Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
9-5,1-2MAC
Akron
12-2,3-0MAC
Skanes Records Double-Double in Eastern Michigan's Setback to Akron
1/11/2023 9:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Oklahoma City native led the team with 15 points and 13 rebounds
Highlight Video | Press Conference
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Senior Ce'Nara Skanes (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West) registered a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds, but the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team fell to the University of Akron, 60-43, Wednesday night inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
Sophomore Tayra Eke (Madrid, Spain-IES Ortega Y Gasset-LIU) added seven points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks off of the bench for the Eagles (9-5, 1-2 MAC), while ZaNiya Nelson (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Putnam City West) contributed three points and three steals off the bench. Despite their efforts, Akron (12-2, 3-0 MAC) was able to overcome a 17-10 first-quarter EMU lead to finish off the victory.
Led by Skanes' six offensive rebounds, Eastern did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 13 boards that resulted in eight second-chance points.
The Eagle defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Wednesday's game, forcing 19 Akron turnovers. Those takeaways turned into 12 points on the other end of the floor. Eke's three steals led the way individually for the Eagles.
How It Happened
After jumping out to an 8-5 advantage, Eastern Michigan went on a 5-0 run with 6:46 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Eke, to increase its lead to 13-5. The Eagles entered the quarter-break with a 17-10 advantage. Eastern Michigan did most of its first-quarter damage in the paint, scoring 14 of its 17 points close to the basket.
The Eagles could not maintain their lead in the second quarter and entered halftime trailing 23-21.
EMU's deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Eagles faced a 41-32 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. Eastern Michigan played well near the basket, scoring six of its 11 points in the paint.
Eastern could not pull any closer in the fourth, losing by a final of 60-43. Eastern Michigan took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring six of its 11 points in the paint.
Game Notes
» Three EMU players tallied two or more steals. It was the fifth time this season in which the Green and White have had at least three players with multiple steals in a game. Moreover, it is also the second-straight game accomplishing this feat.
» Nelson recorded a total of three steals in the contest against the Zips. It is the third time this season Nelson has forced at least three steals in a game. In addition, it is the sixth time in her young Eastern career she has had a three-steal game, having done so three times in the 2021-22 campaign.
» The Green and White held the Zips to 23 points in the first half of the contest. It is the seventh time this season in which the Eagles held their opponents to 25 points or under, two of which being MAC members, Akron-23 points and Miami-24 points.
» Skanes recorded 13 points and 15 rebounds in the contest. It is the fifth time this season the forward has recorded a double-double and the 28th time in her career wearing a green and white uniform.
» A total of eight players scored all of Eastern's points in the loss to Akron, Jan. 11. With this effort, it was the sixth game this season in which the Eagles have had eight different players score in a single game this season with the highest being nine Eagles against James Madison University, Dec. 20.
» The Eagles held the Zips to only 31.5 percent shooting from the field. It was the seventh time this season the team has kept its opponent from shooting above 40 percent from the field. In all instances but tonight, Eastern has out-shot its competitors.
» Sophomore Kyndal Lewis (Belton, MO.-Belton) drew a foul for the sixth game this season. It is the sixth game this season where the guard has drawn at least one foul. Totaling 60 percent of the games she has played in.
Historical Notes
» Tonight's matchup marked the 47th meeting between Eastern Michigan and Akron. The Zips lead the all-time series, 28-19. However, EMU has come out victorious in four of the last 10 meetings with its most recent stretch of three wins coming from Jan. 16, 2019, to March 11, 2019. With all three of those games occurring in the same season (2018-19), the Eagles defeated the Zips once a month, for three straight months.
» Head Coach Fred Castro has now faced the Zips 11 times in his career with five of those being held inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. With tonight's 60-43 loss, Castro and his teams are 2-5 in games where Akron travels to Ypsilanti.
» Despite the loss, Eastern Michigan held Akron to just 60 points in the game. It is the 14th time in the all-time series that the Green and White held Akron to 60 or fewer points.
» Already a 1,000-point collegiate scorer (1,079), including 250 at Florida International in 2018-19), Skanes is just 171 points away from becoming Eastern Michigan's 25th 1,000-point scorer.
Up Next
The Green and White will hit the road as it travels to Buffalo, N.Y. to take on the Bulls of the University at Buffalo, Saturday, Jan. 14 inside Alumni Arena. The contest is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
