WBB Closes Out 2024 Playing Host to St. Thomas

GAME #10: Women's Basketball vs. St. Thomas (MN)
Date	Saturday, Dec. 28 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	George Gervin GameAbove Center (8,754)
Preview Info	EMU Notes (pdf)
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Fan Information	Purchase Tickets For Future Home Games

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team is set to play one final game in 2024 as the Eagles (1-8) will play host to the Tommies of the University of St. Thomas (7-5) Saturday, Dec. 28, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti. The game is slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off and will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley (play-by-play) and Lexi Ayala (analyst) on the call while fans can also listen live on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network app with Tom Helmer on the call from courtside. Live stats will be available at EMUEagles.com/livestats while periodic updates will be posted on the team's official X account (@EMUWBB).

FREE THROWS
» Eastern enters the game at 1-8 following two tough losses in Edinburg, Texas, at the UTRGV Holiday Classic, including a 73-66 overtime loss to the host Vaqueros (Dec. 19) and a 67-52 setback to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Dec. 20).
» The game with St. Thomas will be the penultimate non-conference game of the season as EMU will face a to-be-named Sun Belt foe on the road, Feb. 8, in the second half of the MAC-SBC Challenge.
» Sisi Eleko continues to lead the team with 20.7 points and 11.6 rebounds, which rank 15th and fifth nationally, respectively. She is one of three players nationally averaging at least 20.0 points and 11.5 rebounds and is fifth nationally with six double-doubles to her credit.
» Mackenzie Amalia continues to rank highly in assists as her 5.3 helpers per game are third in the MAC and rank her 32nd nationally. Additionally, she has scored 10+ points in five consecutive games, the longest streak of her career.
» Olivia Westphal hit two three-pointers against TAMU-CC, giving her 22 on the season and a MAC-best 2.8 triples per game. Westphal, who scored 23 total three-pointers all of last year, ranks 26th nationally in three-point field goals per game.
» Olivia Smith reached a milestone in her last game as she scored nine points against TAMU-CC to bring her career total to 508 points.
» The Eagles connected on nine three-pointers against TAMU-CC to extend their current streak to 113 consecutive games with at least one made triple. The last time EMU was held without a three-pointer was Nov. 29, 2020, against UIC (0-of-15).
» Speaking of three-pointers, the Eagles have made at least five triples in all nine games played this year and 10 overall dating back to last season. The 10 games mark the longest streak since the 2013-14 season when the same squad opened their year on a 13-game streak.

KNOW THE FOE: ST. THOMAS
The Tommies stand 7-5 -- their best start since making the jump to NCAA Division I ahead of the 2021-22 season -- and are 1-0 this year when playing in Michigan after downing Oakland, 73-62, in Rochester, Mich., Nov. 21. Led by 20th-year head coach Ruth Sinn, STU is coming off a 92-81 loss at home to visiting Drake. Individually, four players are averaging double-digit points with Jo Langbehn (15.8) and Jade Hill (15.1) each over 15.0 points per game. Sammy Opichka (6.2) lead the team in rebounding while Hill is the top distributor at 3.8 assists per game.

ALL-TIME VS. ST. THOMAS
The game between the Eagles and Tommies will be the first meeting between the two schools.

ALL-TIME VS. THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
Eastern is 7-8 all-time against the current membership of the Summit League. The Eagles have played Denver (0-1), Kansas City (4-1), North Dakota (1-3), North Dakota State (1-1), Oral Roberts (1-1) and South Dakota State (0-1) previously.

LONG RANGE SHOOTING
The Eagles are averaging a 7.6 made three-pointers per game and, when including the five makes at home against Bowling Green, March 9, 2024, have connected on at least five triples in 10 consecutive games. The current streak is the longest since the 2013-14 season when the Eagles opened the season with a streak of 13 consecutive games.

ANOTHER STREAK
The Eagles have recorded at least one made three-pointer in 113 consecutive games, the third-longest stretch since the start of the 1999-00 season. The longest streak in that period is 281 games, which started with seven makes at Northern Illinois, Jan. 31, 2002, and ended with no makes in the MAC Tournament, March 11, 2011, against Toledo. The second longest streak lasted 157 games and started Dec. 9, 2014, until no makes halted the streak, Nov. 29, 2020, against visiting UIC.

NATIONALLY KNOWN
Through games played Dec. 22, Sisi Eleko holds the distinction of being one of only three players nationally to average 20.0+ points and 11.5+ rebounds, joining Khamil Pierre of Vanderbilt (22.2/11.5) and Sereh Williams of Wisconsin (20.0/12.3). Eleko is averaging 20.7 points, which ranks 15th nationally, and 11.6 rebounds, the fifth-highest total nationally, while having tallied six double-doubles, the 15th-highest total nationally. Eleko leads the MAC in all three categories as well.

MOVING TOWARD A MILESTONE
Sisi Eleko has tallied 929 points in her career, leaving her just 71 points shy of joining the 1,000-point club. With 189 points scored this season (through nine games), Eleko is averaging 20.7 points, which, if she maintains that pace through the end of the regular season (29 games), she could reach 600 points for the season, which would rank her third in a single season for an EMU junior and seventh all-time on the program's single-season ledger.

Recently, two Eagles reached their own milestones as Makenzie Amalia recorded her 300th career assist (at UTRGV) and Olivia Smith surpassed 500 career points (vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi).

TRENDING UPWARD
With her strong start to the season, Sisi Eleko is already on pace to do something that hasn't happened in nearly 15 years: have an Eagle average 20.0 points for a season. EMU Hall of Famer and Ring of Honor inductee Tavelyn James was the last to do so when she averaged 20.7 points in 2009-10. In addition to her scoring, Eleko's 11.6 rebounds have her among the best in program history as well with only three players finishing the season averaging 10.0+ rebounds per game. Those players include Ce'Nara Skanes (2020-21) at 10.9, Felicia Hines (1984-85) at 11.7 (school record), and Suzanne Huff (1980-81) at 10.6.

ELITE COMPANY
Sisi Eleko also is on pace to do something done just two other EMU player have done in program history: average a double-double for the season. The first to do so was Felicia Hines, who tallied 12.0 points and 11.7 rebounds during the 1984-85 season. Ce'Nara Skanes was the most recent entrant to the list as she averaged 16.0 points and 10.9 rebounds per game during the 2020-21 season.

SISI WITH DUB-DUBS
Sisi Eleko has tallied a double-double six times this year, which ties for the most in the MAC and ranks 15th nationally. Her six double-doubles are tied for 15th on the EMU all-time list (since 1999-00) with Kennedi Myles (2023-24), Abby Wiseman (1999-02), and Chanise Baldwin (2015-16). Next on the list are Tayra Eke (2022-24) and Areanna Combs (2019-22), who are tied for 13th with 10.

NOT THE ONLY ONE
Two other Eagles are among the best in the nation in a statistical category, including Olivia Westphal in three-pointers and Mackenzie Amalia in assists. Westphal leads the MAC and ranks 26th nationally with 2.8 made triples per game while Amalia is third in the league and ranks 32nd in the NCAA with 5.63 helpers per game.

LET IF FLY
Olivia Westphal connected on two more triples against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Dec. 20, bringing her season total to 22 after making at least two from behind the arc in all eight games she has played this season. Currently on a nine-game streak of making two or more three-pointers, Westphal leads the MAC and ranks 26th nationally with 2.8 three-pointers per game. Prior to her current streak, she had only one instance of making two or more three-points in consecutive games which came with three at Ohio, Jan. 20, 2024, and two at Kent State, Jan. 24, 2024.

AHEAD OF THE CURVE BEHIND THE ARC
Olivia Westphal has made 22 three pointers in eight games this year, leaving her just one shy of equaling her total from the 2023-24 season when she scored 23 three-pointer in 28 games (0.8 per game). Additionally, Westphal has scored 2+ triples in all eight games this year after she made 1+ three-point shot in 12-of-28 games last year. If she can maintain her current pace, Westphal could make at least 70 three-pointers this season, something that hasn't happened since the since 2015-16 season when both Janay Morton (76) and Cha Sweeney (70) accomplished the feat.

MACK-ING SHOTS
Mackenzie Amalia got off to a hot start against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Dec. 20, as she went 3-of-4 from three in the opening quarter. Amalia, who finished the game with 11 points, made it back-to-back games with 3+ made triples, something she had done just three times previously in her career. All told, Amalia finished the game in double figures for the fifth consecutive game, the longest streak of her career after hitting for 10+ points in three consecutive games during the 2022-23 season with Robert Morris when she scored 10 at Detroit Mercy (Jan. 7, 2023), 12 at Youngstown State (Jan. 12, 2023), and 11 at home against IU Indy (Jan. 14). Her current streak also started at Detroit Mercy (Nov. 26) with 13 points before she scored 10 against Xavier (Dec. 1) and at No. 8 Notre Dame (Dec. 15) and then added a season-high 18 points at UTRGV (Dec. 19) before her 11-point performance against the Islanders (Dec. 20).

FIRST TIMES
Six players have made their EMU debuts this year with Jada Williams the latest to join the list after playing six minutes against Xavier, Dec. 1. Previously, rookies Chelsea Bishop (Nov. 21) and Olivia DiFranco (Nov. 9) saw their first action while transfers Mackenzie Amalia, Brooklyn Thrash, and Sisi Eleko each started in the opener against Texas State (Nov. 4). 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.

NEW TO THE LINEUP
Elena Cabello made her first career start for the Eagles in the Xavier game after appearing in 23 games during the 2022-23 season and all five this season. Cabello, who missed the 2023-24 season with an injury, scored eight points, which tied her career high set Feb. 18, 2023, at Toledo, while tying a career high with two made three-point baskets, which she had done three times previously.

The start comes one game after her strong play at Detroit Mercy, Nov. 26. In the game, she opened the second quarter by scoring with a pair of layups to give her four points, her first of the season. Those points also marked her first in 633 days after she last scored for the Eagles March 4, 2023, when she tallied five points at Ohio. She sat out the entire 2023-24 season with an injury.

ON THE HORIZON
The next time the Eagles play, it will be a new year, but a familiar foe as Eastern will play host to Western Michigan University, Jan. 1, at 1 p.m. to open Mid-American Conference play. The Eagles and Broncos will meet inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center with the game being streamed live on ESPN+. Additionally, fans can listen to the game live on 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).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Amalia

Chelsea Bishop

Elena Cabello

Olivia DiFranco

Tayra Eke

Sisi Eleko

Kennedi Myles

Olivia Smith

Brooklyn Thrash

Olivia Westphal

Jada Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics