Eastern Michigan University womens’ basketball team (5-14, 2-10 MAC) traveled to Buffalo, New York for a matchup against the Buffalo Bulls (16-7, 10-3 MAC), Feb. 9, inside of Alumni Arena.
The matchup between EMU and Buffalo is the 29th meeting between the two teams since 1999. Prior to Wednesday’s game, both teams tied for 14 wins and 14 loses since 1999, with Buffalo taking the win over the Eagles the last seven games. Buffalo broke the tie after outscoring the Eagles 93-68 on Wednesday night.
The Eagles’ scoring efforts saw three players score in the double figures during Wednesday’s contest.
In the first quarter, EMU took the lead 12-7. The Eagles lead didn’t last for long, concluding the quarter they were down 24-17. Heading into the locker room for halftime, the Eagles trailed 42-34. The Bulls showed no signs of slowing down, increasing the lead to 44-39 in the third quarter.
Areanna Combs led the Eagles’ scoring efforts with 18 points, also adding five assists. So far this season she has finished six games with at least five assists. Out of her 63 games played at Eastern Michigan Combs has recorded double-digit scoring efforts in 60 of them. According to EMU Athletics, Combs now sits 18th on the all-time scoring list with 1,175 points.
Ce’Nara Skanes tacked on 12 points for the green and white and led the Eagles with 15 rebounds, a season-best for the sophomore. In the last five games she’s played in she has recorded three double-doubles. Her performance against the Bulls marks her nineteenth career double-double for the Eagles.
Zaniya Nelson tied her career-high three steals against the Bulls while teammate Natalia Pineda added seven points, six of which came from three-pointers. The recent matchup between the Bulls and Eagles marks Pineda's third game this season with multiple threes.
The Eagles will be back in Ypsilanti on Feb. 12 in a matchup against the University of Akron inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center at 1pm. Saturday’s game will be full of events surrounding Superhero day with special guests including Wonder Woman, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Spider-Man. Can’t make it out to Superhero day? You can watch the Eagles live on ESPN 3 versus Ohio University Feb 14. at 7pm.
