Basketball, Not Love, on The Mind of EMU Women's Hoops Monday

Women's Basketball at Ohio
Date	Monday, Feb. 14 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Athens, Ohio \| Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF)
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Twitter	.@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics

ATHENS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team is ready for a quick turnaround, as it is in Athens, Ohio to take on Ohio University Monday, Feb. 14. Tipoff from the Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.
   The Eagles (5-15, 2-11 MAC) are in win-now mode. With less than one month left in 2021-22 regular season, the Green and White need a positive push to finish inside the league's top eight and qualify for the MAC Tournament. Meanwhile, Ohio (11-9, 5-6 MAC) is fighting for its own chance to play for postseason glory. The Bobcats lost to Western Michigan, 80-73, in their most recent contest, Feb. 12.
   The game will be televised on ESPN3. WEMU 89.1 FM will also have the call, with Tom Helmer and Alex Jewell providing the verbal entertainment. Additionally, the team's official Twitter account, @EMUWBB, will provide live updates throughout the contest.

DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART: EMU has played once previously on Valentine's Day. As it would have it, the game was against Ohio, and was a heartbreaker for the Eagles, who fell 60-44 in 2015.

SKANES BRINGS THE PAIN: Redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes led all Eagles in points (21) and rebounds (10), while tying for the team lead with one block against Akron, Feb. 12. Additionally, she was a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.
   The performance was Skanes' eighth double-double of the 2021-22 campaign, and her team-best third in the previous five contests, a team-best accomplishment. Her two 20+ point performances of the season have also come during that stretch, while her 51 rebounds during her past five games are also a season-best effort over any period of the same length.

TRIO OF 10: Three Eagles dropped 10+ points against Akron, Feb. 12 (Ce'Nara Skanes - 21, Areanna Combs - 19, Natalia Pineda - 10), the third consecutive, and 14th time overall, that EMU has seen double-digit efforts from three-or-more players. EMU has hit that number eight times in conference play.

DEFENDED FROM DEEP: Eastern Michigan's defense held Akron to 30 percent (6-of-20) shooting from three, Feb. 12. The Zips averaged 35.0 percent from beyond-the-arc heading into the contest, which ranked third in the Mid-American Conference.

THE THREE SCORE-IT-EERS: Despite getting points from five players, Feb. 12, EMU needed just three to record the vast majority of its points. Three players -- Ce'Nara Skanes (21), Areanna Combs (19), and Natalia Pineda (10) accounted for 50 of EMU's 53 points (94%), the highest percentage in a game this season.

TAKING THE FREEBIES: A noticeable area of improvement for the 2021-22 Eagles is at the free throw line. EMU shot 70 percent (14-of-20) from the charity stripe against Akron, Feb. 12, its ninth game of the season hitting the 70-percent mark. Prior to the current campaign, EMU had hit 70 percent-or-better from the line just 41 times in the Fred Castro era (2016-Pres.), an average of eight games per year.

THAT'S MY ROCK: EMU has committed less turnovers that its opponent in nine consecutive contests, dating back to Jan. 19. In that span, EMU has forced 152 turnovers while only committing 112, good for a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. The stretch is the best for the program since the 2013-14 season, when the Eagles won the turnover battle in 10 straight games between Jan. 18 and Feb. 19, respectively.

PINEDA PARTY: Junior guard Natalia Pineda dropped 10 points against Akron to notch her second double-digit performance this season and second in three games. She led the team in three-point shooting (2) for the fifth time this year; she has not led the team in triples five times in a season since her freshman campaign, 2018-19.
   Pineda has played in 13 games this season. In her first 10, she averaged 2.8 points per game in 13.1 minutes per game, while shooting 23 percent from deep. In her most recent three games, she is averaging 9.7 points (+6.9) in 32.3 minutes per game (+19.2), while shooting 35 percent from deep (+ 12%).

SHARING IS CARING: Areanna Combs currently sits 12th in the Mid-American Conference with 3.5 assists per contest. The guard has dished out 19 dimes in the past four games, including a pair of five-helper days against Kent State, Feb. 5, and Buffalo, Feb. 9. Combs has recorded six outings with at least five assists so far in the 2021-22 season.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: EMU won the turnover battle against Akron, Feb. 12, forcing 17 giveaways while recording 12 of its own. The game marked the 13th time this season that EMU has led the turnover battle and the 10th time the Eagles have won that battle in MAC play. The Green and White have forced their opponents into committing 20+ turnovers six times this season.

ON THE BOARDS: EMU made its mark with 13 offensive boards against the Zips, Feb. 12. Eastern hauled in 34.2% (13-of-38) of its total rebounds in the contest on the offensive end.
   The Eagles have gotten 30 percent-or-more of its rebounding production on the offensive end of the floor 14 times during the 2021-22 campaign. EMU has hauled in 20+ offensive rebounds twice this season, most recently verus Kent State, Feb. 5. The team ranks third in the MAC with a 13.1 ORPG average.

STRIPE LIFE: Redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes is best known for her blocks and skill near the rim, however, she is also a threat when sent to the charity stripe. The center has sunk 56-of-79 (71%) from the line this season, but in the last seven games, she is a team-leading 23-of-27 (85.2%). Furthermore, she has been perfect from the line in four of those outings, including against Akron, Feb. 12 (3-for-3).

THE FIRST 20 MATTERS: All five of Eastern's wins have seen the Eagles take a lead into the intermission, while 14 of the squad's 15 setbacks has included a halftime deficit.
       Eastern is 41-16 in games in which it held a halftime lead since the onset of the 2016-17 season, and 17-83 in games where it has trailed at the break in that same span.

LIVING AT THE LINE: While Ce'Nara Skanes has been improving at the stripe as of late, redshirt senior guard Areanna Combs has been living at the line in her last seven outings. The Oklahoma City native has taken 74 free throws in that span (10.6 per game). She has converted 70 percent of the freebie attempts (52-of-74). For comparison, she went to the line just 76 times in EMU's first 13 games of the season (5.8 per game).
   The 74 attempts is by far the most of any Eagle in the recent six-game stretch. Skanes is second in attemps during that span, with 27 (-47 compared to Combs).

THREE-POINT WOES: The Eagles have been cold from deep in the past three games. Through the first 13 games of the season, EMU shot 20%-or-lower from deep just twice (vs. Binghamton, Dec.10, 2-of-16; vs. Western Michigan, Jan. 19, 5-of-25). In their last seven outings, the Eagles have shot 20 percent-or-less from deep five times.
   EMU shot 3-for-23 (13.0%) against the Zips, Feb. 12, its fourth-lowest shooting clip from deep this season.

PLAYING DISCIPLINED: EMU has been tremendous at taking care of the basketball, ranking third in the league and 32nd nationally in fewest turnovers (286).

LIKE BONNIE AND CLYDE: The Green and White are fourth in the league, averaging 9.1 steals per contest. That number is the second-best mark under Fred Castro (2016-Pres.). The 2017-18 EMU squad racked up 9.7 steals per contest.

DEATH, TAXES, DOUBLE DIGITS: If one thing is as certain as can be, it's that Areanna Combs will score 10+ points. Including her 19 performances of the nature this season, Combs has now recorded double-digit scoring efforts in 61 of her 64 career games with the Green and White (95.3%). That number is the highest percentage in the Mid-American Conference.

CAN'T LET THEM SCORE 70: EMU is 0-9 in 2021-22 when allowing 70+ points. Moreover, EMU is 8-65 when allowing 70+ points since the start of the 2016-17 season.

COOKIES: Redshirt senior Areanna Combs ranks third in the MAC in total steals (52) and fourth in the league in steals per game (2.6). Combs set a career-high with 10 steals against Grace Christian, Nov. 18, to help her achieve her first ever triple-double (12 points, 11 assists, 10 steals). Additionally, the guard has recorded at least three steals in four of her last seven contests.

COURTNIE AND COMBS CLIMBING: Senior Courtnie Lewis, a veteran for the Eagles and 1,000-point club member, is moving up the all-time point list at EMU. Lewis boasts 1,154 career points, which rank 20th on the scoring list.
Meanwhile, redshirt senior Areanna Combs, who recently joined the 1,000-point club, sits at 18th in the record book, with 1,194 points in her three seasons donning the Green and White. The guard is averaging 18.7 ppg this season, which puts her on track to crack the top-15 in EMU's scoring laurels by the end of the 2021-22 regular season.
   EMU great Tavelyn James (2008-12) owns the top spot in program history, having accumulated 2,470 career points.

BLOCK PART(E): EMU is fourth in the Mid-American Conference in blocks per game (3.3). Redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes leads the team with 22 rejections and is seventh in the MAC with 1.1 blocks per contest while freshman Treasure Thompson is 11th in the league at 0.9 bpg (15 total).
   The Eagles have recorded at least five blocks in five contests this season. In the 2020-21 campaign, Eastern only recorded five-or-more blocks in a game three times.

WELCOME TO THE 1K CLUB: Redshirt senior Areanna Combs made history Saturday, Jan. 15, when she notched 13 points to become Eastern Michigan's 24th 1,000-point scorer. Combs, who has been on court with the Eagles since the 2019-20 season, needed just 55 games to hit the total, an average of more than 18 ppg.
   Combs joins teammate Courtnie Lewis as the only active players to have hit the milestone.

TWO GRAND TEAMMATES: Upperclassmen Courtnie Lewis (1,152) and Areanna Combs (1,175) are the first Eagle teammates to share the court as 1,000-point scorers since the 2016 season, when Cha Sweeney (2013-16) and Janay Morton (2013-16) had both hit the milestone.

BACK IN #MACTION: The Green and White's 2021-22 campaign marks the 41st season EMU will compete as a member of the MAC. Playing a league schedule since the 1981-82 campaign, EMU has compiled a 297-384 record against conference opponents all-time.

RING CHASING: Eastern is in search of its first conference championship since 2012. That year, the Eagles captured both the MAC West and MAC Tournament titles.
   As a program, EMU has claimed four division crowns (2004, 2006, 2008, 2012) and two tournament championships (2004, 2012).

AGAINST THE BOBCATS: The Eagles and Bobcats will meet for the 65th time Monday. A competitive series throughout its history, Ohio is ahead in the all-time win count, 37-27, and has emerged victorious in six of the last eight matchups between the two squads, dating back to March, 2015. EMU won last year's meeting in Ypsilanti, 69-66, Jan. 27.

LAST TIME AGAINST OHIO: The Bobcats had three players score in double figures, including an inrecible 29-point outing from CeCe Hooks, but it was not enough to overcome the Eagles, who shot 43.8 percent from the floor en route to a 69-66 victory over its Athens, Ohio-based foe. Ce'Nara Skanes led the way with 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while Areanna Combs added 15 of her own. Terrysha Banner came off the bench to record nine big points for the Eagles, while grabbing seven rebounds, a career-high that still stands.

LAST TIME IN ATHENS: Early shooting struggles were too much for Eastern to overcome as Ohio used a 20-0 run in the first half and 14 three-pointers to hand EMU an 85-44 setback inside OU's Convocation Center, Jan. 19, 2019. Former Eagle Danielle Minott led Eastern with 17 points, while then-sophomore Courtnie Lewis chipped in 10. On the glass, then-freshman Kiara Johnson and then-sophomores Autumn Hudson and Lewis led Eastern's rebounding effort. Johnson tied a career-high with nine rebounds, while Hudson and Lewis added six apiece.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern returns home to face the RedHawks of Miami Wedneaday, Feb.16, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. Looking for a season sweep of Miami, EMU will host the Oxford, Ohio-based club beginning at 7 p.m. The game will be Eastern's annual Pride Night game, with special programming and giveaways planned.

Basketball, Not Love, on The Mind of EMU Women's Hoops Monday

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Players Mentioned

Terrysha Banner

Areanna Combs

Courtnie Lewis

Natalia Pineda

Ce'Nara Skanes

Treasure Thompson

Eastern Michigan Athletics