Eagles Head North to Battle Chippewas Saturday

GAME #16: Women's Basketball at Central Michigan
Date	Saturday, Jan. 18 \| 1 p.m.
Venue	McGuirk Arena (5,300)
Preview Info	EMU Notes (pdf)
Live Stats	Fan Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	n/a
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Fan Information	Purchase Tickets for Future Home Games

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to the road Saturday, Jan. 18, as the Eagles will venture north to take on the Chippewas of Central Michigan University inside McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The Eagles (1-14, 0-5 Mid-American Conference) and Chippewas (6-10, 2-3 MAC) will tip at 1 p.m. with the game streaming live on ESPN+. 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 the 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 Eagles are set to face their third fellow Michigan school when they take on CMU. Eastern played at Michigan State (L, 95-45) and hosted Western Michigan (L, 65-51). The Eagles are 172-167 all-time against fellow Michigan schools.
» Sisi Eleko scored 16 points and added 11 rebounds against Buffalo (Jan. 15) to record her ninth double-double of the season, the most in the MAC and the 13th-highest total in NCAA Division I.
» The Eagles connected on nine three-pointers against Buffalo (Jan. 15) to extend their current streak to 118 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 info along with if you plan to play in the Alumni Game and if you plan to attend the Alumni Mixer.

MITTEN MEETINGS
The Eagles are 172-167 all-time against teams from the Mitten State following their losses at Michigan State, Nov. 11, Detroit Mercy, Nov. 26, and Western Michigan, Jan. 1. Eastern will have two more games to play this season against Michigan schools when it takes on Central Michigan twice, starting Jan. 18 on the road and at home Feb. 19.

KNOW THE FOE: CENTRAL MICHIGAN
The Chippewas enter the weekend with a 6-10 record and a 2-3 mark in MAC play following their 75-55 win at Akron (Jan. 15). The Chippewas, who are 3-4 at home this year, are led offensively by Madi Morson, who is averaging a team-high 13.6 points. Jess Lawson is scoring 10.3 points and leads the team with 8.4 rebounds per game while adding a team-best 2.7 assists per contest as well.

ALL-TIME VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
The Chippewas hold a 55-39 lead in the all-time series and won the last meeting, 64-60, Jan. 13, 2024, in Ypsilanti to snap the Eagles' four-game winning streak. CMU also leads the series when the game is played in Mount Pleasant, 29-16, despite Eastern having won three consecutive meetings at McGuirk Arena, including a 68-54 decision Feb. 4, 2023.

IT'S YOU AGAIN!
Saturday's game between the Eagles and Chippewas will mark the 95th meeting between the two sides, which ranks as the second-most played series in EMU history behind only the 97 games the Eagles have played against Western Michigan. The series with CMU is one of four that has spanned 90+ games with the others coming against WMU (97), Toledo (93), and Ball State (91). The next closest on the list is Bowling Green, which sits at 78 games following the Jan. 4 contest at BGSU.

SHOOTING STREAK
The Eagles have recorded at least one three-pointer in 118 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 19.6 points through 15 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 331 active players in NCAA Division I that have scored 1,000 career points as she ranks 302nd with 1,037. 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.

SISI WITH DUB-DUBS
Sisi Eleko tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds against Buffalo (Jan. 15) to record her league-leading ninth double-double, which also ranks her 13th nationally. Eleko has 29 career double-doubles, which ranks tied for 31st among all active NCAA Division I players (through Jan. 15 games) and is currently ninth on the EMU double-double list (since 1999-00), needing one more to tie with Tayra Eke (2022-24) and Areanna Combs (2019-22), who are 10th with 13.

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.

NOT TOO MANY
Sisi Eleko is one of three players nationally that, through games played, Jan. 15, are averaging at least 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds. Joining Eleko on the short list are Fatmata Janneah (St. Peter's), who is averaging 19.5 points and 10.2 rebounds, and Khamil Pierre (Vanderbilt), who is averaging 22.4 and 10.3.

NATIONALLY KNOWN
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 (27th) and 10.7 rebounds (11th) while recording 161 total rebounds (29th) and nine double-doubles (13th).
Mackenzie Amalia is also among the national top 50 in a pair of categories. She is currently the NCAA and MAC leader with 38.2 minutes played per game while her 5.2 assists per contest rank second in the MAC and 34th 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.

KENZIE CASHES IN
Mackenzie Amalia saw her streak of scoring 14+ points end against Buffalo (Jan. 15) as she tallied nine points on two three-pointers and three free throws. Despite falling short of the total, she broke a career-high with 57 points scored over the past four games, surpassing the 51 she scored earlier this year that included 13 at Detroit Mercy (Nov. 26), 10 against Xavier (Dec. 1), 10 at Notre Dame (Dec. 15), and 11 at UT Rio Grande Valley (Dec. 19).

MAJOR MINUTES
Mackenzie Amalia averages 38.2 minutes per game after playing the full 40 minutes in both games last week, which leads the NCAA. Amalia is one of five Eagles that rank in the top 25 of minutes played in the MAC, including Sisi Eleko in fourth (33.9), Brooklyn Thrash is 19th (30.1), Olivia Westphal sits 22nd (29.4), and Olivia Smith ranks 24th (28.4).

AHEAD OF THE CURVE BEHIND THE ARC • PART I
Olivia Westphal has made 33 three pointers in 14 games this year, which is 10 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 12-of-14 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 33 three-pointers Olivia Westphal has scored this season are just four 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+.

LEWIS LEVELS UP
Entering the Buffalo (Jan. 15) game, Kyndal Lewis was 4-of-26 in her career from three-point range, including 0-for-3 this year. Lewis, who last hit a shot from deep Jan. 3, 2024, at NIU, had not made multiple three-pointers in a game in her career before the UB game, in which she finished 2-of-2 for a season-high eight points, which bettered her season total of seven points entering the contest. The eight points scored stand as the second-highest total in her career behind the 12 scored against Ohio, Feb. 1, 2023.

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
The Eagles return to action at home Wednesday, Jan. 22, when the Huskies of Northern Illinois University come to town for a 6:30 p.m. contest inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley and Claire Dau on the call while fans can also tune in to WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network to hear the call from Tom Helmer live from court side.

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

Kyndal Lewis

Olivia Smith

Brooklyn Thrash

Olivia Westphal

Jada Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics