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Eleko Scores 31 as Eagles Fall at Detroit Mercy
11/26/2024 9:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Eagles battled to the end with Eastern hitting a season-high nine triples
DETROIT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Sisi Eleko scored a career-high 31 points and added 14 rebounds for her fourth consecutive double-double, but it was not enough as the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team battled to the end before falling at the University of Detroit Mercy, 72-61, Nov. 26. The Eagles (0-5) kept things close throughout much of the game, but a 25-12 second quarter in favor of the Titans (4-1) proved to be the difference inside Calihan Hall in Detroit.
How It Happened
The Eagles came out strong in the first quarter with the team hitting four three-point baskets to build an 18-15 lead at the first break. The 18 points mark the most the team has scored in the opening quarter of a game this year, surpassing the 15 scored in the opener against Texas State, Nov. 4. Sisi Eleko (Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy/Canisius) lead the charge with nine points while Mackenzie Amalia (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk/Robert Morris/Canisius) splashed home a pair of three-pointers as well.
In the second quarter, the Titans came out strong and built a 10-point lead by halftime. Elena Cabello (Malaga, Spain/IES Mediterraneo) got the Eagles on the board in the quarter as she scored on a pair of layups, marking her first points in 633 days after missing all last year with an injury. Eleko continued her host start as she added eight more points and five rebounds, leaving her one rebound shy of her fourth double-double of the year.
After the break, Detroit Mercy kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 71-49 advantage before Eastern Michigan went on a 12-0 run to shrink the deficit to 71-61 with 25 seconds to go in the contest. Eastern Michigan took advantage of seven Detroit Mercy turnovers in the quarter, scoring eight points off those takeaways. Eleko scored nine points in the quarter, including two three-point baskets.
Game Notes
» Sisi Eleko continued to pile up the points and rebounds as she recorded her fourth consecutive double-double as she finished the game with 31 points and 14 rebounds against the Titans. Eleko's 31 points are the most for an Eagle since Areanna Combs scored 32 points at the University of Akron, Jan. 26, 2022. She finished the night with four made triples to better her previous career high of three she hit at Binghamton, Dec. 8, 2023, for Canisus.
» Sisi Eleko entered the game with two three-pointers in her first four games (2-of-7) before hitting on 4-of-7 against the Titans. Not only did she record at least one made three in her third game this year, she recorded multiple made triples for just the fourth time in her career.
» Sisi Eleko's 31 points marked a career best, bettering the 28 she scored in the season-opener with Texas State, Nov. 4. Additionally, she has now scored at least 20 points in 3-of-5 games played for the Eagles and has tallied double-digit points in 72.3 percent of her collegiate games played (47-of-65).
» Mackenzie Amalia finished the game with a season-best 13 points as she hit three triples and added two free throws to along with her six assists. Her point total surpassed the eight she scored against Alabama A&M (Nov. 9) and were seven shy of her career high 20 points scored at St. Bonaventure, Nov. 20, 2023, with Canisius.
» Early in the first quarter, Olivia Westphal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park/Duquesne) drained a three in the corner to extend her streak to five consecutive games with at least one made triple, a streak that includes last year's season finale against Bowling Green and the first four games she has played this year. Westphal, the MAC leader at 4.0 made threes per game, finished with six points on two made threes, marking the fifth game in a row she has connected on multiple deep shots. In her career, she had previously made two or more threes in back-to-back games on one occasion after draining three at Ohio, Jan. 20, 2024, and two at Kent State, Jan. 24, 2024.
» Brooklyn Thrash (Wayne, Ohio/Elmwood/Canisius) tallied a career-high four steals in the game while scoring three points. She previously recorded a career-best two steals on seven occasions, most recently doing so against Alabama A&M, Nov. 9.
» The first four points of the second quarter were scored by Elena Cabello, who finished the game with STATS. The points, that included a pair of driving layups, marked the first points she scored since tallying five at Ohio, March 4, 2023, a stretch of 633 days. Cabello, who had not scored in her first four appearances this season, last played March 8, 2023, against Bowling Green in the MAC Tournament before an injury forced her out of the 2023-24 season.
» The nine made three-point baskets are the most for the Eagles this season, surpassing the seven made in the opener with Texas State, Nov. 4.
» The Eagles opened the game with 18 points in the first quarter (led, 18-15) to mark the largest point output in the opening stanza this year, surpassing the 15 scored against Texas State (Nov. 4) in the opener.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 0-5 on the year while the Titans improved to 4-1.
» Eastern is now 15-17 all-time in the series with Detroit Mercy while the Titans lead, 8-7, in games they host against the Eagles.
» EMU is 0-2 against members of the Horizon League this year and 55-42 all-time against the league.
» The loss dropped Eastern to 172-166 all-time against fellow Michigan schools.
Up Next
Eastern returns to action Sunday, Dec. 1, with a 2 p.m. game inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center against the visiting Musketeers of Xavier University. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley and Reggie Butler, a four-year member of the Xavier men's program (1997-01), on the call. Additionally, fans can listen live on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network app with Tom Helmer on the call.
