Eagles Head to Windy City to Face Flames

Women's Basketball at Illinois-Chicago
Date	Friday, Dec. 8 - 7 p.m. CT
Venue	Chicago, Ill. - UIC Pavilion (8,000)
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| UIC Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats vs. U IC
Watch	ESPN3
Preview Interview	All-E Show: Fred Castro (Dec. 4)
Twitter	@EMUWBB \| @EMUAthletics

CHICAGO (EMUEagles.com) - The next stop on Eastern Michigan University's women's basketball team's never-ending road trip is the Windy City, Dec. 8, for a Friday night date with the University of Illinois-Chicago. Tipoff between the Eagles and Flames is set for 7 p.m. CT inside the UIC Pavilion.
   EMU (2-5) seeks its first win since Nov. 13 after being handed an 80-56 setback by the University of Minnesota, Dec. 3, the fifth straight loss for the Eagles since starting the season 2-0. UIC (3-3) hosts Indiana Northwest, Dec. 6, following a 10-point loss to Bradley University, Dec. 2, before taking on Eastern Michigan.
   The EMU-UIC contest will be broadcast on ESPN3. Fans can also follow the game via Twitter through the team's account, @EMUWBB.

ROAD TRIP TROUBLES: The Green and White is 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 15 consecutive games away from the Convo.

FACING THE FLAMES: Friday night will be the 12th all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and Illinois-Chicago, as well as the first since 2014. EMU owns an 8-3 mark against UIC in the previous 11 meetings, winning two of the last three showdowns. Most recently, the fourth-seeded Flames ended the top-seeded Eagles' season with a 93-91 loss in the second round of the 2014 Women's Basketball Invitational, March 24. Three players scored 20+ points for the Green and White, but UIC hit a layup with eight seconds left to upset EMU. The Flames went on to win the WBI with wins over Fairfield and Stephen F. Austin.

EMU AND THE HORIZON LEAGUE: EMU owns a 53-42 record against current Horizon League foes. Home to UIC and nine other institutions, the Eagles have battled all but one of the members of the Indianapolis, Ind.-based conference.
Given the proximity, it comes as no surprise that EMU has squared off against Detroit Mercy more than any other Horizon League opponent, with 26 meetings taking place between the two all-time. While Eastern trails in the all-time series, 15-11, against Detroit Mercy, EMU holds the upperhand versus Cleveland State, (11-5), Illinois-Chicago (8-3), Valparaiso (5-3), Wright State (6-0), and Youngstown State (4-2). The Green and White sit level with Oakland (7-7) and Milwaukee (2-2) all-time, and are winless in the all-time series against Green Bay, 0-5.

WINNER WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: The 100th win in Eastern Michigan history came against Illinois-Chicago. Then-head coach Kathy Hart led the Eagles to a 65-62 triumph against the Flames in the Windy City, Dec. 17, 1983.

STRETCHING THE FLOOR: Eastern Michigan tied a season-high with seven made three-pointers in its loss to Minnesota, Dec. 3. The seven triples were the most by the Eagles since going 7-for-17 in EMU's 83-61 toppling of Florida A&M, Nov. 10. Additionally, it was the most threes made on the road by the Green and White since converting eight from long range against Akron, Jan. 28, 2017.

SILVER LINING: Despite falling on the road to Minnesota, Dec. 3, Eastern Michigan's defense had some positive takeaways. The Golden Gophers entered the game ranked top in the Big Ten Conference and fourth in the nation in turnovers per game (11.3), but dropped to 11th in the country after the Eagles' defense forced a season-high 19 miscues by UM. In addition to forcing Minnesota to cough up the ball, EMU held UM to its second-fewest points in a quarter (11) this season.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE: Assistant Coach Abi Olajuwon is no stranger to UIC Pavilion, the home court of the Flames. In her stint with the WNBA Chicago Sky, Olajuwon played her home games at UIC Pavilion before spending a season with the Tulsa Shock.

SOUTHSIDE HOMECOMING: For the fourth consecutive week, at least one member of the EMU women's basketball team will return home. This time, Interim Director of Basketball Operations Marykate Halm and Assistant Director for Media Relations Katie Gonzales will have the opportunity to see their friends and family as the Eagles travel to the Land of Lincoln. Halm, a native of La Grange, Ill., grew up just 16 miles away from UIC Pavilion, while Gonzales still has family in the Garfiled Ridge neighborhood.

I'LL TAKE STEALS FOR 200, ALEX: Senior Sasha Dailey has frustrated opponents with her knack for racking up steals over the course of her career. The Toledo, Ohio native has registered 19 swipes on the season, the fourth-most in the league and the 79th most in the country, while her 2.71 steals per game are sixth-best in the MAC and 57th in the nation. For her career, Dailey has tallied 192 steals and sits just eight shy of the 200-mark.

FIRST QUARTER STRUGGLES: Since hitting the road, the first quarter has been a thorn in the side of Eastern Michigan. Through its four road games, EMU is connecting on just 21.3 percent (19-of-89) of its shots in the opening period, while opponents are hitting shots at a 42.7 percent (38-of-89) clip.
   To make matters worse, the Eagles are just 6-of-26 from three-point range, while opponents have hit 13 triples in 34 tries in the opening period over that span. The difference in efficiency has the Green and White trailing by an average of about 10.2 points (EMU-10.6, OPP-20.8) after 10 minutes of play during the four-game stretch.

WORKING TOWARDS THE 1000-POINT CLUB: Senior Sasha Dailey stands 93 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 52 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.

SO MUCH FOR CHARITY: Free throws have been anything but free for the Eagles through the first seven games of the season. The Green and White connect on just 61.5 percent of its shots from the charity stripe and boast the third-worst FT percentage in the league. In two of its five losses, missed free throws have been the difference, as EMU's margin of defeat has matched its misses from the line (L vs. Denver, 54-60 - 13-of-19 - (-6); L, vs. LMU, 64-73 - 11-of-20 (-9)).

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern remains in the Land of Lincoln, Dec. 10, as it travels to Normal, Ill. for a Sunday matinee clash with Illinois State. Tipoff between the Eagles and Redbirds is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sasha Dailey

Eastern Michigan Athletics