WBB to Lock Horns with Buffalo Wednesday Night

GAME #15: Women's Basketball vs. Buffalo
Date	Wednesday, Jan. 15 \| 6:30 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

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball is back in action at home Wednesday, Jan. 15, with the University at Buffalo Bulls set to invade the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti for a 6:30 p.m. Mid-American Conference contest. The first of two meetings this season between the Eagles (1-13, 0-4 MAC) and Bulls (13-2, 2-2 MAC) will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley (play-by-play) and Claire Dau (analyst) on the call. Fans can listen to the game live on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network app with Tom Helmer calling the action. 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
» Alumni Weekend will take place Jan. 31-Feb. 1 with events planned around EMU's game with Toledo. The Alumni Game (Jan. 31) and the Alumni Mixer (Feb. 1 at Aubree's) will bookend the game with Rockets (2 p.m., Feb. 1).
» The pairings for the second half of the 2024-25 MAC/SBC Challenge were announced Jan. 13 with the Eagles set to face Georgia State, Feb. 8, in Atlanta. The game will tip-off at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
» The UB at EMU game will feature the top two scorers in the MAC facing one another as Sisi Eleko and UB's Chellia Watson are both averaging 19.9 points per game this season.
» Despite being in her first year with the Eagles, Sahar Nusseibeh is quite familiar with the Bulls as her Canisius teams played Buffalo in the season-opening game in each of her three seasons at CU (1-2 record). The two schools are separated by just over six miles in Western New York.
» Mackenzie Amalia has scored a career-high 48 points over her past three games, including 16 against Akron, Jan. 11. Amalia, whose previous best three-game run was 38 points earlier this year, leads the nation with 38.1 minutes played per game.
» Sisi Eleko continues to average a double-double with 19.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, both of which lead the MAC. She is one of three NCAA Division I players that are averaging 19.0+ points and 10.0+ rebounds per game this year.
» The 61 points allowed to Akron (Jan. 11) were the second-fewest in a game this season (60, Xavier).
» The Eagles connected on seven three-pointers against Akron (Jan. 11) to extend their current streak to 117 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).

ALUMNI WEEKEND IS COMING
The program will play host to Alumni Weekend Jan. 31-Feb. 1 with events planned before and after the Eagles' game with visiting Toledo. All alumni are welcome back and can sign up to play in the Alumni Game, Friday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. to open the weekend. On Saturday, Feb. 1, alumni are welcomed to watch the team's shoot around at 9 a.m. before cheering on the Eagles against the Rockets at 2 p.m. Following the game, all alumni are invited to Aubree's in Depot Town for the Alumni Mixer. To reserve your spot, e-mail Assistant Coach Kayla Jackson (kjack143@emich.edu) with your updated contact information along with if you plan to play in the Alumni Game and if you plan to attend the Alumni Mixer.

KNOW THE FOE: BUFFALO
The Bulls come to town with a 13-2 record and stand 2-2 in MAC play after dropping a 78-56 home decision to Ball State, Jan. 11. Buffalo opened the season 12-0 before falling at Kent State, 82-73, Jan. 5. Individually, Chellia Watson, who is tied for the league lead in scoring with EMU's Sisi Eleko, is averaging 19.9 points per game to lead a group of three players in double figures that also includes Kirsten Lewis-Williams (13.3) and Terah Harness (10.1). Alexis Davis leads the team in rebounds (6.9) while Noelani Cornfield leads in assists (5.1).

IN THE RANKINGS
Buffalo is currently ranked No. 9 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 (Jan. 7). The Bulls are the second team in the rankings EMU will play in as many weeks after playing at No. 10 Ball State, Jan. 8.

ALL-TIME VS. BUFFALO
The Bulls hold a slim 17-16 lead in the all-time series after winning the most recent meeting, 75-63 (Feb. 3, 2024) in Buffalo, to break the tie. The Eagles are 9-8 against UB when playing host to the contest in Ypsilanti and won the last meeting, a 61-57 decision, Feb. 23, 2023.

FAMILIAR FOE
The Eagles are no strangers to the Bulls, and that includes Sahar Nusseibeh and the four players that came with her from Canisius. Separated by just over six miles in Buffalo, the two programs opened their respective seasons playing one another all three seasons Nusseibeh led the Golden Griffins (2021-24) with CU posting a 1-2 record against the Bulls. In those three games, the Golden Griffins scored a 57-55 win at home over UB (Nov. 7, 2022) with one road loss before and after.

TOP SCORERS SET TO MEET
The game with Buffalo will feature a meeting of the top two scorers in the MAC as both EMU's Sisi Eleko and UB's Chellia Watson are averaging a league-best 19.9 points per game. While Watson has played one more game than Eleko, both have drained 13 three-pointers and 57 free throws, but Watson has the lead in total points by 20 as she has scored 298 on 114 field goals to Eleko's 278 points on 104 field goals.

The game in Ypsilanti will not be the first time the two have played against one another either as the two players shared the floor last year in UB's 69-60 home win over Canisius (Nov. 6, 2023). In that season-opening contest, Eleko scored 15 points and added a career-high 19 rebounds in 31 minutes while Watson scored a game-high 21 points in 39 minutes while adding six assists.

SHOOTING STREAK
The Eagles have recorded at least one made three-pointer in 117 consecutive games, the third-longest stretch since the start of the 1999-00 season, after scoring seven against Akron, Jan. 11. 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.

ELEKO SURPASSES 1,000 POINTS
With 2:32 remaining in the game at Ball State, Jan. 8, Sisi Eleko got free near the rim and scored on a layup to give her 11 points in the game to see her break the 1,000-career point barrier. Eleko finished the game with 14 points to become the first Eagle to reach the scoring milestone since Ce'Nara Skanes scored 1,031 points for the Eagles from 2020-23. Eleko has now scored 261 points in 13 games for the Eagles after she recorded 743 for Canisius over the past two seasons (2022-24).

Averaging 19.9 points through 14 games played, Eleko is on pace to score over 500 points this season. If she does, she would move into the top 10 in single season scoring at EMU along with the top five of the single-season list for juniors at Eastern.

QUICK SCORING
Sisi Eleko is one of 329 active players in NCAA Division I that have scored 1,000 career points as she ranks 310th with 1,021. To reach the milestone, the junior needed 73 games, which ties for the seventh-fewest among the players on the active list and one of 10 that reached 1,000 points in 75 or fewer games.

NATIONALLY KNOWN
Through games played Jan. 12, two Eagles remain among the top 50 nationally in several statistical categories, led by Sisi Eleko, who holds rankings in four categories. Eleko is averaging 19.9 points (25th) and 10.7 rebounds (11th) while recording 150 total rebounds (40th) and eight double-doubles (14th).
Mackenzie Amalia is also among the national top 50 in a pair of categories. She is currently the NCAA and MAC leader with 38.1 minutes played per game while her 5.4 assists per contest rank second in the MAC and 27th nationally.

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.

Additionally, Eleko's 10.7 rebounds are among the best in EMU 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 players 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 eight times this year, which is the most in the MAC and ranks 14th nationally. Her double-double total is 15th on the EMU all-time list (since 1999-00) with Tayra Eke (2022-24) and Areanna Combs (2019-22) sitting 13th with 10.

KENZIE CASHES IN
Mackenzie Amalia has been on a scoring tear lately as her 16 points against the Zips marked the third consecutive game she has scored 14+ points, which also is the first time she has done so in her career. Amalia has scored 48 points in the last three games combined (14 at Bowling Green (Jan. 4), 18 at Ball State (Jan. 8), and 16 against the Zips), which is a career-high, surpassing the 38 she scored over three games earlier this season. That streak included 10 at then-No. 8 Notre Dame (Dec. 15), 18 at UT Rio Grande Valley (Dec. 19), and 11 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Dec. 20) at the UTRGV Holiday Classic.

MAJOR MINUTES
Mackenzie Amalia averages 38.1 minutes per game after playing the full 40 minutes in both games last week, which leads the NCAA. Amalia is one of four Eagles that rank in the top 25 of minutes played in the MAC, including Sisi Eleko in fourth (34.2), Olivia Westphal in tied for 18th (30.3), and Brooklyn Thrash in 21st (30.0).

AHEAD OF THE CURVE BEHIND THE ARC • PART I
Olivia Westphal has made 31 three pointers in 13 games this year, which is six more than her total from the 2023-24 season when she scored 23 three-pointers in 28 games (0.8 per game). Additionally, Westphal has scored 2+ triples in 11-of-13 games played this year after she made 1+ three-point shots 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 2015-16 season when both Janay Morton (76) and Cha Sweeney (70) accomplished the feat.

AHEAD OF THE CURVE BEHIND THE ARC • PART II
The 31 three-pointers Olivia Westphal has scored this season are just six off the single-player high from last year when Olivia Smith scored 37 shots from deep. Since the 2020-21 season, only seven other players have recorded 30+ three-point field goals with three scoring 50+.

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.

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern is back on the road Saturday, Jan. 18, when it ventures north to take on Central Michigan University inside McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich., for a 1 p.m. tip-off. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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

Chelsea Bishop

Elena Cabello

Olivia DiFranco

Tayra Eke

Sisi Eleko

Olivia Smith

Brooklyn Thrash

Olivia Westphal

Jada Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics