Eagles Jet West for LMU Thanksgiving Classic

Women's Basketball at LMU Thanksgiving Classic
Date	Friday-Saturday, Nov. 24-25
Venue	Los Angeles, Calif. - Gersten Pavillion (4,156)
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| DU Notes \| LMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats vs. UD \| Live Stats vs. LMU
Watch	vs. LMU
Listen	N/A
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics

LOS ANGELES (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team jets to the west coast this weekend, Nov. 24-25, to take part in the LMU Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Loyola Marymount University. Eastern Michigan tips off the Thanksgiving-week tournament against the University of Denver Friday, Nov. 24, at 1 p.m. PT, before battling host LMU Saturday, Nov. 25, at 3:30 p.m. PT.
   EMU (2-2) makes the 2,250-mile trek to LA looking for its first road win of the season after coming up short against St. Bonaventure, Nov. 18, while Denver (1-2) will make the trip to the west coast after hosting Chadron State, Nov. 22. LMU (3-0) opens the week at home against Arizona, Nov. 22, after toppling Long Beach State, 84-69, Nov. 17.
   Fans can follow the game via Twitter, as it will be live tweeted from the team's account, @EMUWBB. Live stats will be available for both games through LMULions.com, while the EMU-LMU game will be streamed on the West Coast Conference Network.

EMU AND THE IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT: The Eagles have fared well in their last five in-season tournaments, posting a 6-4 record.
In 2013-14, EMU went 2-0 at the Seawolves Holiday Classic in Stony Brook, N.Y., Dec. 21-22. The following season, Eastern Michigan posted a 2-0 mark at the Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic in Las Cruces, N.M., Nov. 28-29. Then in 2015-16, the Eagles split a pair of games at the Air Force Tournament. Last year, EMU opened the season with a 1-1 record at the Donna Murphy Classic in Morehead, Ky., Nov. 12-13, before going 0-2 at the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 25-26, in San Antonio, Texas.

NICE TO MEET YOU: This weekend will be the first time the Eagles square off against Denver or Loyola Marymount all-time.

EASTERN VS. SUMMIT: Eastern Michigan has played against members of the Summit League seven times in its 41-year history. The Eagles have compiled a 3-4 record against the Elmhurst, Ill.-based league, playing five of its nine members. EMU's last meeting with a Summit League opponent came in the form of Oral Roberts, Dec. 1, 2015. The Green and White won that clash, 77-69, inside the Convocation Center behind Chanise Baldwin's double-double (15 pts.-14 rebs.)

EMU AGAINST THE WCC: In its 41 seasons, Eastern Michigan has only competed against a West Coast Conference institution twice. The first meeting pitted the Green and White against Santa Clara University, Jan. 2, 2003. SCU topped EMU by a final tally of 73-49 in the non-conference tilt. The latest meeting came back at the end of the 2015-16 season, when Eastern Michigan traveled to Saint Mary's for the first round of the WNIT.

JETTING WEST: For just the third time in program history and second time in more than 25 years, the Eagles will play a game in the state of California. The Eagles hold a 4-2 record against teams hailing from California, with all but two meetings taking place outside of the state. The first trip to the Golden State came during the 1990 campaign when Eastern Michigan defeated Cal. State Northridge 78-69, Dec. 29, inside the Matadome in Northridge, Calif. EMU returned to Cali for the first round of the 2016 WNIT, defeating Saint Mary's 74-73, March 17.

CALI CONNECTIONS: Despite more than 2,250 miles that separates Eastern Michigan from California, EMU has a couple of connections with the Golden State. A Los Angeles native, redshirt junior Emoni Jackson prepped at Long Beach Polytechnic and Muir High School. A top-100 recruit out of high school, Jackson led Long Beach Poly to a California state championship.
   Assistant coach Abi Olajuwon played high school basketball at The Marlborough School in Los Angeles and earned four varsity letters under Head Coach Trenton Jackson. As a senior, she averaged 15.9 points and 15.4 rebounds per game as she was named a 2006 McDonald's All-American, while leading Marlborough to three state championships (2003, 2004, 2005). During her senior year, Olajuwon was named a Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American, CIF-SS Division IV AA Player of the Year, and Marlborough High School's Athlete of the Year. Her high school accolades continued as she was named to the All-State First Team and All CIF-SS First Team four times, and was named to the USA Today All-American Team her final three seasons.

ROAD TRIP TROUBLES: The Green and White are in search of its first win away from the Convocation Center since beating Incarnate Word 66-47 in San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 29, 2016. Since knocking off UIW, the Eagles have lost 12 consecutive road games.

RACKING UP THE FREQUENT FLYER MILES: The Eagles will soar from coast-to-coast this season, racking up a total of 12,256 miles traveled. EMU's longest trip of the season is a trek to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving, a round-trip of 4,544 miles. The Green and White's trip to California is 1,000 miles more than the mileage the Eagles will wrap up in a combined nine conference road trips.

WORKING TOWARDS THE 1000-POINT CLUB: Senior Sasha Dailey stands 135 points short of the 1,000-point mark in her final season donning the Green and White. Dailey amassed 855 points for her career through her first three seasons, and has scored 20 points so far this year. If Dailey eclipses four-digits, she will become the 22nd player in program history to score at least 1,000 points during their career.

OH, THE PLACES WE WILL GO: Eastern Michigan will make stops in seven different states this season, including Michigan, Ohio, New York, California, Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana. Eastern's most popular destination is the Buckeye State, where the Green and White will play a total of five contests.

PACK YOUR BAGS!: After opening the season at home with games against Florida A&M and Rochester, Eastern Michigan hit the road for a 10-game 37-day long road trip, spanning from Nov. 13-Dec. 20. It is believed to be the longest road trip in all of NCAA Division I women's basketball.

NO NEED FOR WINDEX, THE EAGLES ARE HERE!: Eastern Michigan has cleaned up on the glass through the first three games of the season, outrebounding opponents 180-142. Not only have the Eagles been the top rebounding team in the MAC, EMU also ranks 58th in the country in total rebounds, 51st in rebounds per game (45.0), and 56th in rebounding margin (+9.5).

ON THE HORIZON: After an eight-day break from action, Eastern Michigan travels to the Twin Cities for a game against Big Ten foe Minnesota. Tipoff between the Eagles and Golden Gophers is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.

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Players Mentioned

Sasha Dailey

Emoni Jackson

Eastern Michigan Athletics