Eastern Michigan Athletics
Tavelyn James Garners First Team All-MAC Accolades
3/9/2010 9:45:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sophomore becomes the first Eagle since Ryan Coleman in 2005-06 to earn first team honors
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Eastern Michigan University's sophomore guard Tavelyn James (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) continues 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 is charting a course to set the EMU single-season record for points in a season. With an average of 20.6 points per game, the Detroit native is on pace to total 618 points this season and surpass Laurie Byrd's mark of 602 in 26 games during the 1981-82 season. Additionally, at her current pace, James' total would come up just short of the all-time mark among sophomores in conference history. Ohio University's Caroline Mast holds down the league's current sophomore standard of 635 points during the 1983-84.
In 28 games, the Detroit native is averaging 20.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.6 assists in 30.8 minutes per game. She leads the Eagles in points (595), field goals made (203), field goals attempted (508), three pointers made (78) and three pointers attempted (235).
James set the EMU single-game standard for points with 40 in the Eagles' 78-65 victory over the University at Buffalo, Feb. 3. She then followed it up with another 40-point performance in the overtime victory over MAC West Champion Toledo, March 2, at the Convocation Center. With the prolific total James became the first EMU women's basketball player to score 40 points in a game and just the seventh EMU student-athlete to do so. The last EMU basketball player to eclipse the 40-point plateau was men's basketball point guard Earl Boykins with 45 against Western Michigan University, Feb. 21, 1998, at Bowen Field House.
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 43 occasions in her brief 58 game career. The Detroit native has scored 20 or more in 22 of those contests for a total of 1,022 points. James scored her 1,000th point against Toledo, March 2, she became just the 15th member of the exclusive club.
James 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 total and become the Volunteers' fastest player to 1,000 points.
The Eagles continue their post-season run Wednesday evening, March 10, against the University of Akron in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 MAC Women's Basketball Tournament. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. The Eagles, seeded fifth in the tournament, fell to the No. 4-seed Zips in their only previous meeting this season, 73-66, Jan. 30, at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich.
2009-10 All-MAC Women's Basketball Teams
First Team
Tavelyn James, Eastern Michigan
Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green
Kourtney Brown, Buffalo
Jamilah Humes, Kent State
Tanika Mays, Toledo
Second Team
Kara Murphy, Akron
Emily Maggert, Ball State
Tracy Pontius, Bowling Green
Marke Freeman, Northern Illinois
Naama Shafir, Toledo
Third Team
Britni Houghton, Central Michigan
Shonda Long, Central Michigan
Kaihla Szunko, Central Michigan
Taisja Jones, Kent State
Courtney Osborn, Miami
Honorable Mention
Kyle Baumgartner, Akron
Audrey McDonald, Ball State
Jennifer Bushby, Ohio
Melissa Goodall, Toledo
Miame Giden, Western Michigan
All-Freshman
Rachel Tecca, Akron
Abby Dowd , Buffalo, Guard
Rachel Mauk, Central Michigan
Kirsten Olowinski, Miami
Courtney Osborn, Miami
Player of the Year
Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green
Freshman of the Year
Courtney Osborn, Miami
Sixth Player of the Year
Rachel Tecca, Akron
Defensive Player of the Year
Kourtney Brown, Buffalo
Coach of the Year
Jodi Kest, Akron
