Women's Basketball to Tangle with Wake Forest Sunday, Nov. 20

Women's Basketball at Wake Forest
Date	Sunday, Nov. 20 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Winston-Salem, N.C. \| Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,665)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Gametracker.
Watch	N/A
Listen	N/A
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.2282 \| Clear Bag Policy

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns to the road this weekend, Nov. 20, when it travels east for a Sunday matchup with Wake Forest University. The Eagles and Demon Deacons are scheduled to square off at 2 p.m. inside Lawrence Joel Veteran Memorial Coliseum.
   EMU rolls into town with a 2-1 record after a 68-50 win over Ferris State University at home, Wednesday, Nov. 16. Meanwhile, Wake Forest enters the weekend with a 2-1 mark after a 55-43 win over Rutgers University, Thursday night, Nov. 17.
   Neither WEMU nor Eagle All-Access will be making the trip east to broadcast EMU's clash with Wake Forest. Fans wanting to follow the Eagles can find live stats links at WakeForestSports.com.

ROAD WARRIORS: Eastern Michigan opens the season with just one home game in its first seven contests. Since beginning play in 1976-77, EMU holds a 207-287 record when playing away from its home court. This season, the Green and White are 1-1 in games away from Ypsilanti.

BLOCK PARTY: The Eagles posted a season-high seven blocks in their 68-50 win over Ferris State, Nov. 16. Freshman Becca Turney led the rejection effort with a career-high five blocks on the day, the seventh-most in EMU single-game history. Additionally, Turney's denials are tied for the second-most in Convocation Center history.

RUNNIN' THE FLOOR: Through three games, the Eagles have showcased their ability to get out in transition and take advantage of numbers, as EMU has outscored opponents 28-12 in fastbreak points this season.

SPARKING THE EAGLES OFF THE BENCH: Junior Sasha Dailey has been lights out this season, coming off the bench for the Eagles. Dailey is averaging 25.0 points, nine rebounds, two steals, and an assist per game through EMU's first three contests. The Toledo, Ohio native has led the Eagles to a 94-74 advantage in bench scoring.

EMU AGAINST THE ACC: While Sunday afternoon's tilt against Wake Forest pits the Eagles against the Demon Deacons for the first time in program history, it will be the 16th time that EMU has taken on an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Eastern owns a 3-12 record against the ACC and has played seven different members of the Greensboro, N.C. based conference. The Eagles are 1-1 against Boston College and 2-2 versus Pittsburgh, but trail in the all-time series with Louisville (0-1), Miami (0-1), North Carolina State (0-2), Notre Dame (0-4), and Syracuse (0-1).
   With a win over Wake Forest, the Eagles will knock off an ACC opponent for the first time since Nov. 29, 1991, when EMU topped Boston College, 62-52, in Ypsilanti.

POST PRODUCTION: After relying on the scoring from its guards in the first two games of the year, the Green and White received some lofty production from its posts in an 18-point win over Ferris State, Nov. 16. Redshirt junior Ashley Nickens and freshman Becca Turney combined for 17 points, 16 rebounds, five blocks, one steal, and one assist. Previously, EMU's bigs had combined for just eight rebounds, two points, and two blocks.

TURNEY TAKES CHARGE: Freshman Becca Turney had a career-day in EMU's 68-50 victory against Ferris State, Nov. 16. The 6-foot-3 center grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds, while posting five blocks and a steal to go along with five points. With a dozen boards, Turney tied the season-high for the Eagles, while her five rejections rank tied for seventh-most in single-game history at EMU.

NICKENS TURNS IN CAREER DAY: Redshirt junior Ashley Nickens came into the home opener against Ferris State, Nov. 16, having played just three minutes this season. Against the Bulldogs, Nickens registered 12 points, four rebounds, and an assist, all of which were career-bests, in a career-high 22 minutes of action.

50+ ON THE GLASS: In the past two games, the Eagles have grabbed a combined 113 rebounds. The Green and White grabbed a season-high 57 against Morehead State, Nov. 13, and fell one short of that mark, Nov. 16, versus Ferris State. EMU has posted back-to-back 55+ rebound efforts for the first time in more than 20 years.

CASHING IN ON SECOND CHANCE OPPORTUNITIES: The Eagles have totaled 149 rebounds through three games, including 58 boards that came on the offensive end of the floor. EMU has made the most of its second chance opportunities, cashing them in for 48 points.

A LOOK AT THE CONFERENCE LEADERS: Eastern Michigan has positioned itself near the top of multiple statistical categories in the Mid-American Conference as of Nov. 15. Let's take a look...
   Player   Category   Rank   Number
    EMU   Free Throws Attempted   1st   51 (14th nationally)
   EMU   Free Throws Made   1st   38 (ninth nationally)
   EMU   Rebounds   1st   93 (21st nationally)
   EMU   Rebounds per game   3rd   46.50 (75th nationally)
   EMU   Steals   1st   34 (69th nationally)
   EMU   Three-pointers attempted   1st   34 (78th nationally)
   EMU   Three-pointers made   3rd   10 (87th nationally)
   Sasha Dailey   Double-doubles   t-1st   1 (ninth nationally)
   Sheyna Deans   Double-doubles   t-1st   1 (ninth nationally)
   Phillis Webb   Double-doubles   t-1st   1 (ninth nationally)
   Sasha Dailey   Field goals attempted   1st   37 (sixth nationally)
   Sasha Dailey   Field goals made   1st   16 (12th nationally)
   Sasha Dailey   Free throws made   1st   13 (16th nationally)
   Phillis Webb   Free throws made   1st    13 (16th nationally)
   Phillis Webb   Free throw percentage   1st   t-1st (6th nationally)
   Sasha Dailey   Offensive rebounds per game   t-1st   6 (28th nationally)
   Sasha Dailey   Points per game   3rd   23.5 (40th nationally)
   Sasha Dailey   Rebounds   1st   18 (43rd nationally)
   Phillis Webb   Rebounds   2nd   16 (69th nationally)
   Phills Webb   Steals   1st   6 (35th nationally)

WINNING HIS DEBUT: Fred Castro, the ninth women's basketball coach in program history, became the fifth coach at EMU to win their first game in their Eagle debut with a 69-59 victory over Georgia State, Nov. 12. Here's how Eastern Michigan's eight previous head coaches fared in their first game:
   • Kathy Hart - Jan. 11, 1977 at Michigan (L, 52-63)
   • Cheryl Getz - Nov. 28, 1987 at Robert Morris (W, 65-50)
   • Dana Munk - Dec. 1, 1992 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (W, 78-76)
   • Paulette Stein - Nov. 30, 1993 at Michigan (L, 52-76)
   • Suzy Merchant - Nov. 15, 1998 vs. Saint Peter's (L, 64-75)
   • Shane Clipfell - Dec. 1, 2006 vs. Northern Arizona (L, 69-89)
   • AnnMarie Gilbert - Nov. 11, 2007 vs. Temple Baptist (W, 108-22)
   • Tory Verdi - Nov. 11, 2012 vs. Northeastern (W, 50-47)

OWNING THE GLASS: Eastern Michigan grabbed a season-high 57 rebounds, Nov. 13, in a loss to Morehead State. The total marked the most by the Eagles since the Green and White tallied 60 rebounds against Ohio, Jan. 13, 2016. Of EMU's 57 boards, 28 of them came on the offensive end, the most since Eastern set the single-game team rebounding record with a 71-rebound effort against Marygrove, Nov. 30, 2013. In that game, the Eagles corralled 31 offensive rebounds.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The Eagles have racked up a solid home-court advantage inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center since the doors opened during the 1998-99 campaign. Eastern Michigan has won 73 of the last 97 home games dating back to the 2008-09 season. The Green and White have won 68.2 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 167-78 all-time mark.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: Senior Phillis Webb came into her final season ranked 21st in Eastern Michigan history with 509 rebounds. This season, Webb has grabbed 20 boards, moving her into 20th-place with 529 caroms. Nikki Knapp holds the program record with 802 career rebounds, while Webb is 22 boards behind Traci Parsons for 19th-place on the all-time list.

WEBB WORKING TOWARDS 1,000 POINT MARK: Senior Phillis Webb stands 282 points short of the 1,000-point mark in her final season donning the Green and White. Webb amassed 677 points for her career through her first three seasons, and has scored 47 points so far this year. If Webb eclipses four-digits, she will become the 21st player in program history to score at least 1,000 points during their career.

LAST TIME OUT: The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team opened its 2016-17 home schedule with a 68-50 non-conference victory over Ferris State University Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 16, inside the Convocation Center.
    The Eagles were led offensively by junior Sasha Dailey who had a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds. Redshirt junior Ashley Nickens scored a career-best 12, while freshman Becca Turney had a career game as well, finishing with 12 rebounds and five blocks.

ON THE HORIZON: After a quick trip to Winston-Salem, the Eagles soar south for a three-game stretch in Texas. There, the Green and White will square off against Tulane and Northern Colorado as part of the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 25-27, before taking on Incarnate Word, Nov. 29.

Women's Basketball to Tangle with Wake Forest Sunday, Nov. 20

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Players Mentioned

Sasha Dailey

Sheyna Deans

Ashley Nickens

Becca Turney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics