Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
1-6,0-0MAC
Lindenwood
1-6,0-0OVC
Austin Puts up Career-High 27 Points in 71-64 Loss to Lindenwood
12/7/2023 9:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Eagles return to action Saturday at Southern Indiana
ST. CHARLES, Mo. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team got a season-high 33-point showing from the bench, but fell, 71-64, to the Lindenwood University Lions on the road Thursday, Dec. 7.
Lachelle Austin (Redford, Mich./Wayne Memorial) led the Eagles (1-6) with a career-high 27 points and two steals. Tayra Eke (Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega y Gasset) tacked on eight points and nine rebounds and Olivia Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind./Southside) chipped in six points, seven assists, and two steals.
Eastern Michigan out-rebounded Lindenwood 34-31 in the game, led by Eke's nine boards.
The Eastern Michigan defense held Lindenwood shooters to only 39.7 percent from the field, including 28 percent from three-point range.
How It Happened
After falling behind, 4-1, Eastern Michigan went on a 7-0 run with 7:03 left in the first quarter to take an 8-4 lead. The Eagles then lost some of that lead, but still entered the quarter break with a 15-14 advantage. EMU did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring eight of its 15 points close to the basket.
Lindenwood rallied to take a 27-19 lead before Eastern Michigan went on a 5-0 run starting at the 1:59 mark in the second period to narrow its deficit to 27-24. The Eagles were unable to narrow the gap any further, but did not lose ground either and entered halftime with a 29-26 deficit.
The Green and White came out of halftime on fire, going on a 6-0 run to grab a 32-29 lead with 7:42 to go in the third. Lindenwood responded to seize a 49-45 lead entering the fourth quarter. Eastern Michigan's bench made the most of its minutes in the period, as non-starters totaled nine of the team's 19 third-quarter points.
The Lions kept widening their lead in the fourth, constructing a 51-45 advantage before EMU went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Kennedi Myles' (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills/Illinois/Marquette) layup, to shrink the deficit to 51-50 with 7:56 to go in the contest. Lindenwood responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 71-64. Eastern Michigan got a boost from its bench in the period, with non-starters scoring 14 of its 19 total points.
Game Notes
» Austin recorded a career-high 27 points against the Lions for her fifth career 20-plus point performance. The last time the junior hit 20-plus points was at Ohio University, March 4, 2023, when she went 9-for-18 from the field with five made free throws for her then-career high 25 points.
» Additionally, Austin finished the game with a season-high eight made field goals marking the 40th consecutive appearance in which the junior has registered a single make.
» In the starting five for the first time this season and the third time in her career was Kyndal Lewis (Belton, Mo./Belton), who registered her third career made three-pointer as she went 1-for-1 from three-point range.
» Smith helped out with a career-high seven assists topping her six helpers that she recorded versus Western Michigan University, Feb. 11, 2023.
» Cali Denson (Milwaukie, Ore./Milwaukie Academy of the Arts) was in the starting lineup for the sixth consecutive game after doing so for the first time in her career in the road game at Georgia Southern University, Nov. 11. Denson has been the only freshman this season to be in the starting five.
» The Eagles shot well from the charity stripe, knocking down 24 attempts for a team season high. Additionally, three Eagles went a perfect 1.000 from the line for the third time this season. The last time three Eagles were perfect from the free-throw line was in the victory over SIU-Edwardsville, Nov. 18.
Historical Notes
» The last time the Eagles had a player record 27-plus points in a single game was when former Eagle Areanna Combs put up 29 against Miami University, Jan. 29, 2022.
Up Next
The Green and White travel to Indiana next to face the Screaming Eagles of Southern Indiana University, Saturday, Dec. 9. The game is slated to tip at 1 p.m. CT and can be streamed on ESPN+.
