WBB Back Home Saturday Against Toledo

GAME #20: Women's Basketball vs. Toledo
Date	Saturday, Feb. 1 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	George Gervin GameAbove Center (8,754)
Preview Info	EMU Notes (pdf)
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	n/a
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Fan Information	Purchase Tickets

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team is set to play a home game for the first time in 10 days as the Eagles will play host to the University of Toledo, Feb. 1, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti. The Eagles (1-18, 0-9 MAC) and Rockets (14-5, 6-3 MAC) will tip off at 2 p.m. with the game being streamed live on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley (play-by-play) and Claire Dau (analyst) on the call. Live stats will be available at EMUEagles.com/livestats while periodic updates will be posted on the team's official X account (@EMUWBB).

MORE THAN THE GAME
The game between the Eagles and Rockets will be surrounded by several important events:
» Alumni Weekend: Former members of the program will be back on campus for Alumni Weekend with many set to play in the Alumni Game Friday night before being honored at the game Saturday.
» NGWSD: EMU will host a celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day presented by the Ann Arbor Sports Commission inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. Prior to the game, Eastern will host a youth sports clinic beginning at 12:30 p.m. featuring members of EMU Athletic programs. Participants can pre-register for the event by visiting https://us.eventsforce.net/annarbor/16/register and receive a free t-shirt at the arena. Following the game, registered participants can take part in a shootaround on the court and a post-game autograph session with the EMU basketball team.
» Play4Kay Game: The Eagles will wear pink uniforms as part of their Play4Kay Game. The event helps unite coaches, players, officials, and fans in the fight against all cancers affecting women.

FREE THROWS
» Sisi Eleko scored 24 points at Kent State (Jan. 29) to make it back-to-back contests (25 at Ohio, Jan. 25) with 20+ points. Eleko, who has scored at least 10 points in 17-of-18 games this year and reached 20 for the seventh time, has scored over 20 in back-to-back games four times in her career with three of those coming this season with the Eagles.
» Olivia Smith scored a season-high 16 points at Kent State (Jan. 29) while tying her career high with seven field goals. Smith had 11 points at halftime, just two off her previous season high.
» Olivia Westphal connected on a trio of three-pointers at Kent State (Jan. 29) to record 3+ triples in her fourth consecutive game, the longest streak of her career. She has now scored 51 points in the last four games, which betters her 47 points scored in the first four games of the season.
» The Eagles connected on six three-pointers at Kent State (Jan. 29) to extend their current streak to 122 consecutive games with at least one made triple.

ALUMNI WEEKEND IS HERE!
Over 20 former alumnae of the EMU basketball program will be back on campus for Alumni Weekend, including four members of the EMU E-Club Athletics Hall of Fame in Sharon (Rose) Schwartz (1983-87), Stephanie Smiley (1998-02), Ryan Coleman (2001-06), and Tavelyn James (2008-12). The festivities start on Friday, Jan. 31, with an Alumni Game, and continues Saturday, Feb. 1, with the Eagles' game with Toledo at 2 p.m. A mixer will be held after the game at Aubree's in Depot Town.

KNOW THE FOE: TOLEDO
The Rockets stand 14-5 overall and 6-3 in MAC play following back-to-back home wins, including a 64-59 defeat of visiting Miami (Jan. 29). Sitting fourth in the MAC standings, Toledo has three individuals averaging 11.0+ points per game, including Sammi Mikonowicz (12.7), Khera Goss (12.0), and Kendall Carruthers (11.3). Mikonowicz leads the way with 5.8 rebounds per contest while Carruthers is tops in assists with 2.7.

ALL-TIME VS. TOLEDO
Eastern trails in its all-time series with Toledo, 58-35, and has dropped seven consecutive meetings to the Rockets with the Eagles' last win coming in a 69-59 decision in Ypsilanti, Feb. 21, 2021. When playing host to the Rockets, the Eagles are 18-26 all-time and have lost three in a row, including last year's 48-35 game, Jan. 6, 2024.

SHOOTING STREAK
The Eagles have recorded at least one three-pointer in 122 consecutive games, the third-longest stretch since the start of the 1999-00 season, after scoring six at Kent State, Jan. 29. 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.

FROM DOWNTOWN
Eastern is averaging 7.4 made three-pointers per game, which ranks third in the MAC. Eastern had connected on 7+ triples in seven consecutive games before finishing with six at Kent State, Jan. 29, and 12-of-19 games this season.

SHE'S HEATING UP...
After opening the season with 26 three-pointers in the first nine games of the year, Olivia Westphal was limited in her deep shots to open MAC play as she scored seven in the first five league games. She has since returned to her early season form as she had nailed 15 in the past four games, including four at Central Michigan (Jan. 18), a career-high-tying five at home against Northern Illinois (Jan. 22), and three each at Ohio (Jan. 25) and at Kent State (Jan. 29). In the games with CMU and NIU, she made four or more triples in back-to-back games for the first time in her career and hit at least four three-pointers in the same game five times this year after having not done so in her previous two seasons. She has now scored three or more three-pointers in four consecutive games for the first time in her career.

WESTY HEADING NORTH
In her last four games, Olivia Westphal has tallied a career-high 51 points (14 at CMU; 17 vs. NIU; 11 at Ohio; nine at Kent State), surpassing the 47 she scored in the opening four games of the season. Westphal, who tallied 14 three-pointers in the first four-game stretch and scored 15 in her current run, has now scored 10+ points in eight games this year after reaching the marker just five times over the past two seasons. With her 176 points scored this year, she is just 38 points away from doubling her season total from 2023-24 (107 points).

AHEAD OF THE CURVE BEHIND THE ARC
Olivia Westphal has made 48 three pointers in 18 games this year (2.7 per game), which is 25 more than her total from the 2023-24 season when she scored 23 three-pointers in 28 games (0.8). Additionally, Westphal has scored 2+ triples in 16-of-18 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.

SISI WITH DUB-DUBS
Sisi Eleko piled up 25 points and 12 rebounds at Ohio (Jan. 25) to record her league-leading 10th double-double, which also ranks her 16th nationally. Eleko, who is now tied for 13th with Tayra Eke (2022-24) and Areanna Combs (2019-22) on the program's all-time double-double list (since 1999), has tallied 30 in her career, which ties her for 30th on the NCAA's active players list, joining four other players. She nearly recorded her 11th of the year at Kent State, but fell one rebound short as she finished with 24 points and nine rebounds against the Golden Flashes.

TWENTY PIECE AGAIN
Sisi Eleko scored 24 points at Kent State (Jan. 29), one game removed from scoring 25 at Ohio (Jan. 25). With those points, she has scored 20+ in back-to-back games for the fourth time in her career and the third time this season with the Eagles. Her most recent addition to the list was when she closed 2024 with 23 points against St. Thomas (Dec. 28) and then scored 26 against Western Michigan (Jan. 1) to open 2025. Overall, Eleko has reached double-digit point totals in 18-of-19 games played this year while scoring 20+ in seven different contests.

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. Through the game at Kent State (Jan. 29), Eleko is averaging 19.3 points and 10.2 rebounds this season.

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 10.2 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.

NATIONALLY KNOWN
Three Eagles remain among the top 50 nationally in several statistical categories, led by Sisi Eleko, who holds rankings in four categories. Eleko is averaging 19.3 points (30th) and 10.2 rebounds (21st) while recording 193 total rebounds (32nd) and 10 double-doubles (16th).
Mackenzie Amalia is also among the national top 50 in a pair of categories. She is currently the NCAA and MAC leader with 38.4 minutes played per game while her 5.2 assists per contest rank third in the MAC and 32nd nationally. Additionally, Olivia Westphal is averaging 2.7 three-pointers per game to rank 25th nationally.

MAJOR MINUTES
Mackenzie Amalia averages 38.4 minutes per game after playing the full 40 minutes in every MAC game this year she has been available for, 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 fifth (33.6), Olivia Westphal is 16th (31.1), Brooklyn Thrash is 20th (29.9), and Olivia Smith ranks 21st (29.7).

HAPPY TO HELP
Olivia Smith had a strong showing at Kent State (Jan. 29) as the junior finished with a season-high 16 points while tying a career high with seven field goals. Smith, who added four assists, entered the game with a season-high of 13 points, which she nearly bettered in the first half as she went into halftime with 11. The scoring marks the second consecutive game with a season high for Smith as she recorded a season and career-high eight assists at Ohio, Jan. 25.

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 returns to action on the road Wednesday, Feb. 5, when the Eagles travel to Oxford, Ohio, to face the RedHawks of Miami University. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and be streamed live on ESPN+ from Millett Hall.

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