The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team earned its way to the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) on Thursday as it walked away with a 67-59 victory over the University of Michigan at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the Eagles advance to 23-12 on the season, garnering the most wins in program history.
“This was the biggest win of the program’s history in our tenure,” Eastern Michigan coach AnnMarie Gilbert said. “The shamrock was on our side this time.”
Tavelyn James led all scorers in the game with 21 points, and Sydney Huntley-Rodgers followed behind her with 17 points for the Eagles. Paige Redditt added 10 points and eight rebounds for a near double-double. India Hairston led EMU’s defensive efforts with nine boards on the night. Cassie Schrock pitched in with a career-best 13 assists.
“Tavelyn James is a kid who can drive the ball,” Gilbert said. “She’s really being unselfish and patient this season. Paige Redditt’s hustle was awesome, and Sydney is really stepping up. She’s a player who we are seeing develop before our own eyes.”
The Eagles held the Wolverines to just 38.7 percent from the field on 24-for-62 shooting and 19 percent from the three-point arc. They forced 19 turnovers while going 25-for-63, 39.7 percent from the field, connecting on 60 percent, 9-of-15 of their free throws and draining eight three-point field goals.
The Wolverines had two players in double-digits as Rachel Sheffer’s 20 points led the way and Courtney Boylan added 10. Jenny Ryan grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds as U-M ended its season with a 17-13 record.
The Wolverines opened the game with a field goal by Boylan, but James responded for the Eagles with a quick triple. The teams went back-and-forth for much of the first half, changing leads nine times and finding themselves tied up twice.
Michigan gained a four-point advantage on a layup from Boylan with 5:05 left. Little did they know, that would be the last time the Wolverines scored a single point before the break. The Eagles went on a 7-0 run that sent them into the locker room with a 31-25 advantage.
“It was encouragement,” James said in regards to bouncing back from a loss to Bowling Green in the MAC championship game last Saturday. “We felt like we played a hard game but got robbed, and that gave us a reason to fight back.”
Coming out of the break, U-M missed two attempts at a triple and paved the way for a fast-break layup by James which led to another layup by Redditt, giving the Eagles a 10-point, 35-25 lead early in the second half.
After the teams exchanged baskets for the next seven minutes, a buzzer-beating triple by Huntley-Rodgers off of a quick pass by Redditt to save the play sparked a short run by the Eagles. A missed free-throw by Ryan allowed for a rebound by Hairston who passed the ball up court to Schrock for the layup. On the next play, a block by Redditt led to a triple by De’Ja Wills that put the Eagles up by 13, 48-35, with 10:52 to play and forced the Wolverines to call a timeout.
“All of this energy that we have right now is really from De’Ja Wills,” Gilbert said. “She has been a crucial part of this team and she just brings so much energy. She has really willed this team to where it is now.”
The teams, once again, exchanged baskets until an offensive drought from the Eagles and an 8-1 Wolverine run gave U-M the chance to pull within three-points with 4:32 to play. Gilbert was then forced to call the timeout and coming out of the huddle, James put up a quick layup that would get the Eagles going one last time.
With 1:38 to play, EMU found itself seven points ahead of UM and a missed layup by James led to a rebound by Redditt. The Wolverines applied pressure and sent the ball toward the sideline. Redditt was able to, once again, tip the ball back into action and give Huntley-Rodgers another chance at a buzzer-beating triple, which put the Eagles up by 10.
“The key to our victory was to defend and rebound,” Redditt said. “We just had to run on them and use our speed.”
From that point on, free throws kept the Eagles alive as the Wolverines began to foul on every possession. A missed three-point attempt by Sheffer led to a rebound by Thomas as she held the ball for the closing seconds of the contest and the Eagles took the 67-59 win.
“Nobody was afraid tonight,” Gilbert said. “This is a special team and a special group of seniors.”
EMU prepares to take on the University of North Carolina-Wilmington at 7 p.m. Monday in Wilmington, NC.