Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, February 24
Convocation Center
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
10-7,7-5MAC
56
vs
66
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Western Michigan
5-13,4-12MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Western Mich.
26
14
12
14
66
Eastern Mich.
9
15
18
14
56
Women's Basketball Falls Despite Best Comeback Effort Versus Western Michigan
2/24/2021 9:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball
EMU got 12 points from Areanna Combs and a career-high 10 from Terrysha Banner
Postgame Recap Video.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball fought valiantly, but ultimately came up short, 66-56, in a Mid-American Conference battle against in-state foe Western Michigan University tonight, Feb. 24, inside Ypsilanti's Convocation Center.
Although EMU suffered a tough loss, it was still a special night for the team, which hosted its annual 'Play4Kay' game to bring awareness to the fight against breast cancer and help raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
With the result, Eastern (10-7, 7-5 MAC) drops to 3-5 on the season in its home games. The Eagles are still two games above .500 in conference play, which means that the team is still in a spot to control its own destiny as it relates to qualification into the upcoming MAC Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Eastern was led by redshirt senior guard Areanna Combs (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Oklahoma State)), who scored a team-best 12 points on 6-of-19 shooting. An important night in her career, Combs surpassed the 1,000-point mark late in the first quarter. Junior guard Terrysha Banner (Surprize, Ariz.-Valley Vista (Tennessee State)) had a breakout game for the Green and White as she put up career-bests in nearly every category, including points (10), field goals (4), and minutes (28). Redshirt sophomore forward Ce'Nara Skanes (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Florida International)) paced Eastern in rebounds, with 13.
Western Michigan scored the first bucket of the game 20 seconds in, and eventually built a 4-0 advantage 90 ticks in. EMU collected itself in its third possession, however, as Skanes corralled her own miss and finished her second opportunity underneath. Despite Eastern's MAC–leading defense, Western was nearly unstoppable on offense at the start of the game. It sprinted to an 18-7 lead by the first stoppage of play, which came with just under five minutes left on the clock. Western was 6-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-5 from deep to that point. That was opposed to EMU's 3-of-8 during the first 5:30 of play. The trend continued for the remainder of the quarter as WMU was able to forge a 17-point lead by the final buzzer, 26-9.
The highlight of the frame for Eastern came at the 2:48 mark, as Combs dropped in a mid-range jumper to not only give EMU a much needed bucket, but to put her over the 1,000 point mark in her career. Combs started her college career at Oklahoma State, where she scored better than 200 points in two seasons before transferring to Eastern Michigan.
It took over one minute of play for either team to score, but EMU got on the board first in the second quarter courtesy of a Corrione Cardwell (Cleveland, Ohio-New Tech East) free throw make. Unfortunately, that bucket didn't slow down the Western offense, who continued to put on an impressive display in the opening minutes of the quarter. The Broncos eventually used their hot shooting to extend their lead to 23 points, 40-14, with just over three minutes left before the halftime intermission. Undeterred by the disadvantage, the Eagles put together an impressive final two-plus minutes of their own. It was Banner who got the run started as she drilled a left-wing triple to cut the WMU lead to 20, 40-20, with 2:52 remaining. From there, the Eagles got a tough putback bucket from RayJon Harris (Euclid, Ohio-Euclid), who came off the bench to provide a much-needed spark of energy to the home team's lineup. Combs finished the 7-0 run with a jumper of her own as time expired.
Altogether, EMU was able to keep Western off the board for the final three minutes and used its run to pull back within 16 at the break, 40-24.
A back-and-forth start to the third quarter saw Western maintain a lead that hovered near 15 points for the first six minutes of the period. Staying aggressive, the Eagles finished the frame with a dominant stretch of basketball that saw it put together a 9-1 run over the final 3:56 of play. That stretch was sparked by a feisty EMU press, which forced WMU into numerous uncomfortable turnovers. Down 13 as time wound down, it was Natalia Pineda (Miami, Fla.-John A. Ferguson) that hit the shot of the half to that point, an off-balance three-ball as time expired that left her hands only as her momentum was forcing her to the ground. That bucket garnered the loudest cheers of the night from the small group of family in attendance, as well as Pineda's teammates and coaches. Most importantly, the bucket cut Western's lead to just 10, 52-42, heading into the fourth quarter.
The effort intensified during the fourth quarter and Eastern's pressure continued to swarm the Broncos. Eastern was able to pull within single digits multiple times in the final 10 minutes of action, but was met by a Western Michigan answer at every point. Although the Eagles had opportunities to connect late, the visiting squad hit timely shots down the stretch to seal the victory, 66-56.
Eastern will look to get back on track inside the Convocation Center when it hosts Central Michigan University Saturday, Feb. 27, in the back end of a men's/women's doubleheader in Ypsilanti. The game, EMU's last home contest of the 2020-21 season, will include Senior Night festivities for a group of EMU players and managers.
For the most up-to-date information on all things EMU women's basketball, continue to visit EMUEagles.com and follow the team on social media at @EMUWBB.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball fought valiantly, but ultimately came up short, 66-56, in a Mid-American Conference battle against in-state foe Western Michigan University tonight, Feb. 24, inside Ypsilanti's Convocation Center.
Although EMU suffered a tough loss, it was still a special night for the team, which hosted its annual 'Play4Kay' game to bring awareness to the fight against breast cancer and help raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
With the result, Eastern (10-7, 7-5 MAC) drops to 3-5 on the season in its home games. The Eagles are still two games above .500 in conference play, which means that the team is still in a spot to control its own destiny as it relates to qualification into the upcoming MAC Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Eastern was led by redshirt senior guard Areanna Combs (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Oklahoma State)), who scored a team-best 12 points on 6-of-19 shooting. An important night in her career, Combs surpassed the 1,000-point mark late in the first quarter. Junior guard Terrysha Banner (Surprize, Ariz.-Valley Vista (Tennessee State)) had a breakout game for the Green and White as she put up career-bests in nearly every category, including points (10), field goals (4), and minutes (28). Redshirt sophomore forward Ce'Nara Skanes (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Florida International)) paced Eastern in rebounds, with 13.
Western Michigan scored the first bucket of the game 20 seconds in, and eventually built a 4-0 advantage 90 ticks in. EMU collected itself in its third possession, however, as Skanes corralled her own miss and finished her second opportunity underneath. Despite Eastern's MAC–leading defense, Western was nearly unstoppable on offense at the start of the game. It sprinted to an 18-7 lead by the first stoppage of play, which came with just under five minutes left on the clock. Western was 6-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-5 from deep to that point. That was opposed to EMU's 3-of-8 during the first 5:30 of play. The trend continued for the remainder of the quarter as WMU was able to forge a 17-point lead by the final buzzer, 26-9.
The highlight of the frame for Eastern came at the 2:48 mark, as Combs dropped in a mid-range jumper to not only give EMU a much needed bucket, but to put her over the 1,000 point mark in her career. Combs started her college career at Oklahoma State, where she scored better than 200 points in two seasons before transferring to Eastern Michigan.
It took over one minute of play for either team to score, but EMU got on the board first in the second quarter courtesy of a Corrione Cardwell (Cleveland, Ohio-New Tech East) free throw make. Unfortunately, that bucket didn't slow down the Western offense, who continued to put on an impressive display in the opening minutes of the quarter. The Broncos eventually used their hot shooting to extend their lead to 23 points, 40-14, with just over three minutes left before the halftime intermission. Undeterred by the disadvantage, the Eagles put together an impressive final two-plus minutes of their own. It was Banner who got the run started as she drilled a left-wing triple to cut the WMU lead to 20, 40-20, with 2:52 remaining. From there, the Eagles got a tough putback bucket from RayJon Harris (Euclid, Ohio-Euclid), who came off the bench to provide a much-needed spark of energy to the home team's lineup. Combs finished the 7-0 run with a jumper of her own as time expired.
Altogether, EMU was able to keep Western off the board for the final three minutes and used its run to pull back within 16 at the break, 40-24.
A back-and-forth start to the third quarter saw Western maintain a lead that hovered near 15 points for the first six minutes of the period. Staying aggressive, the Eagles finished the frame with a dominant stretch of basketball that saw it put together a 9-1 run over the final 3:56 of play. That stretch was sparked by a feisty EMU press, which forced WMU into numerous uncomfortable turnovers. Down 13 as time wound down, it was Natalia Pineda (Miami, Fla.-John A. Ferguson) that hit the shot of the half to that point, an off-balance three-ball as time expired that left her hands only as her momentum was forcing her to the ground. That bucket garnered the loudest cheers of the night from the small group of family in attendance, as well as Pineda's teammates and coaches. Most importantly, the bucket cut Western's lead to just 10, 52-42, heading into the fourth quarter.
The effort intensified during the fourth quarter and Eastern's pressure continued to swarm the Broncos. Eastern was able to pull within single digits multiple times in the final 10 minutes of action, but was met by a Western Michigan answer at every point. Although the Eagles had opportunities to connect late, the visiting squad hit timely shots down the stretch to seal the victory, 66-56.
Eastern will look to get back on track inside the Convocation Center when it hosts Central Michigan University Saturday, Feb. 27, in the back end of a men's/women's doubleheader in Ypsilanti. The game, EMU's last home contest of the 2020-21 season, will include Senior Night festivities for a group of EMU players and managers.
For the most up-to-date information on all things EMU women's basketball, continue to visit EMUEagles.com and follow the team on social media at @EMUWBB.
Team Stats
WMU
EMU
FG%
.389
.302
3FG%
.478
.167
FT%
.591
.700
RB
39
45
TO
16
18
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
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