Eastern swept the regular season series against Ball State came back during the 2010-11 campaign. That year, Eastern knocked off Ball State, 70-62, in Ypsilanti before completing the sweep with an 81-73 victory on the Cardinals' home floor.

EMU IN REGULAR SEASON FINALES: Eastern Michigan owns a 20-22 record in regular season finales all-time, including a 6-14 mark when closing it out on the road. EMU and BSU have wrapped up the regular season against one another on just three occasions, with all of the meetings taking place in Ypsi. The Cardinals hold a 2-1 mark against the Eagles in such contests, including topping EMU, 84-77, March 3, 2018.
   Eastern's lone regular season finale win over Ball State came back before any of the current Eagles were born, as the Eagles held off the Cardinals in overtime, 93-90, to end the 1990-91 campaign.

LAST REGULAR SEASON FINALE DUB: EMU is looking to come out victorious in its regular season finale for the first time since a 93-86 win over Central Michigan, March 7, 2015. Janay Morton dropped a whopping 34 points on 9-of-17 shooting and Cha Sweeney added 20 points to lead the Eagles past the Chippewas.

THEFT REPORTED IN YPSILANTI: Eastern Michigan has made a living behind its defensive play this season, forcing the fourth-most turnovers per game (17.14) in the conference, while ranking 107th nationally. Additionally, Eastern is one of two schools (Central Michigan) in the league to have three players ranked inside the MAC's top-15 in steals per game. Danielle Minott and Corrione Cardwell lead the way, ranking tied for fifth with 2.3 thefts per contest, while Jenna Annecchiarico (1.5) is tied for 14th.

GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT: Eastern Michigan's success this season can be tied to how the Eagles have fared in the first quarter. With 26 games complete, EMU is 9-4 when eclipsing the 14-point mark in the first quarter. On the flip side, Eastern is 6-4 when holding the opposition to 14-or-fewer points in the quarter, in stark contrast to the Eagles' 6-12 record when giving up 14+ in the stanza.

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 9-5 when leading in bench scoring.

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 13.4 points per game, nearly a 10-point improvement over last season's mark of 4.4. Cardwell has seen her field goal percentage improve from 36.7 percent to 43.9, while she has made 17 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 4.4. Moreover, Cardwell scored 108 points all of last year, a mark she surpassed nine games into this season.

FINDING HER STRIDE: Sophomore Courtnie Lewis has found her stride as of late, as the Belton, Mo. product is averaging 13.3 points per contest over EMU's last seven games, a nearly three-point improvement above her season mark prior to that point (10.4 ppg). She has also been significantly more efficient, boasting a 45.8 field goal percentage on 33-for-72 shooting and knocking down 15-of-34 triples, good for a 44.2 percent clip. Prior to Eastern's game against Kent State, Feb. 13, Lewis had been converting just 32.5 percent of her shots and just 29.3 of her three-point attempts.

SHARING IS CARING: Eastern Michigan dished out 11 assists in its loss at Central Michigan, March 2. It was the 16th time this season the Eagles have totaled 10-or-more dimes. EMU is 9-7 this year when recording at least 10 assists, with two of its seven losses taking place in overtime (at Illinois and vs. Buffalo).

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will begin the postseason on the road Monday, March 11. The Eagles, who will hold either the No. 9 or 10 seed will travel to either Akron or Northern Illinois for the first round of the MAC Tournament.

Women's Hoops Readies for Regular Season Finale at Ball State

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Annecchiarico

Corrione Cardwell

Lorraine Enabulele

Autumn Hudson

Courtnie Lewis

Danielle Minott

Eastern Michigan Athletics