Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
1-18,0-9MAC
Kent State
14-7,7-2MAC
Women’s Hoops Drops MAC Contest at Kent State
1/29/2025 9:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Eleko (24) and Smith (16) led the way for the Eagles on the road
KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team received 24 points for Sisi Eleko while Olivia Smith added a season-high 16 points as the Eagles dropped a 79-59 decision at Kent State University, Jan. 29, inside the MAC Center in Kent, Ohio. The Eagles (1-18, 0-9 MAC) also saw Olivia Westphal score three three-pointers in the game with the Golden Flashes (14-7, 7-2 MAC).
How It Happened
Eastern was down 8-0 before stopping the run with Olivia Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) scoring the first four points for the Eagles to cut the deficit to 12-4 halfway through the first. From there, Olvia Westphal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park/Duquesne) hit from deep and Sisi Eleko (Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy/Canisius) hit a jumper to bring the Eagles to within five at the first break, 17-12.
After the quarter opened with the two teams trading baskets, the hosts went on a 6-0 run to open a 25-14 lead before Smith responded with another bucket before the media timeout. Smith, who had nine points in the early going, finished the quarter with a buzzer-beating basket to finish the first half with 11 as the Eagles trailed, 40-24, at the intermission.
Following the break, the Eagles went on a 13-6 run leading into the third quarter media timeout with Westphal hitting a pair of three-pointers, Eleko added five points, and Smith hit a running layup to bring the score to 46-37 in favor of KSU. Following the timeout, KSU went on a 5-0 run before Eleko went on her own 4-0 run. Smith drove the lane and got the and-one to go as the Eagles won the quarter, 22-17, to cut the deficit to 11 heading into the fourth.
The fourth opened with the hosts rebuilding its lead as the first five minutes saw KSU outscore EMU, 20-10. Eleko tallied six points in the early going to reach the 20-point mark for the second consecutive game, which stands as the fifth time in her career she has tallied at least 20 in back-to-back contests. Jada Williams (Williamstown, N.J./Gloucester Catholic/St. Peter's) added four points on a pair of tough post plays as well. The final four minutes saw just five total points scored as Eleko added a layup and KSU hit a three-pointer to bring about the final score, 79-59.
Game Notes
» Sisi Eleko finished the game with 24 points and nine rebounds, missing out on another double-double by one rebound. Eleko, who shot 9-of-16 from the floor, has scored at least 10 points in 18-of-19 games played this year and reached 20 points for the seventh time as well. By scoring 24 points after tallying 25 at Ohio, Jan. 25, Eleko has now scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games for the fourth time in her career and third time this season. The last time she accomplished the feat was in back-to-back home games against St. Thomas (23 points) and Western Michigan (26) earlier this year.
» Olivia Smith scored a season-high 16 point on 7-of-14 shooting and added a team-high four assists. Smith, who had 11 points at halftime, which would have ranked as her fifth-highest full game performance of the season, surpassed her previous season-high of 13 points she recorded twice, most recently at Bowling Green, Jan. 4.
» Olivia Westphal continued to have the hot hand from deep as she recorded three three-pointers in the game and finished with nine points. With the three-pointers, Westphal has connected on two or more in 16-of-18 games played this year and three or more in eight contests. She also made it four consecutive games with at least three three-pointers, the longest streak of her career, surpassing the three-game streak she had to open the season.
» Olivia Westphal scored 51 points in the last four games, the most she has tallied in a four-game stretch in her career. Her previous best was the 47 points she scored in the opening four games of the season.
» Chelsea Bishop (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) scored four points in the game to tie her career high while recording her first points scored since the same game, the Nov. 26 contest at Detroit Mercy. Both of her baskets came on drives to the rim.
» Jada Williams finished with six points, just two off her season high. It also marks the second time in three games (vs. Northern Illinois, Jan. 22) in which she has scored six points.
» The Eagles finished 6-of-16 from behind the arc to extend their current streak to 122 consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer. Olivia Westphal drained the first three-pointer of the game for the Eagles with her make in the first quarter to extend the streak. 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 1-18 overall and 0-9 in MAC play while the Golden Flashes improved to 14-7 overall and 7-2 in league action.
» Eastern fell to 28-48 all-time against Kent State with the Golden Flashes having won eight consecutive meetings. Additionally, EMU is now 8-28 when playing in Kent, Ohio, with KSU having won four consecutive meetings as the home team.
Up Next
For the first time in 10 days, Eastern will return to action on its home court as the Eagles will play host to the University of Toledo Saturday, Feb. 2, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti. The game, which will tip off at 2 p.m. and air live on ESPN+, is part of Alumni Weekend and National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Additionally, the team will wear pink uniforms as part of its Play4Kay Game.
