Eastern Michigan Athletics
A Look Back at the Season that Was...
3/22/2010 3:33:57 PM | Women's Basketball
Eagles complete a record-setting 2009-10 campaign with a trip to the WNIT
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PUTTING A WRAP ON THE SEASON THAT WAS: It was a magical 2009-10 campaign for the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team, as the Eagles finished with a 22-9 overall record and an 11-5 mark in Mid-American Conference play. Coming off a rebuilding 2008-09 campaign that saw the Eagles win just eight games, third-year head coach AnnMarie Gilbert guided a relatively young squad, with just two seniors, and nine freshmen and sophomores to one of the nation's biggest turnarounds.
The Eagles became the first MAC women's basketball program to post a 20-win season following a year in which the team won less than 10 games. EMU also finished just one victory shy of equalling the 1985-86 Ohio University squad for the biggest single-season turnaround in league history. That Bobcat crew won 26 games after posting just 11 victories during the entire 1984-85 campaign.
EAGLES EARN THIRD POSTSEASON WNIT BID: After a three-year hiatus from post-season play, Eastern Michigan returned to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Wednesday, March 17, against Purdue University.
Despite a 28 point effort from Tavelyn James, the Eagles fell to the Boilermakers, 56-50, at Mackey Arena. Eastern Michigan, which was making its fourth postseason appearance and first since the 2006 campaign, saw a first half lead evaporate as Purdue used clutch free throw shooting to seal the victory.
JAMES POSTS A RECORD-SETTING YEAR: Sophomore Tavelyn James posted one the of best offensive seasons in not only Eastern Michigan history but in Mid-American Conference history, as well. The Detroit native finished the year at 20.7 points per game, making 220 of her 550 shots from the floor, to become the first EMU player since Sharon Brown in 1985-86 to average more than 20 points per contest.
A 2010 First Team All-MAC selection, James moved atop the all-time scoring rankings among sophomores in league history. Ohio's Caroline Mast previously held down the league's sophomore standard of 635 points during the 1983-84. The 641 points also rank ninth most by a student-athlete in a single season according to the conference record book. Additionally, James shattered both the EMU single-season record for points in a season and the sophomore scoring standard.
Her 86 three-pointers made and 257 three-pointers attempted were also an EMU single-season records and rank fifth and second, respectively, for a single year in the MAC annals.
JAMES NAMED FIRST TEAM ALL-MAC: Sophomore guard Tavelyn James continued to add accolades to her basketball resume, as she was named first team All-Mid-American Conference by the conference coaches Tuesday, March 9. She is the first EMU women's basketball player to receive First Team All-MAC honors in five years and only the seventh student-athlete to receive the honor in the program's history.
A 2009 All-Freshman Team honoree, James set the EMU single-season record for points in a season surpassing Laurie Byrd's mark of 602 in 26 games during the 1981-82 season. In 31 games, the Detroit native averaged 2074 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.6 assists in 31.0 minutes per game. She led the Eagles in points (641), field goals made (220), field goals attempted (550), three pointers made (86) and three pointers attempted (257).
Twice named the MAC's West Division Player of the Week during the 2009-10 campaign, the sophomore has reached double figures in points on 44 occasions in her brief 59 game career. The Detroit native has scored 20 or more in 22 of those contests for a total of 1,039 points. James scored her 1,000th point against Toledo, March 2, she became just the 15th member of the exclusive club.
GILBERT VERSUS THE BIG TEN: For the first time since Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert's arrival, the Eagles took on a team from the Big Ten Conference. EMU is 10-35 all-time versus the Park Ridge, Ill. based conference, but the Green and White are 4-6 against Big Ten foes since the 2000-01 campaign. During that span, Eastern Michigan has posted wins over Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Northwestern, with losses coming against Purdue, Illinois, Indiana and MSU.
EMU IN THE WNIT: EMU participated in the Preseason WNIT in 2000-01 and made its first appearance in the 2005 Postseason WNIT versus the University of Kentucky. After trailing by as many as five points in the first half, the Wildcats captured a hard-fought 79-68 decision at Memorial Hall in Lexington, Ky., March 19, 2005.
EMU was then paired with Indiana State University in the 2006 Postseason WNIT, with the Sycamores recording a 79-59 victory in Terre Haute, Ind., March 16, 2006. Academic All-American Sarah VanMetre poured in 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting in a losing effort for EMU.
MAKING HISTORY NOTHING NEW FOR THIS PROGRAM: Head Coach AnnMarie Gilbert and crew added another first to their already impressive 2009-10 resume. The Eagles are the first Mid-American Conference women's basketball program to post a 20-win season following a year in which the team won less than 10 games.
The Eagles finished just one victory shy of equalling the 1985-86 Ohio University squad for the biggest single-season turnaround in league history. That Bobcat crew won 26 games after posting just 11 victories during the entire 1984-85 campaign.
JAMES SETS THE EMU RECORD FOR POINTS IN A SEASON: With her proficiency to score in bunches, sophomore guard Tavelyn James set the EMU single-season record for points in a season. With an average of 20.7 points per game, the Detroit native passed Laurie Byrd's mark of 602 in 26 games during the 1981-82 season.
A GRAND ACCOMPLISHMENT: When Tavelyn James scored her 1,000th point against Toledo, March 2, she became just the 15th member of the exclusive club and the first to reach the grand mark since former EMU Academic All-American Sarah VanMetre did so during the 2006-07 campaign.
The Detroit, Mich. native is the fastest in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, doing so in just 57 career games. To better demonstrate just how impressive of an accomplishment that is, the University of Tennessee's Candace Parker, the 2006-07 State Farm Wade Trophy Player of the Year, needed 56 career games to reach the prolific total and become the Volunteers' fastest player to 1,000 points.
TAKE SOME, THEY'RE FREE: Junior Cassie Schrock is quickly moving up the EMU record book, ranking second with 387 free throws made and third all time with 521 free throws attempted. The Wadsworth, Ohio native trails Nikki Knapp's standard of 411 makes in 626 attempts.
WINNING ON THE ROAD: With the 78-72 victory over Northern Illinois, Feb. 27, Eastern Michigan set the school record for most road victories in a single season with 10. This comes on the heels of a 2008-09 campaign in which the Eagles won just one road game the entire season. The 2004-05 and the 2007-08 squads notched nine road victories en route to MAC West Division titles.
WINNING WAYS: The Eagles were 22-9 overall, their .710 winning percentage is third in the Mid-American Conference and 43rd best in the nation.
