Eagles defeat Northeastern 85-53 in season opener

It was a record-setting day for the Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team as it defeated Northeastern 85-53 in Boston in the 2011-12 season opener.
Leading the game in points was Tavelyn James with a record-setting 42-points, passing a single-game scoring title she possessed during the 2010 season.
Along with James, Olivia Fouty and Desyree Thomas also posted double digit performances. Fouty drained a career-high 20 points while Thomas also recorded the best of her career with ten points for the Eagles.
The game got off to a slow start as the Eagles took the first basket two minutes into the first quarter. From there EMU refused to relinquish the lead taking a 19-2 lead with ten minutes remaining in the half.
With Northeastern displaying tough courage, the Eagles posed too much of a challenge, dominating every area of the stat sheet, leading to a solid 32-10 lead with five minutes left in the first half.
With three minutes left into the first half, James buried a three pointer from an assist by Thomas to take a 35-12 lead, heading into the final minutes in the first half.
The Huskies, despite being down, continued to play hard, and ended the half with a three pointer to go into the locker room down 16-35.
To open the second half the Eagles, once again, separated the lead early, taking a 41-20 lead, only several minutes into the second half.
Despite The Huskies attempts, a layup from Natachia Watkins gave the Eagles a 51-28 lead with 12 minutes left in the second half
The Eagles continued to apply pressure throughout the course of the game, pressuring the Huskies leading to 17 steals throughout the game.
With only 7 minutes left along with a media timeout, the Eagles held a dominant lead of 65-37, coming off the timeout the game continued without much changing, with Taylor Byrd making two freethrows to give the eagles a 81-53 lead, closing out the game seconds later with a 83-53 victory for the Eagles.
The Eagles will play again Nov. 14 in their home opener against Marygrove at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich. Tip-off is scheduled for a 7 p.m.