The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team will travel to DeKalb, Ill. to face the Northern Illinois University Huskies at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Eagles (17-7, 9-2 Mid-American Conference) and Huskies (11-12, 5-6 MAC) previously played on Jan. 8 at the Convocation Center, in a game EMU won 64-52 to record its first win in the MAC.
In the game, the Eagles raced out to a 28-12 halftime lead and coasted through the remainder of the second half. Senior forward Paige Redditt would lead EMU with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Historically, EMU has dominated the series, winning each of the last six meetings between the teams. The last win for NIU was a 69-62 overtime victory on Jan. 17, 2009.
The Eagles have won 22 of the last 25 games against NIU and Coach AnnMarie Gilbert has an 8-1 record against the Huskies since taking over the EMU program in 2007-08. The teams
began playing in 1981-82, and EMU leads the series 27-9.
EMU has had a strong start in the MAC thanks to a strong team effort and consistent scoring from senior guard and EMU all-time leading scorer, Tavelyn James, who is second in the nation in scoring this season with 24.3 points per game.
James turned in a record-setting performance against Kent State on Friday when she made 10 three-point field goals, good enough for the MAC all-time record. James would lead the Eagles with 40 points.
NIU will look to defend its home court against the Eagles, where they have posted a 6-5 record. The Huskies are led by freshman Claire Jakubicek, who is averaging 10.8 points and five rebounds.
With the graduation of Marke Freeman (16.1 PPG), the Huskies are struggling to find a consistent scoring threat. They have looked toward a balanced scoring attack but are last in the MAC in scoring with 56.5 points per game and rank last in several other offensive categories.
Despite the poor offensive game from NIU, it has been winning games by playing solid team defense. The Huskies rank fourth in the MAC in points allowed (58.8), third in the league in field-goal percentage defense (37.1 percent) and second in the MAC in three-point field-goal percentage defense (28.3 percent).
The Eagles will look to use strong defense of their own to exploit the inexperience of NIU. The Huskies typically start three freshmen, which has led to a poor assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.6.
EMU has consistently pressured opposing ball handlers to make mistakes and commit turnovers. The Eagles are sixth in the NCAA in steals per game at 13.6. Sophomore guard Desyree Thomas is 10th in the nation with 3.5 per game.
The Eagles will conclude their two-game road streak against the Huskies at 4 p.m.
Saturday. They will return home to face the University of Toledo Rockets in a game featuring the top two teams in the MAC West on Feb. 21.
