Eagles Travel to Kent State for First Conference Road Matchup

Women's Basketball at Kent State
Date	Wednesday, Jan. 8 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Kent, Ohio \| Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch \| Listen	ESPN+ \| WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMUW BB \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After opening its 2020 Mid-American Conference slate with a 78-61 victory over Bowling Green, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team hits the road for a conference clash against Kent State University Wednesday, Jan. 8, inside the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. Tipoff of the cross-divisional affair is set for 7 p.m.
   Eastern (6-6; 1-0 MAC) has notched four consecutive victories for the first time this season after defeating Purdue Fort Wayne, Dec. 10, Illinois-Chicago, Dec. 18, Detroit Mercy, Dec. 21, and BGSU, Jan. 4. Meanwhile, Kent State (7-5; 1-0) looks to pick up its first MAC win of the season following a close loss at Ball State, 66-62, Jan. 4.
   The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and can be heard on WEMU (89.1), where Chad Bush will have the call. Fans can also follow live stats at EMUEagles.com/livestats, or get live updates from the team's Twitter, @EMUWBB.

FOUR STRAIGHT: Eastern's win over BGSU, Jan. 4, gave the team four consecutive wins for the first time during the 2019-20 campaign. The Eagles dominated Purdue Fort Wayne, 64-40, Dec. 10, before taking care of the UIC, 68-59, Dec. 18, and Detroit Mercy, 84-70, Dec. 21. EMU earned its fourth win with a 78-61 handling of the Falcons. The streak is the team's best since the 2015-16 campaign when it posted six consecutive wins between Dec. 8, 2015-Jan. 2, 2016.

EMU IN MAC OPENERS: Eastern Michigan opened its 39th Mid-American Conference slate Saturday, Jan. 4, with a 78-61 win over BGSU.
The Green and White are 18-21 all-time in league openers dating back to 1981-82.

SIX-FOR-SIX: Redshirt junior guard Areanna Combs has been outstanding for the Eagles in the six games she has played this season. The Oklahoma City native has scored in double-figures in each contest, dropping a career-best 32 points against BGSU, Jan. 4. In all, Combs is averaging a team-best 20.7 points per game, an average that only two players in the MAC have outpaced this season.

COMBS MAKES HISTORE: Redshirt junior Areanna Combs continued to display her top-level playing ability with a career-best performance against Bowling Green, Jan. 4. Combs' near-perfect performance was highlighted by a career-best 32 points on 14-of-20 shooting. Her 14 field goals rank second-best in a single game by any player in the MAC this season, while her 32 points is tied for fourth-best among conference players this season.
   Combs has scored in double figures in every game she has played in this season, now six consecutive games. She leads all Eagles with a 20.7 points per game, 3.0 steals per game average. Her scoring numbers are only outpaced by two other players in the MAC, while her steals per game average is only bested by one other competitor.
   Additionally, her 70.0 shooting percentage is the best all-time in the 20-year history of EMU's Convocation Center (of any player with greater than 12 attempts), and her 14 field goal makes is tied for the eight-most in a single game by any player in Eastern Michigan women's basketball history (Tavelyn James versus Kent State, Feb. 11, 2012 and Danielle Minott against Buffalo, Jan. 27, 2018 and Jan. 9, 2019.)
   In addition to her historic offensive performance, Combs was stellar in other areas of the game as well. Her seven rebounds tied for the team lead and game-high, while her two three-pointers
paced the Eagles. She also dished out two helpers and added four steals.

FIRST TO 30: Redshirt junior Areanna Combs became the first Eagle to reach the 30-point plateau since Danielle Minott tallied a program-record 43 points in an overtime loss to Buffalo, Jan. 9, 2019 when Combs notched a career-best 32 points against Bowling Green, Jan. 4.

WATCH OUT FOR JUANITA: Redshirt sophomore guard Juanita Agosto had strong showing in Eastern Michigan's conference-opening win over Bowling Green Saturday, Jan. 4. Agosto notched a season-best eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, her most efficient performance to date. The Seattle, Wash. native was second on the team with six boards in the game, and paced the Eagles with four assists, a season-high. Agosto helped Eastern pick up its fourth consecutive win, the team's best streak since it notched six straight victories during the 2015-16 campaign.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: Eastern's ability to protect the ball has certainly contributed to its four consecutive victories. EMU has forced 89 turnovers during that stretch, while only relinquishing possession on 64 occasions.

HELPING HAND: Sophomore Jenna Annecchiarico has embraced the role of floor general to the tune of 3.8 assists per game, the eigth-best mark in the MAC. Additionally, her 2.6 assist to turnover ratio is good for sixth in the league.

GETTING IT DONE ON D: Eastern Michigan's high intensity defense has caused opponents fits this season as the Eagles have forced the opposition into 15+ turnovers nine times, while picking their pockets 10+ times in four of their 12 games, including each of their last four. EMU's 18.8 forced turnovers per game are the fifth-most in the MAC.

NOT SO CHARITABLE: Free throws have been anything but free for the Eagles this season. The Green and White connect on just 56.9 percent of its shots from the charity stripe and have the 12th-ranked FT percentage in the league.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE FLASHES: Wednesday's showdown between the Eagles and Golden Flashes marks the 68th time the two teams will battle on the hardwood since the series began during the 1980-81 campaign. Kent State holds the edge in the all-time series, 40-27, but prior to its current six-game losing skid against KSU, Eastern Michigan had won 11 straight meetings.
   Kent State came out on top, 67-54, at the Convocation Center (Ypsilanti, Mich.) when the two tangled last season, Feb. 13, 2019.

LAST WIN OVER KSU: None of the current Eagles were on EMU's roster the last time Eastern bested Kent State.
   EMU's last win over KSU came in the opening round of the 2016 MAC Tournament. Eastern disposed of Kent State, 73-60, inside the Convocation Center to advance to Cleveland. Four Eagles reached double figures, paced by Janay Morton's 17-point effort. Phillis Webb added 14 points and Cha Sweeney pitched in a 14-point, 10-assist double-double.

LAST TIME AGAINST KSU: Then-sophomore Autumn Hudson paced EMU with a career-high 13 points while pulling down seven boards, including four on the offensive end against the Flashes, Feb. 13, 2019. Fellow sophomore Courtnie Lewis added 12 points and five rebounds, while then-redshirt sophomore Corrione Cardwell notched 10 points and led the Green and White with eight boards, five assists, and five steals in a stat-stuffing effort. The Green and White maintained the lead throughout the game leading by as many as 15 late in the third, but the Flashes put forth a furious comeback effort in the final stanza.

BACK IN #MACtion: The Green and White's 2019-20 campaign marks the 39th season Eastern Michigan will compete as a member of the Mid-American Conference. Having been a member of the Cleveland, Ohio-based league since the 1981-82 campaign, EMU has compiled a 268-360 record against conference opponents all-time.

RING CHASING: Eastern enters league play in search of its first conference championship since 2012. That year, the Eagles captured both the MAC West and MAC Tournament titles. Overall, EMU has claimed four division crowns (2004, 2006, 2008, 2012) and two tournament championships (2004, 2012).

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern continues MAC play with a trip to Ball State, Jan. 11. The game is slated to begin at 1 p.m.

Eagles Travel to Kent State for First Conference Road Matchup

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Players Mentioned

Juanita Agosto

Jenna Annecchiarico

Corrione Cardwell

Areanna Combs

Autumn Hudson

Courtnie Lewis

Danielle Minott

Eastern Michigan Athletics