WBB Faces Spartans Monday Night in East Lansing

GAME #3: Women's Basketball at rv Michigan State
Date	Monday, Nov. 11 \| 6:30 p.m.
Venue	Breslin Center (14,759)
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF)
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	Big Ten Network+
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Fan Information	Purchase Tickets

EAST LANSING, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team is set to face Michigan State University for the first time since 2019 when the two squad meet Monday, Nov. 11, inside the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. The Eagles (0-2) and Spartans (2-0) are set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. with the game airing live on Big Ten Network Plus with Derrick Mitchell (play-by-play) and Serena Schroeder (analyst) on the call.

Fans can also listen the game live on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network with Tom Helmer and Greg Steiner calling all the action live from the Breslin Center. Live stats will be available at StatBroadcast.com while periodic updates will be posted on the team's official X account (@EMUWBB).

FREE THROWS
» The Eagles are 20-28 all-time in their road opener, 0-3 when facing Michigan State in that game, and 5-9 when playing their road opener in the state of Michigan. Additionally, EMU is 2-3 in its last five road openers after losing, 62-58, at Georgia Southern, Nov. 11, 2023, last year.
» Eastern is 172-164 all-time against teams from the Mitten State. The series with the Spartans (1-16) is the fifth-most played in program history and the third-most against a non-conference foe behind Detroit Mercy (15-16) and Michigan (9-17).
» Sisi Eleko scored 17 points and added 16 rebounds against Alabama A&M, Nov. 9, to mark her first double-double with the Eagles and the 19th of her career. She ranks third in the MAC and 38th nationally in scoring at 22.5 points per game while leading the MAC in rebounding at 12.5 per game.
» Olivia Westphal connected on three triples against Alabama A&M (Nov. 9) to bring her season total to eight after hitting just 23 last year. Additionally, she has scored three or more three-pointers in back-to-back games for the first time in her career.
» The Eagles rank 16th nationally and lead the MAC in three-point field goal defense as teams are hitting at just a .148 clip. Eastern held Alabama A&M to 0-of-10 shooting from behind the arc, Nov. 9.
» Sahar Nusseibeh, the ninth head coach in Eastern program history, spent the previous three seasons leading the Canisius program. She is the first sitting head coach to be hired as EMU's head coach since 1998 when Suzy Merchant, the one-time MSU head coach, came from Saginaw Valley.

SACRE BLEU SISI!
Sisi Eleko is off to a hot start with the Eagles as she leads the team with 22.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per contest through two games. After opening the season with 28 points and nine boards against Texas State, Nov. 4, she came back and went for 17 points and 16 rebounds against Alabama A&M, Nov. 9, to post her first double-double with the Eagles and the 19th of her career. A two-year standout with Canisius, Eleko has scored at least 10 points in 44 career games and recorded at least 10 rebounds in 22 contests.

WEST (ON THE) WING
Olivia Westphal entered the season with 29 career made three-pointers, including six as a freshman with Duquesne (2022-23) and 23 last year (2023-24). Through two games, Westphal has connected on eight made three-points, and, including last season, has now scored 3+ made triples in three consecutive games. The streak began in the season finale at home against Bowling Green, March 9, 2024, where she was 3-of-4. She was 5-of-8 against Texas State (Nov. 4) and was 3-of-8 against Alabama A&M (Nov. 9). All told, 22 percent of her long-range buckets have been scored in the past two games (8-of-37).

ROLLIN' ON 20'S
With 28 points scored by Sisi Eleko and 20 added by Olivia Westphal, in the opener against Texas State, Nov. 4, the Eagles boasted two 20-point scorers in the same game for the first time in nearly six years. The last time it happened was Jan. 23, 2019, when Corrione Cardwell and Courtnie Lewis each scored 20 against Western Michigan in a home MAC contest.

BROOKLYN'S FINEST
Brooklyn Thrash has done a bit of everything for the Eagles in her first two games after transferring from Canisius. After she stuffed the stat sheet in her debut against Texas State (Nov. 4) as she scored four points and added three blocks, two steals, two assists, and three rebounds, she was back to work against Alabama A&M (Nov. 9) with stats in all but one category. Against the Bulldogs, she finished with 15 points, which is just one shy of career high (16, vs. Binghamton, Nov. 20, 2022), five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. She also was a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.

DROPPIN' DIMES
Mackenzie Amalia has tallied 16 assists in two games and leads the MAC in the category at 8.0 per contest. Amalia, who is tied for eighth in the NCAA in assists per game, still leads the nation with the most helpers in a single game as her 12 dimes against Texas State (Nov. 4) ranks as the most in a game this year. Additionally, the last time an EMU player recorded 12+ assists in a single game was Feb. 4, 2012, when Desyree Thomas dished 13, tied for the second-most in a game in program history.

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS!
Eastern has three players leading the MAC in statistical categories through games played Nov. 9, including Sisi Eleko, who leads with 12.5 rebounds per game and most double-doubles with one. Olivia Westphal leads the league with 4.0 three-point field goals per game while Mackenzie Amalia is tops in assists per game at 8.0.

LIFTING THE LID: ROAD OPENERS
Eastern holds an all-time record of 20-28 in its first road game of the season and has split the last four contests, including a 62-58 loss at Georgia Southern, Nov. 11, 2023, in the MAC/SBC Challenge. The last time the Eagles won their road opener was Nov. 13, 2022, with a 71-62 win at SIU-Edwardsville.

KNOW THE FOE: MICHIGAN STATE
Under Head Coach Robyn Fralik, the Spartans are 2-0 on the season and have put on offensive displays in both contests, including wins of 107-42 over Oakland (Nov. 5) and 100-44 against Yale (Nov. 8). Averaging 10.35 points (8th in the NCAA) and outscoring their foes by 60.5 points per game (5th in the NCAA), the Spartans' defense ranks 26th nationally, allowing just 43.0 points per game, while ranking ninth in turnover margin at +20.5. Individually, Grace VanSlooten leads the way for MSU with 17.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per contest.

FAMILIAR FACE
Eastern is no stranger to Robyn Fralik, who is in her second year as the head coach at Michigan State after spending four seasons leading the Bowling Green program. While coaching in the MAC from 2018-19 through 2022-23, Fralik's Falcons were 5-3 against the Eagles with wins in her final five games against EMU.

ALL-TIME VS. MICHIGAN STATE
The Eagles are 1-16 all-time against the Spartans and have dropped the last five meetings, including the most recent contest, an 85-50 MSU win East Lansing, Nov. 5, 2019. EMU is 0-9 when playing in East Lansing with its closest score coming Dec. 3, 2011, in a 60-59 overtime loss.

MITTEN MEETINGS
The Eagles are 172-164 all-time against teams from the Mitten State. The series with the Spartans (1-16) is the fifth-most played in program history and the third-most against a non-conference foe behind Detroit Mercy (15-16) and Michigan (9-17).

ALL-TIME VS. THE BIG TEN
Eastern is 14-51 all-time against the current lineup of Big Ten institutions with 43 of those 69 games being played against Michigan State (1-16) and Michigan (9-17). The Eagles have also played Illinois (0-5), Indiana (0-2), Maryland (0-1), Minnesota (0-1), Northwestern (2-2), Ohio State (1-2), Purdue (0-3), Washington (0-2), and Wisconsin (1-0).

CLOSE CONNECTION
The Eastern Michigan and Michigan State programs were each guided by Suzy Merchant, who spent 28 years coaching women's basketball at the collegiate level where she built a 528-306 record. After starting her career at Saginaw Valley, Merchant was hired at EMU and spent nine seasons with the Eagles (1998-99 through 2006-07), where she posted a program-record 147 wins. She was then hired away by Michigan State, where she posted a record of 327-186 from 2007-08 through 2022-23.

FIRST TIME
Four players have made their EMU debuts this season with freshman Olivia DiFranco the latest to join the list after playing the final minute of the Alabama A&M game. Against Texas State, Mackenzie Amalia, Brooklyn Thrash, and Sisi Eleko each earned a place in the starting lineup after transferring in from Canisius. Additionally, Elena Cabello entered the game against Texas State, which marked her first game action since March 8, 2023, against Bowling Green in the MAC Tournament after sitting out all last season with an injury.

ON THE HORIZON
Following a 10-day break, the Eagles will return to action, Nov. 21, when the play host to Purdue University Fort Wayne inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The game is scheduled to tip at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+. Additionally, fans can tune in to WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network with Tom Helmer on the call.

FOLLOW US
Stay connected with the Eagles all season long by following @EMUWBB and @EMUAthletics on X for all the latest EMU women's basketball updates. Be sure to also follow the team on Instagram (@EMUWBB).

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Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Amalia

Elena Cabello

Olivia DiFranco

Sisi Eleko

Brooklyn Thrash

Olivia Westphal

Eastern Michigan Athletics