On Thursday, the Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team ended its 2010-11 season with a 72-63 loss to Syracuse University in the third round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament in Syracuse, N.Y.
With the win, the Orange (25-8) advance to the quarter-finals of the WNIT to play the University of Toledo on Sunday in their first trip to the WNIT’s Elite Eight.
The Eagles finished their season with a 24-13 record; posting the longest season and the most wins in program history along with garnering the program’s first ever post-season wins.
The Eagles had four players in double digits. Paige Redditt led the team with 22 points and added seven rebounds. Sydney Huntley-Rodgers and Tavelyn James combined for 24 points while De’Ja Wills added 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from the three-point arc. Kristin Thomas pitched in defensively with eight rebounds while Cassie Schrock added six boards and seven assists.
For the Orange, Iasia Hemingway’s 29 points led all scorers in the game and her ten rebounds made it a double-double. Kayla Alexandar chipped in with 16 points while Elashier Hall grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Eagles took the first stab with a layup from Huntley-Rodgers but Hall answered with a triple for the Orange. Syracuse got off to a 9-2 lead before the Eagles snapped the run with a layup from Redditt. On their next possession, Wills connected on a triple; her first of three in three minutes.
EMU pulled within two points of the Orange with 09:07 left in the first half but a layup and a pair of free-throws for Syracuse gave them a quick six point lead. Both teams remained scoreless for the next 2:65 before a free-throw by Redditt gave the Eagles another spark.
With 2:27 remaining before the break, Tasha Harris connected on a three-point field-goal that gave the Orange a seven point, 34-27, lead. Redditt responded on the other end with a three-point play and a layup by James on the next possession sent the Eagles into the locker room trailing the Orange 34-32.
The Eagles finished the game 22-for-59, 37.3 percent, from the field while connecting on eight of their 24 three-point attempts for 33.3 percent. They connected on 73.3 percent, of their free-throws with most of those coming from Redditt’s 10-for-13 shooting from the stripe. The Eagles committed just 14 turnovers while the Orange recorded 19, nine of which were forced by steals.
The Orange shot 44.1 percent from the field on 26-for-59 shooting while connecting on 15 of their 17 free-throw attempts for 88 percent. The Orange were held to just 31.3 percent from the perimeter (5-for-16), however, they out-rebounded the Eagles 44-30 on the night.
Coming into the second half, the teams exchanged baskets for the opening minutes and the Eagles slowly chipped away at the Orange’s lead. A triple by Schrock brought them with three, 40-37, with 16 minutes to go. A pair of free-throws by Alexandar expanded the lead back to five, but Thomas connected on a free-throw followed by back-to-back triples by James and Huntley-Rodgers tied the teams at 46 with 12:17 to play.
With 5:16 left in the game, the Orange found themselves ahead of the Eagles by one point, 60-59, and a foul by Alexandar sent Redditt to the charity stripe. Redditt connected on both free-throws, giving the Eagles their first lead since the first shot of the game.
However, on the following play Thomas sent Hemmingway to the line, where she connected on 1-of-2 free-throws and a second-chance shot completed the three-point play which put the Orange back in the lead, this time for good. The Eagles scored just one last layup from Huntley-Rodgers with 1:05 to play, but that was not enough as the Orange escaped with the 72-63 win.
