Box Score
Overall Statistics
Kalamazoo, Mich. ? Western Michigan battled the team with the best record in the Mid-American Conference for 40 minutes but came up short, falling to Eastern Michigan, 64-57, at University Arena on Wednesday night.
The Broncos (12-13, 9-5 MAC) allowed the Eagles (19-6, 13-1 MAC) to open both halves of the contest on significant runs with EMU taking an early 6-0 lead in the first half and opening the second frame on a 9-0 run.
WMU fell behind by six points twice in the first stanza, first 6-0 to open the game and again 21-15 at the 8:30 mark. Both times the Broncos fought to pull back into the game, taking its only lead at 15-13 on a Carrie Moore jumper at 10:44 of the first half. Moore paced the Brown & Gold all night, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor.
After falling behind by a half dozen later in the first half, Moore sank another jumper to pull her team back to within a point, 23-22, with 2:07 remaining before the break. The half ended with WMU trailing by just three points, thanks in large part to the Bronco defense holding the Eagles to one field goal over the final 7:38.
Western Michigan had to fight from behind most of the second half as EMU built double-digit leads on three occasions. Senior Casey Rost heated up to keep the Broncos in it, scoring 17 of her 19 points in the second frame and going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.
WMU pulled back to within three points on a Shaylen Jackson lay up at the nine-minute mark but never was able to inch closer. Eastern Michigan sank the only four free throws it took during the second and made them count, making all four with the game on the line in the final 30 seconds. The Eagles had four players in double figures led by Patrice McKinney with 16 points. She was joined by Ryan Coleman (15), Nikki Knapp (13) and Sarah Vanmetre (12).
Maria Jilian was honored before the game for joining the 1,000-point club with 12 points on the road at Ball State on Feb. 18. She finished the game with eight assists to lead the Broncos.
Western Michigan travels to Northern Illinois for a 2 p.m. tip on Feb. 26 before heading back to University Arena for the home finale against Toledo at 7 p.m. on March 1.
