Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, January 18
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
1-15,0-6MAC
64
at
73
Central Michigan
7-10,3-3MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Mich.
17
15
20
12
64
Central Mich.
21
30
7
15
73
Comeback Bid Falls Short for WBB at Central Michigan
1/18/2025 3:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Amalia led the way with a season-high 19 points in the loss
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team fell behind by 19 at halftime before battling back to cut the deficit to five, but it was not enough as the Eagles fell, 73-64, at Central Michigan University, Jan. 18, in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The Eagles (1-15, 0-6 Mid-American Conference) were led by Mackenzie Amalia (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk/Canisius), who scored a season-high 19 points against the Chippewas (7-10, 3-3 MAC).
How It Happened
The hosts took a 7-2 lead before a jumper from Sisi Eleko (Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy) and a three-pointer from Amalia tied things up and a deep shot from Olivia Westphal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park/Duquesne) put the Eagles ahead, 13-10. The Chippewas responded with an 11-2 run to take the lead, but Amalia scored a layup with six seconds remaining in the quarter to cut the deficit to five (21-17) at the break.
After a slow start to the quarter, both teams found an offensive rhythm as both teams made four consecutive shots at the midway point of the quarter. The Eagles shot 50 percent in the quarter with Olivia Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) going 3-of-3 from the field for eight points, but the hosts shot 61 percent from the floor to open a 19-point advantage at the break.
Despite the deficit, the Eagles came out hot in the second half as they opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run before the Chippewas hit a pair of free throws and extended the run to 17-5 for the quarter with 4:18 remaining in the quarter. Eastern posted a 20-7 scoreline in the third quarter to cut the deficit to six points (58-52) heading into the fourth quarter. As a team, EMU forced seven CMU turnovers and tallied 12 points on the fast break.
The fourth saw Amalia hit an early basket to cut the deficit to four points, but an 8-0 run by the Chippewas brought the lead back to 12 points. Westphal scored her fourth three-pointer of the game to halt the run but the Eagles could not complete the comeback before falling, 73-64.
Game Notes
» Mackenzie Amalia scored a team and season-high 19 points in the game, surpassing the 18 she scored twice earlier this season. Amalia finished with three three-pointers and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the line as well. She added four assists as well.
» Mackenzie Amalia finished with three three-pointers in the game to mark the fourth game this year she has made at least two deep shots. It also made it four consecutive games in which she has hit multiple triples for the Eagles.
» Olivia Westphal finished the game with 14 points, three assists, and one steal. She has now made 37 three pointers in 15 games this year, which is 14 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 13-of-15 games played this year after she made 1+ three-point shots in 12-of-28 games last year.
» Olivia Westphal scored four three-pointers to mark the fourth game this season she has hit for three or more. She also has made at least three in each of the past two games.
» Olivia Smith scored 12 points to mark her sixth game this year with 10+ points and her third-highest output behind a pair of 13-point games. She finished 5-of-8 from the free-throw line while going 3-of-4 from the floor.
» The Eagles finished 11-of-22 from behind the arc to extend their current streak to 119 consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer. Mackenzie Amalia continued the streak for the Eagles with her first deep shot of the day in the first quarter. The last EMU failed to drain a long-distance shot came Nov. 29, 2020, when Eastern finished 0-of-15 from three-point range at home against UIC.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 1-15 overall and 0-6 in the MAC while the Chippewas improved to 7-10 overall and 3-3 in league play.
» Eastern fell to 39-56 overall in its series with Central Michigan and has now lost two in a row. The Eagles also fell to 16-30 when playing in Mount Pleasant.
Up Next
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.
How It Happened
The hosts took a 7-2 lead before a jumper from Sisi Eleko (Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy) and a three-pointer from Amalia tied things up and a deep shot from Olivia Westphal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park/Duquesne) put the Eagles ahead, 13-10. The Chippewas responded with an 11-2 run to take the lead, but Amalia scored a layup with six seconds remaining in the quarter to cut the deficit to five (21-17) at the break.
After a slow start to the quarter, both teams found an offensive rhythm as both teams made four consecutive shots at the midway point of the quarter. The Eagles shot 50 percent in the quarter with Olivia Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) going 3-of-3 from the field for eight points, but the hosts shot 61 percent from the floor to open a 19-point advantage at the break.
Despite the deficit, the Eagles came out hot in the second half as they opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run before the Chippewas hit a pair of free throws and extended the run to 17-5 for the quarter with 4:18 remaining in the quarter. Eastern posted a 20-7 scoreline in the third quarter to cut the deficit to six points (58-52) heading into the fourth quarter. As a team, EMU forced seven CMU turnovers and tallied 12 points on the fast break.
The fourth saw Amalia hit an early basket to cut the deficit to four points, but an 8-0 run by the Chippewas brought the lead back to 12 points. Westphal scored her fourth three-pointer of the game to halt the run but the Eagles could not complete the comeback before falling, 73-64.
Game Notes
» Mackenzie Amalia scored a team and season-high 19 points in the game, surpassing the 18 she scored twice earlier this season. Amalia finished with three three-pointers and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the line as well. She added four assists as well.
» Mackenzie Amalia finished with three three-pointers in the game to mark the fourth game this year she has made at least two deep shots. It also made it four consecutive games in which she has hit multiple triples for the Eagles.
» Olivia Westphal finished the game with 14 points, three assists, and one steal. She has now made 37 three pointers in 15 games this year, which is 14 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 13-of-15 games played this year after she made 1+ three-point shots in 12-of-28 games last year.
» Olivia Westphal scored four three-pointers to mark the fourth game this season she has hit for three or more. She also has made at least three in each of the past two games.
» Olivia Smith scored 12 points to mark her sixth game this year with 10+ points and her third-highest output behind a pair of 13-point games. She finished 5-of-8 from the free-throw line while going 3-of-4 from the floor.
» The Eagles finished 11-of-22 from behind the arc to extend their current streak to 119 consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer. Mackenzie Amalia continued the streak for the Eagles with her first deep shot of the day in the first quarter. The last EMU failed to drain a long-distance shot came Nov. 29, 2020, when Eastern finished 0-of-15 from three-point range at home against UIC.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 1-15 overall and 0-6 in the MAC while the Chippewas improved to 7-10 overall and 3-3 in league play.
» Eastern fell to 39-56 overall in its series with Central Michigan and has now lost two in a row. The Eagles also fell to 16-30 when playing in Mount Pleasant.
Up Next
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.
Team Stats
EMU
CMU
FG%
.468
.411
3FG%
.500
.563
FT%
.750
.818
RB
18
38
TO
11
13
STL
3
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
S/Y
/ Women's Basketball
M/F
/ Women's BasketballS/Y
/ Women's BasketballW/Y
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