Eagles Welcome Huskies to Town Wednesday Night

GAME #17: Women's Basketball vs. Northern Illinois
Date	Wednesday, Jan. 22 \| 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 team will play host to Northern Illinois University Wednesday, Jan. 22, in a 6:30 p.m. Mid-American Conference contest inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti. The Eagles (1-15, 0-6 MAC), who will be playing at home just twice over their next six contests, are in search of their first conference victory while the Huskies (7-10, 1-5 MAC) enter the game having dropped their last five league contests.

The game, which will tip off at 6:30 p.m., 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 stats will be available at EMUEagles.com/livestats while periodic updates will be posted on the team's official X account (@EMUWBB).

MAKING THE GRADE
The women's basketball team recorded a 3.510 GPA for the 2024 Fall semester, which stands as a program record. To reach the new heights, 13 players recorded a 3.0+ GPA with four of those players posting a perfect 4.0.

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+.
» Mackenzie Amalia, who scored a season-high 19 points at Central Michigan, has tallied 76 points in her last five games, marking the largest five-game output of her career. Her previous best came earlier this year with 62 points over five games.
» Mackenzie Amalia continues to lead the team in assists at 5.1 per game, which is second in the MAC. She has recorded at least three assists in her last three games and seven of her last eight.
» Sisi Eleko was limited to six points at Central Michigan (Jan. 18), marking the first time she had not scored 10+ points this season. Eleko ranks second in the MAC in both points (18.8) and rebounds (10.3) per game, which rank 33rd and 20th, respectively, among NCAA Division I players.
» EMU was 11-of-22 from three-point range at CMU to post its highest shooting percentage (50.0 percent) this season while making the second-highest number of triples (13 vs. Xavier, Dec. 1). The Eagles have recorded at least seven made three-pointers in each of their last five games.
» The Eagles connected on 11 three-pointers at Central Michigan (Jan. 18) to extend their current streak to 119 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.

KNOW THE FOE: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Huskies come to town with a 7-10 record and stand 1-5 in MAC play. NIU opened the league slate with a 59-58 win at Toledo before dropping its next five contests, including a 74-60 decision at Bowling Green (Jan. 18). Individually, three players are averaging over 11 points per game, including Chelby Koker (11.9), Alecia Doyle (11.4), and Brooke Stonebraker (11.2), who leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game. Through games played Jan. 20, NIU is the only team in the conference that has three players averaging 11.0 points per game or more with eight schools having two each.

ALL-TIME VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Eastern holds a 40-23 advantage in its all-time series with NIU and stand 21-9 when hosting the Huskies in Ypsilanti. The Huskies won the last meeting, 61-52, at EMU (Feb. 17, 2024), as the two teams have traded wins in the past five meetings. The last time the Eagles defeated the Huskies in Ypsilanti was Jan. 21, 2023, in a 66-61 overtime decision.

SHOOTING STREAK
The Eagles have recorded at least one three-pointer in 119 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.

LONG DISTANCE
In their game at Central Michigan (Jan. 18), the Eagles shot 50 percent from three-point range, posting an 11-of-22 performance for the team's highest long-distance shooting percentage of the season. Five different players connected on at least one deep shot with Olivia Westphal making four and Mackenzie Amalia adding three to help the Eagles secure their second-highest number of three-pointers this year behind the 13 made against Xavier, Dec. 1.

FROM DOWNTOWN
Eastern is averaging 7.5 made three-pointers per game, which ranks third in the MAC. With its 11 made triples at Central Michigan (Jan. 18), Eastern has connected on 7+ triples in five consecutive games and 10-of-16 games played this season.

AHEAD OF THE CURVE BEHIND THE ARC • PART I
Olivia Westphal has 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. 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 37 three-pointers Olivia Westphal has scored this season have tied 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+.

AMALIA FINDING HER RANGE
Mackenzie Amalia has drained nine three-pointers in her past four games, including three at Central Michigan (Jan. 18), to give her 23 for the season, the second-most on the team. For the year, she is averaging 1.44 triples per game, which is ahead of her career pace of 1.33 she recorded over the first four seasons she played. With seven more long-range makes, she will reach 30+ three-pointers in a season for the fourth year in a row.

PILING UP POINTS
Mackenzie Amalia has quietly put together a strong showing in her last five games as she is averaging 15.2 points, including 2.0 three-pointers per game. Amalia has tallied 76 points in the past five outings, including a season-high 19 at Central Michigan (Jan. 18), which trails only Sisi Eleko's 79 points for the most scored over that stretch. Amalia is currently averaging 10.3 points per game, the highest of her career, surpassing the 8.4 average she posted with Canisius last season.

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.

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 18.8 points (33rd) and 10.4 rebounds (20th) while recording 166 total rebounds (42nd) and nine double-doubles (18th).
Mackenzie Amalia is also among the national top 50 in a pair of categories. She is currently the NCAA and MAC leader with 38.3 minutes played per game while her 5.1 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 10.4 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.

MAJOR MINUTES
Mackenzie Amalia averages 38.3 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 (33.4), Brooklyn Thrash is 19th (30.1), Olivia Westphal sits 21st (29.8), and Olivia Smith ranks 23rd (28.7).

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 the road Saturday, Jan. 25, when they travel to Athens, Ohio, to face the Bobcats of Ohio University in a 1 p.m. game inside the Convocation Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ as well as live on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app 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

Olivia Smith

Brooklyn Thrash

Olivia Westphal

Jada Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics