Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
4-7,1-3MAC
Kent State
10-5,2-4MAC
Women's Basketball Falls at Kent State
1/15/2022 3:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Areanna Combs becomes program's 24th 1,000-point scorer behind 13-point effort
KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team fell on the road, 83-58, against the Kent State University Golden Flashes today, Jan. 15, inside KSU's Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.
The Eagles (4-7, 1-3 MAC) had three players score in double figures, led by redshirt senior Areanna Combs (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West (Oklahoma State)), who had 13 points to surpass 1,000 in her EMU career. Fellow upperclassmen Danielle Rainey (Washington, D.C.-Vista Ridge (Florida)) tacked on 12 points, while senior Courtnie Lewis (Belton, Mo.-Belton) helped out with 10 points off the bench.
Led by redshirt junior Juanita Agosto (Seattle, Wash.-Garfield)'s two offensive rebounds, Eastern Michigan did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 10 boards that resulted in nine second chance points.
Eastern Michigan forced 14 Kent State turnovers. The Eagles turned those takeaways into 10 points on the other end of the floor. Combs' two steals led the way for Eastern Michigan.
How It Happened
After falling behind 13-12, Eastern Michigan went on an 8-0 run with 3:55 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from freshman Zaniya Nelson (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West), to take a 20-13 lead. The Eagle entered the quarter break with a 23-19 advantage. Eastern Michigan relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down four shots to account for 12 of its 23 points.
The Eagles could not maintain their lead in the second quarter and entered halftime trailing, 41-40.
Eastern Michigan's deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Eagles faced a 65-49 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. Eastern Michigan scored two fast break points in the quarter.
Eastern Michigan could not pull any closer in the fourth, losing by a final of 83-58. Eastern Michigan got a boost from its bench in the period, with non-starters scoring five of its nine total points.
Game Notes
» The Eastern Michigan defense forced 14 turnovers.
» Eastern Michigan cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 10 offensive boards in the game.
» Rainey hit a pair shots from beyond the arc in today's contest. She has now hit multiple three-point shots in 10 consecutive games, the longest stretch of any player on the team.
» Eastern Michigan scored 23 points in the first quarter, the second most for the team against a Division I opponent this season in the opening frame. The Eagles have now reached 20 first-quarter points four times this season, with a high mark of 24 (accomplished twice).
» The Eagles scored 40 first-half points against the Golden Flashes. That number is the second-best effort of the season against a Division I opponent. EMU's best first-half total was 44, which came against Central Michigan, Jan. 8. Overall, Eastern has scored 40+ in a half three times this season against Division I opponents, including today's first-half effort.
» Agosto finished the game with five assists. That number ties her career-best mark, which she previously hit against Gonzaga, Dec. 20, 2020.
» Agosto led EMU's rebounding effort, with six. It marked the third time this season and 12th time in her career that the 5-foot-6 redshirt junior led the team on the boards.
» Courtnie Lewis continued her stretch of improved play against the Golden Flashes. She finished the contest with 10 points, the third-best effort of any Eagle. Additionally, she hit two shots from deep, which tied the team lead. Lewis has now hit two-or-more shots from behind the arc and has scored 10+ points in three consecutive contests, the best stretch for the Belton, Mo. native this season.
» EMU was held to a season-low 18 points in a single half in the second portion of today's game.
» Combs led all EMU scorers with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting. She has now recorded double-digit scoring efforts in 53 of her 55 career games with the Green and White (96.3%). That number is the highest percentage in the Mid-American Conference.
Historical Notes
» With her free throw make at the 2:52 mark in the second quarter, Combs officially registered her 1,000th point at Eastern Michigan, and thus, etched her name in the record book. She is the 24th player in program history to earn the distinction. It took comes just 55 career games at Eastern Michigan to hit the mark.
» Combs is the first EMU player to enter the 1,000 point club since teammate Courtnie Lewis hit the milestone during the 2019-20 season. The duo is the first set of 1,000-point teammates (both playing in the same contest with 1,000 points scored) at Eastern Michigan since Cha Sweeney and Janay Morton, who played together at EMU between the 2013-16 seasons.
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