Eastern Welcomes Buffalo to Town for A Women's Basketball Matchup, Jan. 6

Women's Basketball vs. Buffalo
Date	Wednesday, Jan. 6
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Listen	WEMU 89.1 FM
Watch	ESPN+
Virtual Game Program	Program
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team will take the court for a Mid-American Conference matchup with the University at Buffalo Wednesday, Jan. 6. Tipoff from the Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.
   Eastern (4-4, 1-2 MAC) is looking to get back on track in conference play as it has dropped consecutive league contests to Bowling Green, Dec. 11, and Kent State, Jan. 2. It will be attempting to stifle a hot Buffalo team, which comes into the game with an impressive 6-2 overall ledger, including a 3-0 mark in MAC play.
   Fans can watch the game on ESPN+ where Ryan Wooley will have the call. He'll be joined in the booth by Dannie Rogers. The game will also be aired locally on WEMU (89.1) FM with Tom Helmer and Alex Jewell serving in the play-by-play and analyst roles, respectively.
   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.

A CHANCE TO SAY BYE, FELISHA: Eastern's game against Buffalo, Jan. 6, will serve as the newest opportunity for Fred Castro to notch another first win on his MAC checklist. Castro, in his fifth season, has beaten each team in the conference, with the exception of Buffalo and Central Michigan. If his squad can take down the Bulls, it will get the opportunity to complete the checklist at CMU, Jan. 20.
   In her ninth season at the helm of Buffalo's program, Felisha Legette-Jack has been a pain for EMU coaches. She is 7-2 against Eastern since the 2012-13 campaign, a trend Castro and Company hope to subdue on Wednesday night.

TIGGS EARNS PRESTIGIOUS POSITION: First-year graduate assistant coach Trevon Tiggs has been selected as a participant in the inaugural class for TopConnect Graduate Assistant Leadership Academy (GALA). Over 115 basketball graduate assistants from around the country applied for one of 22 spots in the initial class. TopConnect GALA, the preeminent professional preparation and networking program for college basketball coaches and athletic directors, is an eight-week class focused on leadership and professional development. Basketball Coaches and Athletic Directors will share their thoughts on professional development in Zoom sessions, while Coach Rob Ehsan (formerly at the University of Alabama-Birmingham) will work with participants in many different areas.

LOOKING FINE WITH 29: Redshirt senior guard Areanna Combs was outstanding for the Green and White in the team's game against Kent State Saturday, Jan. 2. The most dominant player on the floor, Combs cruised to a season-high 29 points as she hit nine shots from the field and drilled 11-of-13 opportunities from the charity stripe. Her 11 free throws are the third most in a game by any player in the league this season, while only six individual-point performances have been better in the MAC this year. Combs was the only player in the conference last week to record such a performance.
   In the midst of another All-MAC-caliber campaign for Eastern, Combs leads the team and ranks sixth in the MAC with a 19.5 points per game scoring average. She is first in the conference and 17th nationally in field goals made (61). Defensively, she leads the league and ranks eighth nationally in total steals (26), four of which she added against the Golden Flashes.
   The Oklahoma City native has scored in double figures in seven of EMU's eight games and 31 of her 32 career games with the Green and White. She has notched a team-best five games with 20+ points this season, and has led EMU in scoring on six occasions.

ELEVATING IN MAC PLAY: As good as Areanna Combs has been, she has been that much better in the games that matter most: conference games. Combs averaged an impressive 16.8 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 2.4 steals per game in Eastern's five non-conference affairs this season. In her three games against MAC opponents, those numbers have all improved. Against league foes, she has put up 24 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per contest, and has averaged 4.7 thefts per game. Those averages rank third, 10th, and first, respectively, among all MAC players in conference play this season.

PINEDA PARTY: One of the team's best defenders, junior guard Natalia Pineda had her breakthrough game of the season on the offensive end of the court against Kent State, Jan. 2. Consistent through the game's duration, Pineda finished the game with a 3-for-4 shooting mark, including a perfect 2-for-2 performance from deep, to record a season-high 10 points. Coming into the contest, Pineda had been shooting an uncharacteristically low 21-percent from the field and 15-percent from the long line.

MOVING ON UP: Redshirt sophomore forward Ce'Nara Skanes has been the league's most dominating post player this season. With her 11-point, 14-rebound performance against Kent State, Jan. 2, Skanes has four double-doubles this season. That number, which leads the MAC and ranks 15th nationally, has catapulted her up the all-time EMU rankings to a tie for 18th-overall in the category. Although she is comfortably behind Sarah VanMetre's all-time record of 17 double-doubles, Skanes is on pace to surpass that total, given that she has three more years of eligibility following the 2020-21 campaign.
   EMU has five players on the active roster that have recorded at least one double-double. Areanna Combs leads the active players with five.

WORST --> FIRST: Perhaps the biggest bright spot for the Eagles this season has been their improvement at the charity stripe. The Eagles rank first of any team in the league with a 78.3-percent clip from the line in conference play, and rank seventh overall in the conference with a 71.2-percent mark on the season. Those numbers are impressive given that EMU has finished last in the league in free thrown percentage each of the last two seasons, including a best mark of 61.2-percent in 2019-20.
   Individually, the most outstanding jump has come courtesy of senior center Autumn Hudson. A sub-40-percent career free throw shooter entering the season, she has hit 75-percent (6-of-8) of her attempts this season. Hudson has improved at the line in each season with Eastern, starting her career with a 21.4-percent clip in 2017-18 before raising that number to 34.0 and 40.9-percent, respectively, in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

BALDWIN BADDIE: Junior guard Jenna Annecchiarico is again proving to be one of the best floor generals in the conference this season. In addition to her 11.0 ppg average, which ranks third on the team, she has been incredible at dishing the rock. The Baldwin, N.Y. native ranks second in the conference in assists (35), and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5). Annecchiarico has led the conference in the latter in each of the previous two seasons.

CAN'T LET THEM SCORE 70: Although many factors contribute to the end result of a game, one thing is for certain; 70 is kryptonite for Eastern Michigan. This season, the team is 0-2 when allowing 70 points in a game. Moreover, EMU is 8-30 when allowing 70+ points since the start of the 2016-17 season.
   When Eastern scores 70, it is 1-0 this season and 13-7 since the 2016-17 campaign.

KEEP THEM UNDER 60: While a team scoring 70 typically favors EMU's opponent, the Eagles are dominant when holding their competition under 60 points in a game. This season, the team is 3-0 when holding its opponents under the 60-point plateau. Furthermore, Eastern is 19-5 during the Fred Castro era (2016-Pres.) when keeping its competition below 60 points.

FIRST HALF FORTUNES: It is often said that games are won in the second half, but Eastern Michigan's stats disagree. EMU is 3-0 this season when leading at the break, and just 1-4 when attempting a second-half comeback. Since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, the Eagles are 31-14 when holding an intermission lead, and just 15-65 when trailing at the half.

SHOOT WELL, AND YOU WILL WIN: The team that has shot the highest percentage from the floor has emerged victorious in each of EMU's eight games this season (EMU 4, opponents 4). That trend holds consistent during the last five seasons; the Eagles are 40-13 when outshooting opponents in that stretch, and are just 10-65 when scoring at a lesser clip than its competition.

PLAY ALL DAY: Junior guard Jenna Annecchiarico is one of the most relied upon players in all of Division I basketball. No player in the MAC has logged more minutes than Annecchiarico this season, who checks in at 302:09 through eight games. Her 37.77 minutes per game average is the best in the conference, and ranks 27th nationally.
DOMINANT DEFENSE: EMU's defensive efforts have been strong through eight games this season. The Eagles are second-best in the conference in the scoring defense category, allowing just 62.4 points per game. Additionally, Eastern is second in the MAC in steals per game (10.0), and ranks third in total rebounds (325).

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 is second in the MAC in both steals 80 and steals per game (10.0), numbers which sit at No. 34 and No. 62 in the nation, respectively. Combs and junior Jenna Annecchiarico are first and fifth in the MAC, and eighth and 27th nationally with their respective 3.25 and 2.62 steals per game averages. Annecchiarico's eight steals against UIC, Nov. 29, was a career-high.

THANK GOODNESS WE'RE HOME: Last time EMU and Buffalo met, the Eagles became the subject of national headlines, but not for their play on the court. The team received plenty of publicity after word got out that a routine trip home from Buffalo, N.Y., Jan. 19, 2020 was anything but.
   Normally a six-hour cruise home, the team spent better than 14 hours attempting to get back to Michigan after a closure along I-90 West sent the team on a detour it will never forget. After 6.5 hours of waiting along a snow-covered and elevated road, helping others move their vehicles, getting the team bus towed, and even spending some time with the local fire department, the team made it safely home.

ALL-TIME VS. UB: Wednesday's contest pits Eastern Michigan against Buffalo for the 28th time in program history. The Green and White hold the upper hand in the series, 15-12, but UB has had the edge as of late, winning seven of the last nine meetings.

THIS ONE SHOULD BE CLOSE: The EMU-UB rivalry has been made for TV as of late, as each of the last four matchups between the squads have come down to the wire. No game has been decided by more than seven points, while two of the last four contests have needed overtime to determine a winner. Unfortunately for EMU, Buffalo has finished with the win in each of the games.

LAST YEAR AGAINST THE BULLS: The wintry cold of Upstate New York carried over to the court as Eastern suffered a tough loss, 66-63, at UB, Jan. 18, 2020. EMU was led by former player Aaliyah Stanley, who put up 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting, including two triples.

LAST TIME IN YPSILANTI: Redshirt senior Danielle Minott tied a Convocation Center record with 43 points, but it was not enough to lift Eastern past Buffalo, Jan. 9, 2019. EMU led by three with less than a minute to go in regulation, but could not hold on as UB outlasted Eastern in overtime, 91-84.

ON THE HORIZON: EMU is right back at it on Saturday, Jan. 9, as it hits the road for an in-state contest against Western Michigan. Tipoff from Kalamazoo's University Arena is set for 2 p.m.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Eastern Welcomes Buffalo to Town for A Women's Basketball Matchup, Jan. 6

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Annecchiarico

Areanna Combs

Autumn Hudson

Danielle Minott

Natalia Pineda

Ce'Nara Skanes

Aaliyah Stanley

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