Show Me Showdown: Women's Hoops Hits the Road for Tilt at Southeast Missouri

Women's Basketball at Southeast Missouri
Date	Sunday, Dec. 6 \| 2 p.m.CT
Venue	Cape Girardeau, Mo. \| Show Me Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team remains on the road as it travels to the Show-Me State for a matchup with Southeast Missouri State Sunday, Dec. 6. Tipoff from the Show Me Center is set for 2 p.m. CT.   Although fans will not be allowed to attend, there is an opportunity to catch the game on ESPN+.
   Fans are encouraged to continue to follow @EMUWBB on social media and visit EMUEagles.com for the most up-to-date information on all things EMU women's basketball.

600 WATCH: A win over Southeast Missouri, Dec. 6, would give Eastern Michigan its 600th victory in program history. EMU first fielded a team in the 1976-77 season, and was led by Kathy Hart. The team posted its first-ever victory in just its third game, as it defeated the University of Michigan, 62-52, on Jan. 21, 1977. From there, the program has achieved impressive success, racking up eight 20+ win seasons, eight postseason appearances since 2003-04, including two NCAA Tournament appearances (2004, 2012), and four MAC Divisional titles.
   Overall, EMU has compiled a 599-641 record in its 44+ seasons of play. The program has produced seven First Team All-MAC honorees, three All-Americans, an Academic All-American, and numerous other individual award winners.

BACK IN #MACTION: Eastern Michigan opened its 40th season as a member of the Mid-American Conference with a win over Ball State, 77-58, Dec. 2, in Muncie, Ind. to improve to 19-21 all-time in conference openers and 289-367 all-time against MAC opponents. With the win, EMU has won 13 of its last 19 MAC lid lifters dating back to the 2002-03 season, including two straight (vs. Bowling Green, Jan. 4, 2020).
LATE START, EARLY #MACTION: The EMU women's basketball team completed an oxymoron of sorts when it opened Mid-American Conference play at Ball State, Dec. 2. The game was the earliest conference matchup for the Green and White since the 1981-82 campaign when it traveled to Northern Illinois on Nov. 24. On the flip side of the equation, EMU's season-opening game against Southern Illinois, Nov. 25, was the latest start since opening the 1995-96 season against Marist, Nov. 25, 1995.

SKANES DRAINS: Following an impressive debut week in the Green and White against Southern Illinois, Nov. 25, and UIC, Nov. 29, redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes continued to shine for Eastern in its MAC-opening victory against Ball State, Dec. 2. The Oklahoma City native was just shy of a double-double, notching 20 points and eight rebounds, the second-best marks on the team. She also recorded EMU's only block of the contest, along with grabbing two steals. Skanes ranks inside the MAC's top-five in multiple categories this season (Full chart located in PDF notes).

COMBS KEEPS CLIMBING: Redshirt senior Areanna Combs continues to excel for EMU in 2020-21. The Oklahoma City native recorded her fifth career double-double in EMU's MAC season debut at Ball State, Dec. 2, leading all players in the contest with a season-high 26 points and 11 rebounds. The performance also marked her 27th consecutive game recording 10+ points and 14th scoring 20+. Combs also tallied five helpers and a career-high six steals in the game. Like her Sooner State Sister, Ce'Nara Skanes, Combs is among the MAC and national leaderboards in numerous categories (Full chart located in PDF notes).

HARRIS HEATING UP: Despite only being on the floor for just under nine minutes against Ball State, Dec. 2, redshirt junior RayJon Harris made a big impact in the Eagles' 77-58 win. The Euclid, Ohio native converted a three-point play in the third quarter, giving Eastern the 36-35 lead it would not relinquish for the rest of the contest. In addition, Harris displayed perfect shooting, going 4-for-4 on the night for seven points while also grabbing two boards.
   The last time an Eagle was perfect from the floor (min. two shots) was at Youngstown State, Nov. 16, 2019, when then-redshirt sophomore Juanita Agosto went 2-for-2 against the Penguins.

LINE OF IMPROVEMENT: It's no secret that EMU has struggled at the free throw line during the past two seasons, finishing last in the conference in both 2018-19 and 2019-20 with a 58.6 and 62.1 clip at the line, respectively. EMU looked to be in a similar spot to start the 2020-21 campaign as it went just 50.0 percent from the line in its first two contests at SIU, Nov. 25, and vs UIC, Nov. 29. The Eagles were much improved in its latest game against Ball State, Dec. 2. In that contest, EMU shot an impressive 13-for-16 (81.3%) from the charity stripe. An important determinant in winning, Eastern is 15-18 under head coach Fred Castro when shooting 70 percent or better from charity stripe, but just 30-63 when shooting under 70 percent.

FIXED THE FLAT: EMU had its worst three-point shooting performance under head coach Fred Castro when it went 0-for-15 from deep against UIC, Nov. 29. The Eagles quickly remedied that performance, however, as they hit a season-best six triples (6-for-21) against Ball State, Dec. 2.

EMU ON NATIONAL LEADERBOARDS: EMU is inside the nation's top-40 in multiple team and individual categories this season. Highlighting the numbers is EMU's No. 5 position in steals (42), and its 22nd-best ranking in turnover margin (8.0). Individually, redshirt senior Areanna Combs and junior Jenna Annecchiarico rank third and fourth in the country in swipes, respectively.

DOMINANT DEFENSE: EMU's defensive efforts have been strong through three games this season. The Eagles are the second-best in the conference in the scoring defense category, allowing just 58.7 points per game, and also lead the MAC is steals (42) and steals per game (14.0). Additionally, Eastern is the league leader in turnover margin (8.0), and third in the MAC in defensive rebounding (27.0 per game), and is fourth in the league in offensive rebounding (14.0 per game). The Eagles rank fourth in the MAC in blocked shots (2.67 per game).

STEAL THE DEAL: Last season, the Eagles were fantastic at stealing the rock, finishing fourth in the Mid-American Conference with 8.57 steals per game. Redshirt senior Areanna Combs was first on the team and fourth in the MAC with a 2.2 SPG average in 2019-20.
   The Eagles appear to be off to a great start on the defensive end of the floor once again in 2020-21. EMU racked up an incredible 11 steals en route to turning Southern Illinois over 18 times on Nov. 25, before nabbing 18 steals against UIC, Nov. 29, and 13 at Ball State, Dec. 2. The 18-steal game is just one behind EMU's top mark in the 2019-20 campaign (19 at UIC, Dec. 18). EMU leads the MAC in both steals (42) and steals per game (14.0), numbers which sit at No. 5 and No. 7 in the nation, respectively. Combs and junior Jenna Annecchiarico are first and second in the MAC with their respective 4.67 and 4.0 steals per game averages. Annecchiarico's eight steals against UIC, Nov. 29, was a career-high.

ALL-TIME AGAINST SEMO: The Eagles and Redhawks have met just one time in their respective histories, and that meeting came during the 2019-20 campaign. Played on Nov. 19, 2019, EMU emerged victorious over the eventual Ohio Valley Conference champions, 69-64.

LAST TIME AGAINST SEMO: Eastern survived a late scare to defeat Southeast Missouri, 69-64, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019 inside the Convocation Center.
   Former-Eagle Aaliyah Stanley led EMU with a career-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting and set a personal-best by knocking down five of her nine three-point attempts. She also pulled down four rebounds and recorded two steals for the third consecutive game.Then-redshirt junior Corrione Cardwell added nine points, two boards, and a team-best five assists, while then-sophomore Natalia Pineda tallied nine points off the bench to go with four rebounds and a pair of helpers.
   The Eagles finished 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from the floor, which was slightly better than SEMO's (3-1) 35.3 percent (24-of-68) efficiency. Although the Redhawks out-rebounded EMU, 50-40, the Green and White recorded more assists (11-4), bench points (17-11), points off turnovers (15-7), and steals (6-3).

AGAINST THE OHIO VALLEY: While the Eagles and Redhawks have clashed just once, EMU does have experience against the Ohio Valley Conference. In its seven games against the OVC, Eastern has notched three wins, one apiece against Morehead State, Eastern Illinois, and SEMO, respectively.

SHOW-ME STATE CONNECTIONS: It will be a homecoming for EMU senior guard Courtnie Lewis when the team heads to Cape Girardeau on Sunday, Dec. 6. Lewis hails from nearby Benton, Mo., which is just 19 miles from the Show Me Center. Next season, Lewis' younger sister, Kyndal, will join the Green and White as a freshman.

ON THE HORIZON: EMU returns to MAC play when it heads to Bowling Green State University for its second conference game of the season Friday, Dec. 11. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

Show Me Showdown: Women's Hoops Hits the Road for Tilt at Southeast Missouri

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Players Mentioned

Juanita Agosto

Jenna Annecchiarico

Corrione Cardwell

Areanna Combs

RayJon Harris

Courtnie Lewis

Natalia Pineda

Ce'Nara Skanes

Aaliyah Stanley

Eastern Michigan Athletics