Despite going on a 7-0 run to open the second half to cut the deficit to four points and a team-high 15 points coming from Olivia Westphal (Bethel Park, Pennsylvania/Bethel Park/Duquesne), the Eastern Michigan women’s basketball team dropped to 1-9 to open the 2024-25 campaign with an 81-65 loss to St. Thomas (MN) at home.
The sharpshooter, Westphal, procured most of her buckets via three-pointers, shooting 4/9 from deep. At the same time, Sisi Eleko (Montreal, Quebec/New Hope Academy/Canisius) continued her hot start to the season by posting another double-double, her seventh in 10 games thus far, with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
It was another difficult day at home for the Eagles. Still, head coach Sahar Nusseibeh remains optimistic about her team’s ability to turn their season around, heading into conference play next week.
“One thing I talked to our team within the huddle after the game is [that] winners are winners before they win. And I don’t feel like we act like winners consistently enough,” Nusseibeh said.
“MAC season is a brand new season,” she added.
Olivia Smith was the only other Eagles player to crack double figures points-wise, posting 10 points off the bench before fouling out down the stretch. At the same time, Mackenzie Amalia led the team in assists with seven dishes to her teammates.
Eastern Michigan as a whole struggled to shoot the ball throughout the day, posting a 38% field goal percentage (23/61) from the floor and 24% (6/25) from deep. The Eagles never led at any point during the afternoon.
Head coach Sahar Nusseibeh also gave a special shoutout to Elena Cabello, as while her numbers didn’t pop off the stat sheet with seven points and five rebounds off the bench, her effort did.
“I thought Elena Cabello was tremendous, her effort, I’m really proud of her,” she said. I thought [Olivia] Westphal really stepped up and [Olivia] Smith stepped up; those have been great role players for us,” she added.
The Eagles next return to action in 2025 - back at home facing off against Western Michigan to begin the MAC portion of their season on Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be listened to on WEMU (89.1 FM) along with The Varsity Network.
