Rivalry Restored: Women's Hoops Heads to Mount Pleasant

Women's Basketball at Central Michigan
Date	Saturday, Feb. 19 \| 1 p.m.
Venue	Mount Pleasant, Mich. \| McGuirk Arena
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF)
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Twitter	.@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team will play its third game in six days when it travels north to take on in-state rival, Central Michigan University, Saturday, Feb. 19. Tipoff inside McGuirk Arena is slated for 1 p.m.
   The Eagles (6-16, 3-12 MAC) will look to corral a second straight victory after downing Miami, 70-61, in its most recent contest, Feb. 16. Meanwhile, CMU (4-20, 2-13 MAC) is trying to snap a six-game losing skid. The Chippewas fell, 67-54, at Akron, on the same day.
    The game will be televised on ESPN3. Additionally, the team's official Twitter account, @EMUWBB, will provide live updates throughout the contest.

A WIN WOULD: A win over CMU would give Eastern three-consecutive victories in the rivalry series for the first time since it won that number between March 8, 2014 and March 7, 2015. EMU bested the Chips twice at home during that stretch, and once on the road.

A WIN WOULD ALSO: A victory over the Chippewas would also give the Eagles consecutive wins at McGuirk Arena for the first time since the 2006-08 seasons. Eastern defeated CMU, 57-50, Feb. 28, 2007 before following it up with another win in Mount Pleasant, 68-66, Jan. 19, 2008.

TURNOVER TOWN: The Eastern Michigan defense forced 19 Miami turnovers, Feb. 16. The game is the ninth in its last 10 contests that the EMU defense has forced 15+ opponent turnovers, the best stretch of the season for the Eagles.

BOARD GAMES: Redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes pulled in a team-high 13 boards against Miami, Feb. 16. The effort was her 11th of the season with 10+ rebounds, which leads the team. It was the 29th time in her career and 13th this season leading EMU in single-game rebounding.

BACK-TO-BACK: Ce'Nara Skanes has recorded back-to-back efforts with three blocks, which match her career-best mark. She has now hit the total four times in her career with the Green and White.

THANKS FOR THE FREE ONES: Eastern Michigan finished its game against Miami 16-of-19 (84.2%) from the free throw line. The effort was the second-best performance from the charity stripe this season in terms of percentage, behind a Jan. 24 effort against Bowling Green in which the Eagles sunk 18-of-21 (85.7%) against the Falcons.

WE ZEE YA, ZANIYA: Freshman ZaNiya Nelson put together one of the best games of her career against Miami, Feb. 16, scoring eight points on a career-best-tying four made field goals. Additionally, she recorded three assists in the contest, a personal best. Nelson finished 4-of-7 (57.1%) from the field in the game, her best effort since hitting 4-of-5 shots (80%) versus Buffalo, Feb. 2.

SPREADING THE SCORING: After seeing more than 80 percent of its scoring come from just three players in each of its previous two contests, the EMU offense was much more balanced against Miami. Seven different players got in on the scoring action, and each of them recorded at least five points. EMU has gotten five-or-more points from seven-or-more players in two of its last four games (at Buffalo, Feb. 9).

BIG BENCH: The EMU bench has been outstanding in the last two games. Eastern bench players scored 20 points against Miami, Feb. 16, which accounted for 29 percent of the team's total offensive production.
   Just as good at Ohio, Feb. 14, the Eagles' second unit dropped 17 points and accounted for 32 percent of the Eagles' total scoring effort in the contest.
   The Eagles have scored 15+ bench points in nine contests this season.

TAKING THE FREEBIES: A noticeable area of improvement for the 2021-22 Eagles is at the free throw line. EMU shot 16-of-19 from the charity stripe against Miami, Feb. 16, its 11th 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.
   EMU has now hit at an 80-percent-or-better clip in two contests this season.

SHARING IS CARING: Areanna Combs currently sits 13th in the Mid-American Conference with 3.5 assists per contest. The guard has dished out 27 dimes in the past six games, including a six-assist performance at Ohio, Feb. 14, and a pair of five-helper days against Kent State, Feb. 5, and Buffalo, Feb. 9. Combs has recorded seven outings with at least five assists so far in the 2021-22 season.

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 63-of-86 (73%) from the line this season, but in the last nine games, she is a team-leading 30-of-34 (88.2%). Furthermore, she has been perfect from the line in six of those outings.

THE FIRST 20 MATTERS: All five of Eastern's wins have seen the Eagles take a lead into the intermission, while 15 of the squad's 16 setbacks has included a halftime deficit.
       Eastern is 42-16 in games in which it held a halftime lead since the onset of the 2016-17 season, and 17-84 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 nine outings. The Oklahoma City native has taken 84 free throws in that span (9.3 per game). She has converted 70 percent of the freebie attempts (59-of-84). For comparison, she went to the line just 76 times in EMU's first 13 games of the season (5.8 per game).
   The 84 attempts is by far the most of any Eagle in the recent eight-game stretch. Skanes is second in attempts during that span, with 34 (-50 compared to Combs).

PLAYING DISCIPLINED: EMU has been tremendous at taking care of the basketball, ranking fifth in the league and 65th nationally in fewest turnovers (320).

LIKE BONNIE AND CLYDE: The Green and White are fifth 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 21 performances of the nature this season, Combs has now recorded double-digit scoring efforts in 63 of her 66 career games with the Green and White (95.4%). 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 (57) and fourth in the league in steals per game (2.59). 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 five of her last nine 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 1,174 career points, which ranks 19th on the scoring list.
Meanwhile, redshirt senior Areanna Combs, who recently joined the 1,000-point club, sits at 17th in the record book, with 1,233 points in her three seasons donning the Green and White. The guard is averaging 18.8 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.

TWO GRAND TEAMMATES: Upperclassmen Courtnie Lewis (1,174) and Areanna Combs (1,233) 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.

BLOCK PART(E): EMU is fourth in the Mid-American Conference in blocks per game (3.4). Redshirt sophomore Ce'Nara Skanes leads the team with 25 rejections and is sixth in the MAC with 1.3 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 seven contests this season. In the 2020-21 campaign, Eastern only recorded five-or-more blocks in a game three times.

ROCK COLLECTORS: The Green and White recorded 13 steals versus Miami, Feb. 16, led by freshman Zaniya Nelson with three swipes. The Eagles have pick-pocketed their opponents 10-or-more times in eight outings this season.

CHIP DIP: Saturday's contest marks the 92nd meeting between the Chippewas and Eagles, who first met during the 1976-77 season. CMU leads the overall series, 54-37. EMU has won 24 of the last 45 meetings dating back to the 2000-01 campaign, but Central enters the clash as winners in 13 of the last 15.

LAST TIME AGAINST CENTRAL: Five Eagles scored in double digits as EMU routed the Chippewas, 80-60, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Cente, Jan. 8. Areanna Combs led the way with 16 points and six rebounds, while Danielle Rainey and Ce'Nara Skanes had big games as well, dropping 15 and 14 points, respectively. Eastern Michigan did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 13 boards that resulted in 18 second chance points.
   EMU forced 20 Central Michigan turnovers while committing just eight of its own in Saturday's game. The Eagles turned those takeaways into 20 points on the offensive end of the floor.

LAST TIME IN MOUNT PLEASANT: Eastern was led by the trio of Areanna Combs, former standout Corrione Cardwell, and Ce'Nara Skanes as they put up 23, 20, and 19 points, respectively, en route to an impressive, 70-67 win over the Chippewas, Jan. 20, 2021.
The victory put an end to a 13-game win streak for Central Michigan, which had previously bested Eastern in every matchup between the two schools since 2016-17.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern hits the road once again, this time traveling to the Land of Lincoln for a meeting with Northern Illinois. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Areanna Combs

Courtnie Lewis

ZaNiya Nelson

Danielle Rainey

Ce'Nara Skanes

Treasure Thompson

Eastern Michigan Athletics