Women's Basketball Final Game Notes: 2020-21

Final Note Package.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team's 2020-21 campaign came to a close Wednesday, March 10, when it suffered a quarterfinal setback in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Eastern was bested by the No. 1 overall seed, Bowling Green State University, 63-47.
   The following is a final note package for the team's 2020-21 campaign.

THANK YOU: The Eastern Michigan women's basketball team, along with the EMU athletic media relations office, would like to thank each and every student, alumnus, and fan that supported the team in 2020-21. Additionally, the team offers thanks to all support staff, medical doctors, and individuals who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the program.

OVERALL: The 2020-21 squad finished with a 10-10 overall record, including a 7-7 ledger in MAC play.
   Season highlights include Eastern's upset road win over Central Michigan, Jan. 20, which snapped the program's 13-game skid at the hands of the Chippewas.
   Individually, redshirt senior Areanna Combs was fantastic once again, as she broke the 1,000 career point mark. Fellow Oklahoman, redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes quickly established herself as one of the league's most dominant post players. She finished the season averaging 16.0 points and 10.9 rebounds per game en route to a team-best 12 double-double performances.

ALL-MAC WINNERS: Two Eastern Michigan University women's basketball players earned All Mid-American Conference honors, the league office announced March 9. Redshirt senior Areanna Combs and redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes were voted as two of the conference's best players for their efforts during the 2020-21 campaign.
   Combs collected Second Team All-MAC honors, and was also named to the MAC All-Defensive Team. 2020-21 marks consecutive seasons that Combs has been recognized on those teams, as she was named to both respective lists following the 2019-20 season. Last season, she became the first EMU women's player to earn either honor since the 2015-16 campaign when Cha Sweeney and Janay Morton were honored in the two categories, respectively. Combs is just the second Eagle in program history to earn all-defensive honors, and brings home the school's 18th nod on the Second Team All-MAC list in 2020-21.
   Skanes, playing for the first time this season after transferring to EMU at the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign, collected Third Team All-MAC honors for her outstanding play this season. She is the eighth player in program history to collect the recognition, and first since Danielle Minott did it in 2017-18.

TEAM LEADERS IN 2020-21:

Category	Player	Value
Points	Areanna Combs	17.8 per game
FG	Areanna Combs	6.5 per game
3PT	Jenna Annecchiarcio	1.6 per game
FT	Ce'Nara Skanes	4.1 per game
FG %	Ce'Nara Skanes	49.4%
3PT %	Natalia Pineda	31%
FT%	Jenna Annecchiarcio	86.4%
REB	Ce'Nara Skanes	10.9 per game
AST	Jenna Annecchiarcio	3.5 per game
BLK	Ce'Nara Skanes	1.1 per game
STL	Areanna Combs	2.7 per game
MIN	Jenna Annecchiarcio	37.7 per game

GAME HIGHS IN 2020-21:

Category	Game	Value
Points	at Ball State (12-2)	77
FG Makes	at Ball State (12-2)	29
FG Attempts	at NIU (3-3)	70
3PT FG Makes	vs. Toledo (2-21)	11
FT Makes	vs. Gonzaga (12-20)	28
Rebounds	vs. Akron (1-16)	57
Assists	at SEMO (12-6)	18
Steals	vs. UIC (11-29)	18
Blocks	at Western Michigan (1-10)	7
Turnovers	at BGSU (MAC QF) (3-10)	23
Fouls	vs Gonzaga (12-20)	31

EMU IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT: Eastern played its 53rd MAC tournament game against Bowling Green, March 10. EMU is 28-25 all-time in its league tournament appearances, which date back to the 1981-82 season. Eastern has twice captured the tournament crown and reached the NCAA tournament via an automatic bid, first in 2004, and most recently in 2012.

UNDER FRED CASTRO: The Green and White are 4-4 in MAC tournament play under fifth-year Head Coach Fred Castro. The team's best win under Castro came in the 2020 MAC tournament, as his No. 7-seeded Eagles defeated No. 2-seeded Ball State, 64-63, in the quarterfinal round in Cleveland. EMU never got to play its semifinal game as the tournament was halted due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

MAC TOURNAMENT GAMES AGAINST BGSU: The March 10th matchup marked the eighth time that Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green have met in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Bowling Green holds a 6-2 advantage in those games, which date back to the opening round of the 1990 event.
   Prior to 2021, the last tournament matchup between the two schools came in the 2011 championship game, a contest that Bowling Green won, 51-46, to claim its latest MAC Tournament title, March 12, 2011.

FACING BOWLING GREEN IN CLEVELAND: Of the eight tournament matchups between EMU and BGSU, five have been played in Cleveland. The Falcons are 4-1 in those games.
   Two of the matchups have come in the title game, with EMU winning its 2004 championship over BGSU, and Bowling Green returning the favor in 2011. The teams have met twice in the tournament's semifinal as well, with Bowling Green earning victories in both 2005 and 2007.
   The additional contests were first-round, site games.

AS THE NO. 8: 2021 marked the fourth time that Eastern Michigan entered the MAC Tournament as the No. 8 overall seed. After its loss to BGSU, the Green and White is 0-4 in the eighth position, and has never advanced in the tournament when playing in such a position. EMU lost to No. 1-seeded Toledo in the 1997 tournament before falling to respective No. 9 seeds Western Michigan and Northern Illinois in 2013 and 2014, and No. 1 Bowling Green in 2021.

AGAINST THE NO. 1: EMU has matched up against the No. 1 overall seed eight times in the MAC Tournament, and holds a 1-7 record in those games. Eastern's lone win over a top-seed came in 2011, when No. 5 EMU bested No. 1 Toledo, 61-55, in the semifinal game of the tournament. EMU faced BGSU in the championship, where it ultimately fell to the Falcons, 51-46. Although Eastern has just one win against the No. 1 seed, it has played incredibly well in games against the league's best. In its eight such contests, EMU has forced overtime (vs. CMU, 2019), double overtime (vs. Kent State, 2000), and has been within 10 points in two of its seven losses.

NOW THIS IS MARCH MADNESS: The Green and White has posted a 46-44 record during the month of March over the last 23 seasons, including a program-best 8-2 mark during the 2014-15 season. The team went 0-3 this year during the month.

EMU AT ROCKET MORTGAGE: Eastern Michigan is very familiar with the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (formerly Quicken Loans/Grund Arena) floor, as the school has posted a 15-13 record there, including capturing the 2004 and 2012 championships. The team went 0-1 at the venue during the 2020-21 campaign.

BEST OF THE BUNCH: The Eagles allowed just 62.2 points per game in 2020-21, which is the best of any team in the league. EMU's field goal percentage defense was also first, as opponents shot just 37.1 percent against the Green and White.

KEEP THEM UNDER 60: While a team scoring 70 typically favors EMU's opponent, the Eagles were dominant when holding their competition under 60 points in a game in 2020-21. This season, the team was 7-1 when holding its opponents under the 60-point plateau. Furthermore, Eastern is 34-7 during the Fred Castro era (2016-Pres.) when keeping its competition below 60 points.

CRAZY CONSISTENT: Consistency was the name of the game for EMU's offense this season. Eastern, which averaged 64.1 points per game, scored within two points of its average in seven of its contests (35%), and within four points of its average in 15-of-20 games (75%).

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 went 0-4 when allowing 70 points in a game. Moreover, EMU is 8-32 when allowing 70+ points since the start of the 2016-17 season.
   When Eastern scored 70, it was 2-0 this season and is 14-7 since the 2016-17 campaign.

FIRST HALF FORTUNES: It is often said that games are won in the second half, but Eastern Michigan's stats disagree. EMU was 8-1 this season when leading at the break, and just 2-9 when attempting a second-half comeback. The only game EMU lost after taking a lead into the locker room was its final contest, against BGSU, March 10. Since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, the Eagles are 36-15 when holding an intermission lead, and just 16-69 when trailing at the half.

SHOOT WELL, AND YOU WILL WIN: The team that has shot the highest percentage from the floor emerged victorious in 17 of EMU's 20 games this season. That trend holds consistent during the last five seasons; the Eagles are 45-15 when outshooting opponents in that stretch, and are just 10-69 when scoring at a lesser clip than its competition.

COULDN'T FIND THEIR RHYTHM: EMU entered the 2021 MAC tournament with the best defense of any team in the league, but struggled late on offense. The Green and White only failed to score 60 points three times during the 2020-21season, but all of those games fell in the last two weeks of the season (56 vs. WMU, Feb. 24 | 55 at Toledo, March 6 | 47 at BGSU, March 10).

ONE AWAY FROM TOP-10: Redshirt sophomore forward Ce'Nara Skanes put up a 17-point, 11-rebound performance at Toledo Saturday, March 6. The double-double effort was her 12th of the season, which puts her just one away from cracking into EMU's top-10 list in the modern statistical era (1998-present). Academic All-American Sarah VanMetre (2003-07) sits atop the list with her 17-career double-doubles.

ROAD WARRIORS: EMU may have went just 3-5 at home this season, but its play on the road was excellent. The Eagles finished 6-2 away from Ypsilanti this season, a record that includes four wins over conference opponents.

THE YPSI GYPSI: Playing at home is supposed to be an advantage, however it was anything but for Eastern this season.
       EMU finished just 3-5 inside the Convocation Center this season, with four losses coming at the hands of Mid-American Conference opponents. The team is 31-32 in Ypsilanti under Fred Castro.

STEAL THE DEAL: The Eagles were great once again in 2020-21 when it came to swiping the rock. Areanna Combs and Jenna Annecchiarico finished fourth and eight in the MAC with their respective 2.7 and 2.2 steals per game averages. Annecchiarico's nine steals against Miami, Jan. 13, is a personal record and is the best by any player in the MAC this season.

BANNER BUILDING UP: Junior transfer Terrysha Banner elevated herself as a critical part of EMU's lineup during the team's final five regular season games. Banner averaged 28.0 minutes per game during that stretch, and earned her first-career start at Toledo, March 6.
   In her first five games as an Eagle, she averaged just 5.6 minutes per contest.

TRIPLE THREAT: Junior guard Jenna Annecchiarico hit a team-high three shots from beyond the arc in Eastern's game at NIU, March 3. With her performance, Annecchiarico has now led EMU's three-point efforts in six contests this season, and 22 times in her career. She has hit three-or-more long balls five times this season and 15 times in her career.
   Additionally, she scored in double figures in seven contests this season, and 31 times in her career. Her 16 points at NIU were second-best on the team behind Areanna Combs' 17-point effort.

PLAY ALL DAY: Junior guard Jenna Annecchiarico was one of the most relied upon players in all of Division I basketball in 2020-21. No player in the MAC logged more minutes per game than Annecchiarico this season, who checked in at 37.8 per contest in the regular season. That number ranked 10th nationally.

TURNOVER TOWN: Although EMU fell at NIU, March 3, its defense continued to show why it is the best in the league. Eastern forced Northern Illinois into a whopping 27 turnovers, while only giving its possessions away on 11 occasions.
   The 27 forced TO's was the second-most by EMU this season. It turned Miami over 30 times, Jan. 13.
   Eastern has forced opponents into 15-or-more turnovers an incredible 13 times this season (65% of its games).

COMBS CRACKS 1,000: Redshirt senior guard Areanna Combs not only led the team in scoring against WMU, Feb. 24, with 12 points, but she also accomplished an incredible milestone in the first quarter of the game. The highlight 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.

SERIOUSLY, CE'NARA?: Redshirt sophomore forward Ce'Nara Skanes dominated the post in Mid-American Conference play. The Oklahoma City product led the team's rebounding efforts 16 times this season, and recorded 12 double-doubles. That number, which leads all active EMU roster members, puts her at a tie for 11th all-time in program history.
   In addition to being the league's third-best shot-blocker (1.1 BPG) and second-best double-double candidate (12), she was top-five in numerous other areas, including FG% (49.1 – ranked 4th), rebounds (208 - ranked 2nd), and rebounds per game (10.9 - ranked 2nd).

BALDWIN BADDIE: Junior guard Jenna Annecchiarico again proved to be one of the best floor generals in the conference this season. The Baldwin, N.Y. native was 12th in the conference in assists per game (3.0) during league play, and was fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4).

HAPPY 100: Two Eagles hit the century mark in games played during the 2020-21 campaign.
   Senior Autumn Hudson played in her 100th game when EMU battled Ball State, Jan. 23. Redshirt senior Corrione Cardwell did the same against Ohio, Jan. 27.

LONGEST EVER: EMU played its first game in 25 days when it defeated Toledo, 69-59, Feb. 21, inside the Convocation Center. That gap is the longest between games in program history (45 years).

SENIOR DAY: Saturday, Feb. 27, was a special day as the EMU women's basketball team, despite having its game against Central Michigan postponed, honored six individuals as part of its annual Senior Day Celebration.
   Corrione Cardwell, Areanna Combs, Autumn Hudson, and JaBria Knight are each set to move on from the program following the conclusion of the season.
   In addition to the four players, the team also honored two dedicated student managers, Charvella Hancock and Roehl Publico, who have worked tirelessly to support the program for multiple years.
   With the game postponed, the team instead hosted a private ceremony for family and friends inside the Convocation Center. Each student-athlete and manager was honored with a video tribute before being presented a framed jersey and given the opportunity to take pictures with coaches and family.

THE SENIOR STRIKES: Redshirt senior guard Corrione Cardwell had a career game versus Toledo, Feb. 21, as she dropped 16 points and 11 boards (career-high), to record her first-career double-double. Her double-digit rebounding effort was the first of her career.
   In addition to four big makes from the field, she added a career-best seven points from the charity stripe as she went 7-of-8 in her free throw opportunities. The team's second-leading scorer in the game, Cardwell was still able to produce points for her teammates as well, as she registered four dimes in the contest, which ties her season-high. Defensively, she was stout as well, as she hauled in three steals for the Green and White, a season-high for the Cleveland native.

NEEDED MORE, GOT MORE: EMU relied heavily on its starting five for its scoring through its first 14 games. To that point, 86 percent (787-of-919) of the team's points came from its starting unit.
   That trend changed against Ohio, Jan. 27. Eastern got 15 points, or 22 percent, of its offense courtesy of its role players. Junior Terrysha Banner chipped in nine of those 15 points, while senior Autumn Hudson added six on 3-of-3 shooting.

COURAGEOUS COMEBACK: If moral victories were a statistic, EMU would have earned one against Ball State, Jan. 23. Although it dropped the contest, 68-64, Eastern nearly erased a 17-point deficit to bring the game within one point as the clock wound down. The comeback was led by 12 second-half points from Areanna Combs, and eight points apiece from Ce'Nara Skanes and Natalia Pineda.

FOUR CAN SCORE: Four Eagles scored 10+ points in Eastern's 68-64 setback to Ball State, Jan. 23, which tied a season-high for the team. Redshirt senior Areanna Combs led the way with 19 points, while redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes had 14. Juniors Jenna Annecchiarico and Natalia Pineda finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

ONE MORE TO GO: With his victory over Central Michigan, Jan. 20, fifth-year Head Coach Fred Castro has now picked up at least one win over every MAC opponent, with the exception of the University at Buffalo. Castro was 0-9 against CMU ahead of Wednesday's victory, and is currently 0-5 in his meetings with the Bulls. He'll have a shot to take down Buffalo when the team heads to the Empire State, Feb. 6.

ENDING THE STREAK: Coming into its game at CMU, Jan. 20, Eastern had lost 13 straight games to the Chippewas. That streak, which was EMU's longest current drought against any MAC foe, ended with the Eagles' 70-67 win over the Maroon and Gold on Wednesday.

OFFENSIVE OUTBREAK: Eastern's offense was electric in the first half at CMU, Jan. 20. The team put up a season-best 44 first-half points, the most this season.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Annecchiarico

Terrysha Banner

Corrione Cardwell

Areanna Combs

Autumn Hudson

JaBria Knight

Danielle Minott

Natalia Pineda

Ce'Nara Skanes

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