Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
0-1,0-0MAC
Youngstown State
1-0,0-0Horizon
Women's Basketball Drops Home-Opener Against Youngstown State, 70-67
11/9/2021 2:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Areanna Combs finished with 19 points and seven assists in loss
Postgame Press Conference
Highlight Video
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought, 70-67, decision to Youngstown State University today, Nov. 9, inside the Convocation Center.
The Eagles (0-1, 0-0 MAC) had two players score in double figures, led by redshirt senior Areanna Combs (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Oklahoma State)), who had 19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Florida International) tacked on a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds while freshman Lachelle Austin (Redford, Mich.-Wayne Memorial) added nine points and two steals.
How It Happened
Both teams got off to a slow start in the first period of action, however, redshirt senior Danielle Rainey (Cedar Park, Texas-Vista Ridge (Florida)) and junior Kylee O'Hara (Ajax, Ontario-Henry Street (Florida International)) each added a triple as the Eagles trailed 17-13 to close the first. The Penguins grew their lead to 28-15 halfway through the second quarter, its biggest lead of the afternoon, before the Eagles made it a 34-29 YSU advantage heading into the locker rooms.
The Green and White bounced back in the third, taking a 48-46 lead late in the period thanks to a layup from redshirt junior RayJon Harris (Euclid, Ohio-Euclid) and jumper from Rainey. The game continued to swing back-and-forth, with Youngstown State holding on to a 53-52 edge going into the final period. In the fourth, O'Hara drilled a three-pointer with an assist from Combs while Austin nailed another three-ball under pressure to make it a two-point game, 67-65. The Eagles were unable to overcome the deficit, falling to Penguins 70-67.
Game Notes
» Skanes notched a double-double for the Eagles with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Her performance today marks the 13th double-double effort of her career.
» Skanes
» Combs lead all scorers with 19 points. The redshirt senior has now paced EMU in point production 28 times.
» Combs dished out a team-best seven assists, the 12th time in her career dropping five-or-more dimes.
» The Eagles put on a passing clinic, recording an assist on 67 percent of made baskets.
» O'Hara finished 3-of-5 from beyond-the-arc, her third outing with multiple three-point makes.
» Neither team led by more than five points in the game.
» Eastern Michigan bested Youngstown State in points in the paint (22-to-16), points off turnovers (18-to-10), fast break points (7-3), and rebounds (35-to-33).
» The Green and White shot 7-for-18 from deep (38.9%), better than all but two games from the 2020-21 season (at Southeast Missouri, 10-of-25 (40%), Dec. 6, 2020; Toledo, 11-for-28 (39.3%), Feb. 21, 2021).
Historical Notes
» With her 13th career double-double, Skanes now sits at 10th in all-time program history in career double-doubles. Academic All-American Sarah VanMetre (2003-07) sits atop the list with 17. The statistic has been kept since 1998-99.
Up Next
EMU returns to action Saturday, Nov. 13 with a home game against the University of Detroit Mercy. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. with the game being broadcast on ESPN3 and 89.1 FM WEMU.
