Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
1-22,0-12MAC
Ball State
20-5,12-0MAC
Eagles Fall in Battle with Ball State, 74-69
2/15/2025 3:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Eastern gave the MAC leaders all it could handle in Ypsilanti
Box score (PDF) | Photo Gallery | Press Conference
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Elena Cabello scored a career-high 13 points to help the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team take league-leading Ball State University to the wire as the Eagles dropped a 74-69 decision inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, Feb. 15. The Eagles (1-22, 0-12 Mid-American Conference) held a lead as late as 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but were unable to hand the Cardinals (20-5, 12-0 MAC) their first league loss.
How It Happened
The Eagles took a 9-5 lead at the first media time out (3:59 remaining) in the first after opening the game on a 7-0 run that saw the Cardinals go 0-of-7 from the floor before making their first basket. Olivia Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) scored five points, including a deep three, while Sisi Eleko (Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy/Canisius) added two points and four rebounds. Cabello (Malaga, Spain/IES Mediterraneo) scored back-to-back three-pointers to help the Eagles build a 19-12 lead after one.
Ball State opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run to take its first lead of the game (22-21) before the teams traded points and went into the media timeout with the Cardinals leading, 26-23. From there, EMU used a 6-0 run to close out the stanza and tied the score at 32 as the teams headed into halftime. The run started with Smith hitting a three-pointer before Eleko added a layup and Dara Capaldi (East Detroit, Mich./La Lumiere (Ind.)) hit one of two free-throws with 0.8 seconds remaining.
The third opened with the Eagles stealing the ball and Brooklyn Thrash (Wayne, Ohio/Elmwood/Canisius) hitting a corner three to reclaim the lead. After the lead changed hands twice, EMU went on a 6-0 run as Olivia Westphal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park/Duquesne), Eleko, and Cabello each scored on layups to build a 41-36 advantage with 4:05 to play in the third. The Eagles held the lead until the final seconds as the Cardinals hit four free throws to take a 49-47 lead into the fourth.
In the final stanza, the visitors opened an 11-point lead (58-49) on the strength of a 9-2 run in the first 1:53 of play to force an EMU timeout. EMU began to chip away at the lead and got to within four points with Smith making a layup and hitting three free throws, but it was not enough to hand the Cardinals their first loss in MAC play, 74-69.
Game Notes
» Elena Cabello finished the game with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, while adding six boards, one steal, and a career-high-tying three assists. The 13 points marked just the second time she has scored in double digits with the first coming in a 12-point showing at Ball State, Jan. 8. Cabello, who had eight points at the half, also tied her high in assists that she set at BSU.
» Sisi Eleko tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds to post her 12th double-double of the season. Eleko is now tied for 12th on the program's all-time list (since 1999) with Phillis Webb (2013-16) and needs one more to crack the top 10.
» With her statistics, Sisi Eleko has scored 10+ points in 21-of-23 games this year and for the 62nd time in her career. Additionally, she posted 10+ rebounds for the 11th time in 2024-25 and the 32nd time in her career.
» Olivia Smith finished with 15 points, just one shy of her season-high total, while reaching double figures for the second consecutive game. Smith was 2-of-5 from three-point range, marking the third consecutive game in which she hit at least two triples.
» Dara Capaldi scored a season-high seven points while tying her career high in assists with three. Her previous season-high was three points at Miami, Feb. 5, while her previous career-high assist total was recorded Feb. 3, 2024, at Buffalo.
» As at team, the Eagles committed just 10 turnovers, which tied for the second-fewest in a game this year with 10 against Xavier, Dec. 1. The lowest total on the year is the nine committed against Northern Illinois, Jan. 22.
» As a team, the Eagles scored seven three-pointers, which is right at their season average of 7.2. With 166 three-pointers on the year, Eastern is on pace to reach 200+ three-pointers this season, which would rank among the program's top 10 season ledger.
» The Eagles finished 7-of-25 from behind the arc to extend their current streak to 126 consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer. Olivia Smith, for the second consecutive game, drained the first shot she took, splashing home a three 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 1-22 overall and 0-12 in the MAC while the Cardinals improved to 20-5 overall and 12-0 in league play.
» The Eagles fell to 45-47 all-time against the Cardinals and 21-23 when hosting Ball State in Ypsilanti.
Up Next
The Eagle will play host to the Chippewas of Central Michigan University, Feb. 19, at 6:30 p.m. inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The game will air live on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley (play-by-play) and Claire Dau (analyst) on the call. Additionally, Tom Helmer and John Motherwell will call the game live on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network.
