Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
4-8,1-1MAC
Toledo
9-3,2-0MAC
Defensive Effort Holds Toledo to 48 in Setback
1/6/2024 3:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Tayra Eke led the Eagles with 17
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team showed a great defensive effort in the 48-35 setback to defending Mid-American Conference Tournament champions, the University of Toledo Saturday, Jan. 6, at home.
Tayra Eke (Madrid, Spain/IES Ortega y Gasset/LIU) led the Eagles (4-8, 1-1 MAC) with 17 points, seven rebounds, two steals and four blocks. Olivia Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind./Southside) added six points and Treasure Thompson (Joilet, Ill./Bolingbrook/LSU) chipped in as well with four points and seven rebounds from the bench.
Led by Kennedi Myles' (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills/Illinois/Marquette) two offensive rebounds, Eastern Michigan did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 11 boards that resulted in nine second chance points.
The Green and White's defense held Toledo to only 39.6 percent shooting from the field, including 26.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Rockets did not have much luck cleaning up their misses on the offensive glass either, as they finished with eight offensive rebounds and managed 11 second chance points.
How It Happened
EMU offense struggled out of the gate, falling behind 14-8 at the end of the first quarter.
The Eagles continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 21-14 halftime deficit.
Eastern Michigan's deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Eagles faced a 38-26 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. Eastern Michigan knocked down two three-pointers in the quarter to score six of its 12 total points.
Toledo kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 46-28 advantage before the Green and White went on a 7-0 run to shrink the deficit to 46-35 with 1:08 to go in the contest. The Rockets responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 48-35.
Game Notes
» Freshman Cali Denson (Milwaukie, Ore./Milwaukie Academy of the Arts) was in the starting lineup for the 11th consecutive game after doing so for the first time in her career in the road game at Georgia Southern University, Nov. 11. Denson continues to be the only freshman this season to be in the starting five.
» The Eagles allowed just 48 Toledo points, the lowest of any MAC foe this season marking just the third time the Eagles have kept their opponent under 50. The Green and White are 2-1 in said games.
» Additionally, the 48 Toledo points mark as the second lowest points scored on the season for the Rockets following the mere 45 against Duke University, Dec. 20.
» Eke's 17 points in the setback were just two shy of her career-high 19 points against Kent State University, Feb. 25, 2023. It marked the 6th time this season the junior has reached double figure points and the 19th of her career.
» Smith connected on two shots from beyond the arc in the conference loss. It was the ninth contest this season in which Smith has made a single three-pointer. Last season, the then-rookie led the team in triples recording a single make in 25 total games. Her longest streak of consecutive games with a made triple was 13 (Dec. 17, 2022-Feb. 1, 2023).
» Lachelle Austin (Redford, Mich./Wayne Memorial) collected three steals in the contest for the first time this season and the 14th of her career.
» Myles chipped in with three steals as well marking the third time this season with the feat and the 13th of her career.
» Eke recorded four blocks in the loss for the second-consecutive game. It was the fourth time this season in which the junior earned four or more blocks in a single game. Her career-high five was set against Army West Point, Dec. 1, 2021 as an LIU Shark. She equaled the mark with five blocks against Georgia Southern University, Nov. 11.
Historical Notes
» Saturday's matchup marked the 92nd meeting between Eastern Michigan and Toledo. Toledo leads the all-time series, 57-35, with the Rockets coming away with the last six contests.
Up Next
The Green and White will continue conference play as it travels to Bowling Green, Ohio to face the Falcons of Bowling Green State University, Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.
