Eagles Ready for Rematch with RedHawks

Women's Basketball vs. Miami
Date	Wednesday, Jan. 24 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8.754)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	E SPN3
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMUW BB \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team seeks its fourth straight Mid-American Conference victory when it hosts Miami University Wednesday, Jan. 24, in cross-divisional action. Tipoff from the Convocation Center is slated for 7 p.m.
   Eastern Michigan locked up its third consecutive win with an 83-76 road triumph at Northern Illinois, Jan. 20, to move to 5-2 in league play and 9-9 on the year. Miami travels to Ypsilanti on the heels of an 81-70 setback at Western Michigan, Jan. 20, dropping the RedHawks to 2-5 in MAC play and 10-8 overall.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley calling the action on the court and Greg Steiner adding analysis. Veteran broadcaster Chad Bush will have the call on WEMU 89.1 FM beginning at 6:50 p.m. Fans can also follow via Twitter through the team's account, @EMUWBB.

SO, WE MEET AGAIN: Eastern Michigan and Miami will tangle on the hardwood for the second time in an 11-day span when they play Wednesday, Jan. 24, in Ypsilanti, Mich.
The contest marks the second consecutive season in which the teams will play in a home-and-home series. In the 20 seasons in which the teams have played twice in the regular season, the RedHawks have posted sweeps on 14 occasions compared to just three for EMU. Eastern looks to register its first sweep of Miami since 2015, when the Eagles topped the RedHawks, 56-38, at home and 54-51 in Oxford.

FINDING HER STRIDE: Danielle Minott has been incredible in MAC play this season, leading the Eagles in scoring (17.3 ppg) and steals (19), while ranking third on the team in rebounding at 4.1 boards per game.
   Over the last three games, Minott is averaging 21.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 steals, and 1.7 assists, while shooting 51.1 percent (23.-of-45) from the floor and 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from three-point range.

TWO TIMES!: Emoni Jackson grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and added a career-high tying 13 points en route to her second straight double-double. Jackson is now the active team leader with two career double-doubles.

DANIELLE PICKS UP COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS HONORS: Redshirt junior Danielle Minott was named College Sports Madness' Mid-American Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 21. Minott was clutch in leading Eastern Michigan to a 2-0 record, Jan. 17-20.
   Minott averaged 22.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 1.0 assist, and 0.5 blocks per game over the two-game stretch, as EMU defeated Western Michigan, 69-67, in overtime, Jan. 17, before topping Northern Illinois, 83-76, on the road, Jan. 20.

THREE IN-A-ROW: Eastern Michigan came away with an 83-76 triumph at Northern Illinois, Jan. 20, marking its third consecutive win. The victory gave EMU its first three-game win streak since winning five in-a-row, Feb. 6-24, 2016.

HOT HOT HOT: The Green and White offense was firing on all cylinders when the third quarter rolled around at Northern Illinois, Jan. 20. EMU dropped 31 points in the third, the second-most in a quarter in program history and the most since scoring 36 in the second frame versus Madonna, Dec. 18, 2015. To put that in perspective, EMU has put up less than 31 points in a half 13 times this season.
   Eastern shot a blistering 86.7 percent from the field, knocking down 13-of-15 shots from field, including a trio of triples, en route to the monster third quarter. Courtnie Lewis led the scoring with 10 points, while Sasha Dailey and Emoni Jackson added seven points apeice.

BALANCING THE BOX SCORE: The Green and White saw three players score 15-or-more points for the second time this season in its win over Northern Illinois, Jan. 20. Sasha Dailey led the way with a team-high 19 points, while Courtnie Lewis and Danielle Minott chipped in 18 and 15, respectively.

OLD FACES, NEW PLACES: When the Eagles and RedHawks face off Wednesday, Jan. 24, redshirt junior Emoni Jackson will reunite with former coach Megan Duffy. Jackson, a transfer from the University of Michigan, played for the Wolverines for two seasons (2014-16) at which time current Miami bench boss was an assistant under Kim Barnes Arico.

IT'S BEEN AWHILE: With roughly a third of the conference season in the books, the Eagles have pieced together a 5-2 record, its best start to league play since the 2011-12 campaign. That season, the Green and White opened the MAC slate 5-2 en route to tying for the MAC West title and NCAA Tournament berth.

TRENDING UP: Since the Eagles have turned their attention to Mid-American Conference play they have been one of the top defenses in the league. In conference games, EMU is giving up just 64.9 points per contest, the best in the league and more than two points better than second-ranked Toledo (67.0 ppg). The Green and White also rank second in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a 38.8 percent clip, and fourth with 9.4 steals per game.

ALL-TIME VERSUS MIAMI: Wednesday's contest with Miami marks the 60th meeting between the RedHawks and Eagles, who first met during the 1979-80 season. Miami has dominated the all-time series, 40-19, but the Eagles have won seven of the last 11 meetings.
Eastern Michigan picked up a 74-59 win at Miami, Jan. 13, behind a strong second half performance. Danielle Minott and Juanita Agosto turned in career days to lead the Eagles to the win. Minott went off for a career-best 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-3 from deep. The Miami, Fla. also added four steals and three assists. Agosto was exceptional off the bench, chipping in 10 points and a career-best eight rebounds. Also reaching double figures for the Eagles were senior Sasha Dailey and freshman Courtnie Lewis who finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

SWEET CHARITY: A key to Eastern Michigan's ability to win close games this season has been how the Green and White perform at the free throw line. In its nine victories EMU is shooting 67.7 percent (111-of-164), while Eastern is converting just 61.2 percent (93-of-152) of its attempts from the stripe in losses.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan has won 74 of the last 98 home games dating back to the 2009-10 season. The Eagles have racked up a solid home-court advantage inside the Convocation Center since the doors opened during the 1998-99 campaign. The Green and White has won 66.3 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 175-89 all-time mark.

CREATING SECOND CHANCES: The Green and White have dominated the offensive glass, racking up 289 offensive rebounds. EMU's 16.0 offensive rebounds per game ranks first in the MAC and 17th nationally, while leading to 231 points or 19.4 percent of Eastern's scoring this season.

OFF TO THE RACES: Eastern Michigan has been dominant in transition through 18 games, outscoring the opposition, 215-80, in fast break points. Offensively, the Green and White average 11.9 transition points per game, while giving up just an average of 4.4 points per contest. For the season, EMU is 5-4 when scoring 10+ fast break points.

SHARING IS CARING: EMU's ability to distribute the ball has been a true-tale sign of its success offensively this season. Eastern has racked up 10-or-more assists in 11 games this year and has averaged 70.5 points in those contests. On the flip side, the Eagles score more than 10 points less (59.3 ppg) when finishing with a single digit assist total.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Senior Sasha Dailey has proven to be one of the best defensive players Eastern Michigan has ever seen, as she has frustrated opponents with her knack for racking up steals over the course of her career. The Toledo, Ohio native has registered 50 swipes on the season, and currently has 223 for her career. Dailey's 223 career thefts put her in a tie for 10th all-time. Desyree Thomas owns the program record, having accumulated 297 from 2010-14.
   As of Jan. 22, Dailey's steals ranked fourth-most in the league and the 43rd-most in the country, while her 2.78 steals per game are the fourth in the MAC and come in at 37th in the nation.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan is back on the road this weekend, Saturday, Jan. 27, as EMU treks to Buffalo, N.Y. for a 2 p.m. tilt against MAC East-leading University at Buffalo inside Alumni Arena.

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Players Mentioned

Juanita Agosto

Sasha Dailey

Emoni Jackson

Courtnie Lewis

Danielle Minott

Eastern Michigan Athletics