Eastern Michigan 75, Detroit 71
Northern Illinois 67, Bradley 54
Toledo 70, UW-Parkside 43
Saint Louis 73, Ball State 68
FIU 68, Bowling Green 55
New Orleans 58, Kent State 55
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Eastern Michigan 75, Detroit 71
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – In its first overtime contest of the 2014-15 season, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team came away with a 75-71 victory over the University of Detroit Mercy Tuesday, Dec. 30, in a non-conference battle at the Convocation Center. The Eagles, which led by as many as 15 points in the second half, had to hold off a furious Titan rally down the stetch to send it to the extra frame. In overtime, EMU scored six of the game's final eight points to sneak out the hard-fought victory.
EMU (7-4) shot 35.5 percent (27-o-f76) from the floor and knocked down eight three-pointers, while three different Eagles scored 19 points for the Green and White. Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver-ASA College), Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) and Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) led the team in scoring, while Brianna Puni (St. Charles, Mo.-Incarnate Word-Illinois State) grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds for the Green and White. Additionally, Sweeney became the 36th Eagle to surpass the 700-point mark in career scoring, as her 19 points put her at 718 for her young career.
Eastern used 30 points in the paint, 20 second chance points, and 16 fastbreak points to propel it to victory, while it out-rebounded Detroit (5-8), 50-45, and stole nine balls, five of which came from Morton in a career-best effort, compared to the Titans' four steals.
UDM had four players score in double-digits as Haleigh Ristovski scored a game-best 20 points, including six three-pointers. Rosanna Reynolds sank 19 points for the Titans, while Darianne Sewald and Minisha Frederick-Childress added 15 and 10 points, respectively, for Detroit. Ristovski and Reynolds each had doube-doubles for Detroit with 12 and 10 boards, respectively, while Frederick-Childress and Vrie Wilcox each pulled down five rebounds. The Titans shot 39.4 percent (28-of-71) from the floor and went 11-for-33 from three-point land with two players dropping multiple treys.
The contest between the in-state rivals started off back-and-forth between the two programs before Eastern Michigan went on a 6-0 run with four Sweeney points to put the Eagles up 16-11 over the Titans. Following a short break in action, Detroit responded with four-straight points of its own to come within one of EMU, but a three-pointer from Morton put the Eagles up by four, 21-17, with seven minutes left in the first half.
A cross-court pass from Morton set up Sweeney at the left arc where she dropped a three but UDM responded with a triple of its own and capitalized on an offensive foul to take its first lead since the 10:13 mark of the half. However, the lead was short lived as the Green and White scored on its next three possessions, going up 31-25 over Detroit heading into the final media timeout of the first half.
Despite two-straight turnovers, EMU answered back with three treys on three possessions to take a nine-point, 40-31, advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Eagles went 17-for-39 from the floor for 43.6 percent shooting, while Bucknor, Morton, and Sweeney each sank two three-pointers apiece for the Green and White.
In just her second game as an Eagle, Puni pulled down 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action, including four offensive boards, while contributing four points to EMU's offensive output. Offensively, Eastern was led by Sweeney, who totaled 12 points in the first half, while Bucknor knocked down eight points. As a team, the Eagles scored 11 points off of second chance opportunities and scored 16 points in the paint compared to Detroit Mercy's 10.
The Titans went 13-for-30 from the floor for a 43.3 shooting percentage, while Ristovski and Seward adding eight points apiece for Detroit. Ristovski also led UDM on the boards with five rebounds and knocked down two three-pointers.
The second half started out much like the first with the two teams exchanging baskets, while a third three from Morton put EMU up by 12, 50-38, as the Eagle defense continued to put pressure on the Titan offense. The Green and White used back-to-back and-one plays from Bucknor and Sweeney to take the 59-47 advantage over UDM, while Rosanna Reynolds made two baskets on the next two Titan possessions to bring Detroit within 11 of the Eagles.
A shot clock violation by EMU and a Reynolds three-pointer allowed Detroit to come within eight of the Eagles, 64-56 before Seward dropped in two free throws to cut the deficit to just three baskets with 5:13 left to play. As the Eagles struggled to find their offensive rhythm, Detroit went on a 12-2 run to come within one of Eastern with 3:08 left to play. After two missed free throws from EMU, the Titans grabbed an offensive board allowing Reynolds to knock down her third three of the contest from the top of the arc to knot the score at 66-66.
A free throw from Puni broke the tie before Bucknor swiped the ball from Sewald, tossing a pass to the breaking Sweeney to score on a routine fastbreak layup for the Green and White with 1:18 left to play. For the second time in just a matter of seconds, the score would be tied as Ristovski sank her sixth three of the contest from the top of the arc, forcing Head Coach Tory Verdi to call a timeout with 54 seconds left.
With seven seconds left on the clock, Morton took a shot from the top of the key that did not fall, sending the Titans on a fastbreak in which luck favored the Eagles as Sewald did not convert on a wide open layup, taking the game to overtime.
After two minutes passed in overtime without either team finding a basket, Morton grabbed a steal and made her layup down the court before dropping in the and-one shot to give the Eagles a three-point advantage. The Titans could not find a basket in the overtime period as Head Coach Autumn Rademacher called a timeout hoping to spark something in the UDM offense with 38 seconds left on the clock. The timeout went in favor of the Eagles as Puni grabbed a defensive board, forcing a Titan foul in which the senior sank both of her shots to extend the EMU lead to 74-69.
With 9.5 seconds on the clock, Shannise Heady (Hazel Crest, Ill.-Hillcrest-Seton Hall) went 1-for-2 from the line to put the game away from EMU, despite UDM scoring their first points of the overtime period on its next trip down the floor.
The Eagles will be back in action Saturday, Jan. 3, when they flock to DeKalb, Ill. to open up Mid-American Conference play against Northern Illinois. Tip off against the Huskies is slated for 1 p.m. CT. Chad Bush will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM) while ESPN3 will also show the game.
Northern Illinois 67, Bradley 54
PEORIA - Four different NIU scorers reached double-digits Tuesday night at Bradley (1-10) as the Huskies (4-6) closed their non-conference season in strong fashion, defeating the Braves, 67-54.
Amanda Corral (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) led the Huskies with 18 points, followed by Danny Pulliam’s (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) 16 point night. Renee Sladek (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) and Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) each scored 10 with Lehman adding 11 rebounds for NIU’s first double-double of the season.
Defensively, NIU extended its streak to seven-straight games with an opponent under 60 points, forcing the 22 Bradley takeaways. 23 of the Braves 54 points came from the free throw line as they shot 29.5 percent (13-for-44) from the field.
“I thought we were a little sloppy the last 10 minutes of the game but I thought we played a great game. It was great to see our post players really get going with their high-low action,” said Head Coach Kathi Bennett. “Overall, our passing was the best I’ve seen it this year and I thought we had some really good chemistry from an offensive standpoint and that really created for us.”
The Huskies played a complete opening half as it was 16-for-30 (.530) from the field and outscored the Braves, 29-13, in the final 12:39 of the half. Defensively, the Huskies forced 12 turnovers and scored 20 points off of those takeaways.
NIU’s offensive output was its highest in a first half this season as Pulliam and Corral both reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Huskies distributed 11 assists in the stanza as well.
A quick 5-0 run to start the second half gave the Huskies a 17-point lead as Pulliam converted a layup and Corral nailed a three-pointer to put NIU up, 47-30.
The Huskies presence in the paint was a large part of their success on the night as they scored a season-high 38 points in the paint.
Though Bradley tried to close the scoring gap, NIU continued to hold a double-digit lead in the period and built its way to a 19-point lead with 5:34 left as Pulliam sunk two-free throws to put the Huskies on top, 64-45.
With a jumpshot in the paint at 3:34 left, Lehman recorded the Huskies first double-double of the season, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She also dished five assists in the game.
Freshman Georgia Breunig (Sauk Prairie, Wis./Sauk Prairie), who suffered injury during preseason, made her collegiate debut against the Braves as she dished two assists in six minutes. Alex Dumoulin (Hampshire, Ill./Elgin CC) returned to the NIU lineup tonight, scoring two points in four minutes after suffering injury Nov. 20 versus Valparaiso.
Bradley’s Whitney Tinjum scored a game-high 28 points, going 14-for-14 from the free throw line.
The Huskies will open Mid-American Conference play Saturday afternoon when it hosts Eastern Michigan at the NIU Convocation Center. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
Toledo 70, UW-Parkside 43
TOLEDO, OH – Toledo returned from the holiday break to register a 70-43 victory over UW-Parkside in Tuesday’s non-conference finale in Savage Arena. With the win, the Rockets improve to 7-4 on the season.
Senior Inma Zanoguera led UT with a career-high 27 points, a game-high six assists, five rebounds and a contest-best four steals. Zanoguera has now scored at least 20 points on five occasions this season and 12 times in her collegiate career.
Sophomore Elena de Alfredo added a season-high nine points off the bench, while junior Brenae Harris and sophomore Janice Monakana finished with eight points each to help Toledo post its largest margin of victory this season.
As a team, the Rockets shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field, including a season-high 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from three-point range, and 77.3 percent (17-of-22) from the charity stripe to end non-conference play on a three-game win streak.
UT controlled the interior against the NCAA Division II member Rangers (7-4) and finished with a 40-33 advantage on the glass and outscored the opposition in the paint, 26-8. Among the Rockets’ 40 caroms were 16 offensive boards, which they translated into 19 second-chance points. Monakana led Toledo's rebounding efforts with a game-high 11.
Gaby Bronson paced UW-Parkside with 11 points. UWP’s next high scorer was Kristin Conniff with eight. The Rangers were limited to 28.0 percent (14-of-50) from the floor and committed 24 turnovers. Toledo took full advantage of those miscues and turned them into 22 points.
UW-Parkside was red-hot at the outset and sprinted out to a 15-9 lead at the 13:16 mark, forcing the Rockets into an early timeout. The Rangers knocked down six of their first 10 shots from the field, including three triples in the opening six-plus minutes. Six different players hit field goals at the start to give the visitors the early advantage.
Toledo responded quite well from the stoppage in play and utilized a 16-3 run to take control of the contest, creating a 25-18 advantage with 6:25 left in the opening period. Zanoguera sparked the burst with a pair of baskets, including a traditional three-point play, to give the Rockets a lead they would not relinquish.
UW-Parkside stopped UT’s momentum momentarily with a three-point field goal by Bronson, but the Midnight Blue & Gold countered by ending the period with a 12-0 burst to take a 37-21 lead into the intermission. Zanoguera once again spearheaded the run and scored six points to help the home team take a 16-point bulge into halftime.
Zanoguera scored a game-high 14 points in the opening 20 minutes to propel the home team to the double-digit cushion at the break.
The Llucmajor, Spain native remained on-fire shooting the ball to begin the second half and tallied UT’s first six points to open up a 45-23 advantage at the 17:39 mark.
Moments later, the Rockets put the game away with back-to-back treys from Monakana and Zanoguera to extend the margin to 55-30 with 12:18 left in regulation.
The closest UWP would get the remainder of the contest was 21 points in the waning moments.
Toledo will look to build off tonight’s impressive victory when it opens Mid-American Conference play against Miami (3-8) on Saturday, Jan. 3 at home. The opening tip versus the RedHawks is slated for 2:00 p.m.
UT has been pegged fourth in the West Division, while the RedHawks have been picked to finish fifth in the East Division, according to a preseason vote of the league’s 12 head coaches.
The Rockets have won the last seven matchups against the RedHawks and hold a 34-25 advantage in the all-time series, including a 19-8 edge in games at home.
A season ago, UT swept the regular-season series, claiming a 68-52 victory at home (Jan. 12) and a 73-65 triumph in Oxford (Feb. 6).
Saint Louis 73, Ball State 68
SAINT LOUIS, Mo. – The Ball State women’s basketball closed out non-conference action with a 73-68 overtime loss at Saint Louis Tuesday night in Chaifetz Arena. With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 4-7 on the season while the Billikens improve their overall record to 7-6.
The Cardinals were led by a 15-point performance from Jill Morrison. Nathalie Fontaine and Shelbie Justice each had 14-points on the night while also adding six rebounds apiece.
The Billikens controlled the majority of the second half eventually building a seven-point (52-45) lead over the Cardinals with 6:47 remaining. Ball State would then orchestrate a 13-2 run to take its first lead of the contest (58-54) with 1:57 remaining. During the run, Shelby Merder hit back-to-back three point baskets while Candyce Ussery added five points to the scoring spree.
After the Cardinals clawed their way back into the ball game, time was running out, Justice nailed one from behind the arc to make it 61-58 with under a minute remaining but Olivia Jakubicek of Saint Louis answered back with a three-point basket to tie the game 61-61 to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, Morrison opened with a layup but Saint Louis would score the next nine points to go up 70-61 with under a minute left. Saint Louis would foul Fontaine, Ussery and Justice allowing them to make five-of-six from the charity stripe bring Ball State within two (70-68), but the Billikens would lead the remainder of the game and claim the 73-68 win.
Saint Louis started the game off with a 14-5 run by the 15:31 mark in the first half. Ball State would then answer with an 11-2 run to knot the score 16-16 against the Billikens at the 12:33 mark with help from Fontaine, Morrison and Justice.
After that, the Billikens continued to control the first half eventually building a nine-point (35-26) advantage over the Cardinals at the 2:57 mark. Ball State would end the half with a 5-0 run to only trail Saint Louis 35-31 at intermission.
The Ball State women's basketball team will begin Mid-American Conference action when it takes on Bowling Green at the Stroh Center Saturday for a 4 p.m. tipoff. Saturday’s game against the Falcons will mark the 60th time in program history the two schools have met with Bowling Green leading the all-time series 44-15.
FIU 68, Bowling Green 55
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team fell, 68-55, to host FIU Tuesday night (Dec. 30), at the Sun & Fun Classic at FIU Arena. With the loss, BGSU ends non-conference play with a record of 7-4.
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POSTGAME AUDIO: Coach Roos
Senior Deborah Hoekstra was named to the all-tournament team for the Falcons. Hoekstra, who led BGSU in scoring in Monday's game vs. Hampton, had seven points and a career-high nine rebounds vs. FIU.
Freshman Haley Puk paced BGSU in scoring vs. the Panthers, with 12 points, the highest total of her brief Falcon career. Classmate Rachel Myers had nine points, while another freshman, Sarah Baer, set career-best totals in both scoring and rebounding. Baer had seven points and six boards vs. FIU.
Junior Miriam Justinger, sophomore Rachel Konieczki and redshirt freshman Kennedy Kirkpatrick all had six points in the game. Kirkpatrick added a career-high four assists to lead the Falcons in that category.
Sophomore Abby Siefker scored two points and also had six rebounds, two assists and a BG-leading two blocked shots on Tuesday night.
For the home team, Kiandre'a Pound had game-high totals of 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead four double-digit scorers. Destini Feagin scored 15 points, while Taylor Shade had 14 points and six assists. Marita Davydova had 12 points along with six rebounds and five blocks.
BGSU has lost back-to-back games for the first time in over two years. The last time the Falcons suffered consecutive losses was in November of 2012, against Purdue and Villanova.
The teams traded the lead on several occasions in the opening minutes. The Falcons, who made just three field goals during the entire first half of the Hampton game, hit three shots in the first 2:27 of Tuesday's contest.
Puk hit a jumper in the paint just 15 seconds into the game, and after Pound knocked down a pair of layups for the hosts, a Konieczki three-pointer from the left wing gave the Brown and Orange a 5-4 lead.
FIU, however, scored for the third-straight possession to begin the game, with Davydova converting a jumper. But, after a steal by Hoekstra on FIU's fourth possession, Puk went coast to coast, using a behind-the-back move to shake her defender en route to a layup and a 7-6 lead.
The hosts, however, got a Feagin three-pointer and another layup from Pound to take an 11-7 lead, and FIU never trailed again.
Siefker hit a pair of free throws out of the initial media timeout to cut BG's deficit to two points, but Davydova hit a layup, Shade scored inside in transition, and the Falcons trailed by six as head coach Jennifer Roos used a timeout at the 14:27 mark.
Kirkpatrick scored on a left-side drive, but Pound stepped out and hit a straightaway trey for an 18-11 lead. Feagin, who assisted on that triple, hit a shot of her own from beyond the arc, and FIU's lead was 10 points.
That lead reached 12 points before Justinger's jumper with nine minutes left in the half made it a 25-15 game. FIU scored four of the next five points, with Davydova's free throws giving her team a 29-16 lead with exactly seven minutes left in the half.
Neither team scored for over two minutes, but Hoekstra got an offensive rebound and kicked the ball to Kirkpatrick. Hoekstra raced to the left corner, received a return pass and drained a three-point try. Less than a minute later, Kirkpatrick was fouled and hit two free throws. Then, after an FIU miss at the other end, Myers was fouled and hit a pair of shots from the stripe with 3:47 to go. BG's run was 7-0, and the Falcons' deficit was six points, 29-23.
Tynia McKinzie's three-point play, however, stopped that run with 2:04 left in the half. Hoekstra hit two free throws, but McKinzie threw a shot toward the rim and got it to drop. A Myers layup in the final minute of the period, after Hoekstra threaded the needle with a bounce pass between two FIU defenders, made it a 34-27 game at the half.
The Falcons shot just 21.2 percent from the floor in the opening period, but went 11-of-12 from the free-throw line in the first 20 minutes of play. After beginning the game by going 12-of-20 from the floor, FIU made just two of the final 12 field-goal attempts before the intermission.
A 5-0 run by the Falcons to begin the second half cut the Panthers' lead to just two points. First, Puk took a Hoekstra pass and hit a three-point try from near the top of the arc. Then, after nearly two minutes of scoreless play, Hoekstra got a defensive rebound, then hit an up-and-under driving layup at the other end, and BG trailed by a 34-32 count.
The hosts responded, however, scoring the next nine points. Shade began that run with a three, then threw the ball inside to Davydova for a layup. Shad then stole the ball near midcourt and threw it ahead to Pound for a layup, and a Davydova jumper gave her team a 43-32 advantage with 15 minutes to go.
But, the Falcons made a run of their own. Justinger kicked the ball to Myers for a corner three, and Puk rebounded her own miss, was fouled, and hit a pair of shots from the stripe. When Siefker blocked a shot, grabbed the ball out of the air and fired a long outlet pass a la Kevin Love, Justinger hit an easy layup at the 10:10 mark. BG's run was 7-0, and the team's deficit was four points, 43-39.
BG forced a miss, and Siefker again rebounded the ball. At the other end, the Falcons threw it inside to Siefker, who hit a shot as the whistle blew. Instead of an 'and-one' layup at the 9:34 mark, however, Siefker was called for traveling, and Shade's jumper on the next possession began a quick 8-0 run for the hosts. That run included three-pointers by Feagin and Shade.
Justinger hit a short-corner jumper, but Pound's layup began a 6-0 run for the home team. That run was capped by a Feagin layup that gave the Panthers a 57-41 lead with 5:05 to go.
Out of a timeout, Puk knocked down a three-pointer, and the freshman then came up with a steal. Kirkpatrick drove the baseline on the left side, and fired the ball to Konieczki in the right corner for another triple, and BG trailed by 10 points with 3:26 remaining. But, the Falcons would draw no closer.
Shade's baseline floater was followed by another layup from Pound, and the FIU lead was 14 points with 2:34 left.
Baer scored six-straight points for the Brown and Orange, but FIU hit seven free throws over the final two minutes of play to hold BG at bay. FIU shot 36.7% from the floor in the second half, and the Panthers went 9-for-14 from the line after halftime.
The Falcons shot 33.3% from the field in the second half and 27.0% for the game. BGSU was 15-of-18 from the free-throw line on Tuesday, and both teams hit six three-pointers in over 20 attempts. Feagin made a game-high three triples as her team went 6-for-21 from the arc, while BG was 6-of-22 from long distance, with Puk and Konieczki each hitting a pair of treys.
The Falcons now return to Ohio, opening Mid-American Conference action on Saturday (Jan. 3) by hosting Ball State University. Tipoff for that game, the first half of a BGSU hoops doubleheader, is set for 4:00 p.m. at the Stroh Center.
New Orleans 58, Kent State 55
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Kent State (2-9) stuck with New Orleans (2-7) the whole way but could not pull out the victory Tuesday night. The Golden Flashes dropped their last non-conference game of the season by a score of 58-55.
Kent State trailed slightly for most of the start of the game. Late in the half, Larissa Lurken sunk a three to tie the game at 22 before New Orleans was able to answer and take the slight lead again.
Not much later Lurken would again connect on a three to tie the game another time, now at 27 apiece. On the next possession, Madison Ridout barely missed a shot from beyond the arc and the two teams headed to the locker room in a deadlock.
Fouls did not help the Flashes in the opening twenty minutes. The visitors put the Privateers in the bonus by committing 11 fouls. New Orleans was able to connect on half of its ten opportunities at the line.
With the game still tied in the second half, Jordan Korinek blocked a shot that set up a Melanee Stubbs jumper on the other end to give Kent State the quick lead before that was relinquished on a Privateers' three-point shot.
Down the stretch it seemed that every time Kent State was able to make a shot and get within a point or two, New Orleans would come up with an answer.
CiCi Shannon helped keep the Flashes in the game with an offensive rebound and layup on back-to-back possessions, but the Privateers again answered to go up 47-45 with 7:07 left on the clock.
In the perhaps the deciding play of the game, Naddiyah Cross stole the ball, drove the to basket with 32 seconds left and, down by three, the Kent State bench erupted on the foul call – however, the referees called it a charge and the ball went into the hands of New Orleans.
Things would stay exciting, as Lurken was then fouled close to the three-point arc and was given two chances at the charity stripe with 6.6 seconds remaining in the game. Both shots missed their mark. Lurken was fouled again as time expired sending Lurken back to the line, but a four-point deficit could not be overcome, as the Flashes fell 58-55.
Kent State dominated the boards, grabbing 42 rebounds in the game compared to 27 by New Orleans. Other than that, the numbers were pretty equal across the board. Both teams made five three-pointers, but the Privateers came on ten attempts while the Flashes' shot up 17.
Lurken led the team in scoring with 14 while Stubbs finished with ten. Both Shannon and McKenna Stephens had a team-high seven rebounds.
Mid-American Conference play will begin on Jan. 3 when Kent State returns home to the M.A.C. Center to face Central Michigan. Tickets are available by calling 330-672-2244.
