The Eagles lost 63-52 to Wichita State at Charles Koch Arena on Saturday, Dec. 8. That is four straight losses for EMU, all against non-conference teams. Aaliyah Stanley had the team-high in points at 20 and went 6-for-9 on 3-pointers for EMU (2-6). Areanna Combs scored 11 with three steals and three rebounds.
Grand Rapids native Mariah McCully had a season-high 25 points to lead the Shockers (5-3). Seraphine Bastin scored 12 and grabbed eight rebounds. The first half ended with an EMU lead at 24-23. Both teams had similar stats with 17 rebounds and shooting nearly 34% from the field. The second half stats showed an adjustment by Wichita State head coach Keitha Adams.
A 21-12 point difference was the result of a momentum-shifting third quarter for the Shockers. Raven Prince scored on a layup which gave Wichita State the lead just 11 seconds into the half. McCully hit a jump shot moments later to put the score at 27-24. Prince had two points and four rebounds on the night.
Stanley knocked down a game-tying triple on the next Eagles possession, however the Shockers then pulled away with an 11-1 scoring run in the next six minutes to make it 39-28 Wichita State. That lead increased to as much as 15 in the fourth quarter and finished with the score of 63-52.
McCully and Stanley each had a majority of their points in that second half with 17 and 15, respectively. The Shockers went only 1-for-8 from long range after halftime but shot 51% from the floor compared to 33 for EMU. Efficient shooting was the difference-maker as Wichita State took their fifth win out of their last six games. They defeated Oklahoma 88-83 on the road a week before.
The Eagles came up short in the stretch of road games, the first being a 78-67 loss to Binghamton in New York six days prior. EMU returns to action at the Convocation Center on Tuesday, Dec. 10. with a game against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne that starts at 2 pm. The last two non-conference games for the Eagles will be against University of Illinois-Chicago and Detroit Mercy.
