Women's Hoops Renews Rivalry with Toledo Saturday

Women's Basketball vs. Toledo
Date	Saturday, Jan. 6 \| 2:30 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,783)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	E SPN3
Listenh	WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMUW BB \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - Hot off a thrilling come-from-behind road victory, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team returns home to host the University of Toledo in a Mid-American Conference West Division clash Saturday, Jan. 6, inside the Convocation Center. Tipoff between the Eagles and Rockets is scheduled for approximately 2:30 p.m., as it is the second leg of a doubleheader with the EMU men's basketball team tangling with Bowling Green State University at noon.
   Eastern Michigan (5-8, 1-1 MAC) returns to the Convo after a buzzer-beating win at Bowling Green State University, Jan. 3, while Toledo is 9-4 overall and 1-1 in the league after topping the University of Akron, 60-54, inside Savage Arena, Jan. 3.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN3, where Ryan Wooley and Greg Steiner will call the action on the court. Chad Bush will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM) beginning at approximately 2:20 p.m. Fans can also follow the game via Twitter through the team's account, @EMUWBB.

WORKING TOWARDS THE 1000-POINT CLUB: Senior Sasha Dailey stands three 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 142 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.

COMEBACK KIDS: The Eagles matched their largest comeback of the season in a thrilling 54-52 win over Bowling Green, Jan. 3. EMU trailed by as many as 13 in the contest, before coming back to top BGSU at the buzzer.

BEATING THE BUZZER: Redshirt junior Emoni Jackson's tip-in with less than a second to go lifted the Eagles past the Falcons, 54-52. It marked the first buzzer-beating win for the Green and White since Chanise Baldwin provided the late game heroics in EMU's 74-73 opening round WNIT win over Saint Mary's, March 17, 2016.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE ROCKETS: Saturday's contest marks the 80th meeting between Toledo and Eastern Michigan, who first met during the 1977-78 season. The Rockets lead the overall series, 48-31, but the Eagles have taken four of the last seven meetings.
Toledo swept a pair of meetings last season, most recently holding off the Eagles, 65-67, in the Glass City, Feb. 22.
   In 2016, EMU held Toledo below 50 points twice as it swept the season series. Eastern cruised past UT, 59-41, at the Convocation Center, Jan. 23, as the Midnight Blue and Gold were held to its second-lowest point total of the year. The Green and White followed it up with a 58-46 win in the Glass City, Feb. 24.

MR. ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD: Seniors Sasha Dailey and Tori Easley will suit up against their hometown team Saturday, when the Eagles clash with the Rockets. It will mark the seventh time the duo will take on their hometown team, as the tandem both attended Rogers High School in Toledo, Ohio.
   Dailey has fared well against the Rockets, averaging 11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per contest. Additionally, she has hit 45.2 percent (28-of-62) of her shots against UT in six previous meetings.

99 PROBLEMS, BUT THE STROH AIN'T ONE: Eastern Michigan's come-from-behind win over Bowling Green at the Stroh Center, Jan. 3, was EMU's first win on BGSU's home floor since the 2005 season while still playing at Anderson Arena. Additionally, it was just the fifth time the Eagles have tasted victory inside the Bowling Green city limits.

ON THE UPSWING: With its win against BGSU, Jan. 3, EMU has matched its Mid-American Conference win total from a season ago, just two games into league play.

FREEBIES!: The Green and White turned in one of its best free throw performances of the season against Bowling Green, Jan. 3, and it needed every one of them. Eastern Michigan got to the charity stripe 22 times in the come-from-behind win, where EMU made 16 freebies. Its 72.7 free throw percentage was its third-best through 13 games, while its 16 makes ranked as the second-most in a game this season.

FEW AND FAR BETWEEN: Wednesdays' win over Bowling Green was just the Eagles' third victory against the Falcons in the past 13 years, and the first at the Stroh Center since 2005. In fact, Fred Castro has now surpassed Tory Verdi, AnnMarie Gilbert, and Shane Clipfell's combined total for wins against the MAC East foe, having beat BGSU twice. Verdi's 2014-15 squad topped BGSU, 64-52, in the Convocation Center, Jan. 17, 2015. Longtime EMU bench boss Suzy Merchant had the most success against the Falcons, picking up eight wins versus Bowling Green during her tenure, including a run of five straight from 2003-05.

COMMON BONDS: Eastern Michigan and Toledo share three mutual opponents - St. Bonaventure, Cleveland State, and Detroit Mercy. The Eagles went 1-2 against the trio, outlasting Detroit Mercy and falling to SBU and CSU, while the Rockets posted three wins. UT shutdown St. Bonaventure, 58-39, before outlasting Cleveland State, 65-56, and overpowering UDM, 81-64.

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 45 swipes on the season, and currently has 218 for her career. Dailey's 218 career thefts put her just outside the top-10, as she trails Janay Morton (223) by five. Desyree Thomas owns the program record, having accumulated 297 from 2010-14.
   As of Jan. 4 Dailey's steals ranked first in the league and the 15th-most in the country, while her 3.46 steals per game are the best in the MAC and come in at 12th in the nation.

DOMINATING DEFENSIVE DUO: Both the men's and women's basketball teams at Eastern Michigan have become known for their stifling defense over the years. In fact, the stout defensive play of seniors Sasha Dailey and Tim Bond is some of the best across the country.
   EMU is the only school in the nation to have players ranked inside the country's top-16 in steals and steals per game for both men's and women's basketball. Dailey is ranked 12th in steals per game (3.46) and 15th in steals (45), while Bond is slotted ninth in steals per game (2.71) and 11th in total steals with 38.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: Eastern Michigan's 14-player roster has combined for 6,452 career minutes ahead of the 2017-18 season, the third-fewest in the Mid-American Conference. Additionally the Eagles are the least experienced team in the West Division. Ohio brings back just 3,877 minutes, the fewest in the league, while Akron returns 4,964. Meanwhile, Miami is the most experienced squad in the league with 13,782 career minutes on the roster.

OFF TO THE RACES: Eastern Michigan has been dominant in transition through its first 13 games, outscoring the opposition 181-64 in fast break points. Offensively, the Green and White average 13.9 transition points per game, while giving up just an average of 4.9 points per contest. For the season, EMU is 4-3 when scoring 10+ fast break points.

CREATING SECOND CHANCES: The Green and White have dominated the offensive glass, racking up 214 offensive rebounds. EMU's 16.46 offensive rebounds per game ranks first in the MAC and 11th nationally, while leading to 157 points or 19.2 percent of Eastern's scoring this season.

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 six games this year and has averaged 68.5 points in those contests. On the flip side, the Eagles score roughly nine points less (59.3 ppg) when finishing with a single digit assist total.

STARTING LINEUP SHUFFLE: In 13 games, Head Coach Fred Castro has utilized eight different starting lineups. Sasha Dailey is the only Eagle to earn the nod in all 13 games, while 11 different players have made starts so far this season.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan has won 79 of the last 110 home games dating back to the 2008-09 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 66.0 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 173-89 all-time mark.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan begins a two-game road trip Wednesday, Jan 10, when the Green and White travel to Kent, Ohio for a rematch with the Golden Flashes of Kent State. Tipoff from the MAC Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Sasha Dailey

Tori Easley

Emoni Jackson

Eastern Michigan Athletics