BOX SCORE
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan (11-15, 8-4 MAC) women's basketball team dropped out of sole possession of first place in the MAC West with a 67-61 loss to Eastern Michigan (14-10, 8-4 MAC) Tuesday night at University Arena.
Western Michigan trailed by as many as 18 with 12:27 remaining, but managed to pull within a bucket with 53 seconds left. The valiant Brown & Gold effort would come up just short however, as WMU and Eastern Michigan are now tied for the lead in the West with 8-4 records in conference play, with four games to go.
Freshman Brenna Banktson led the Broncos with 14 points, while Amanda Parker chipped in 12 and went two-for-three from the three-point line. Tiera DeLaHoussaye added seven points and seven assists, and moved into fourth place all-time at WMU in career assists, with 471 in less than three years.
The beginning of the half was not the start the Broncos had hoped for. They missed their first six shots of the game and shot only 27 percent in the first 10 minutes, which is what the team shot for the entire game as well.
Eastern Michigan got a big individual effort by Alyssa Pittman late in the half as she rattled in four three's in the final five minutes before the break to give EMU a 39-24 lead heading into the lockerroom. She finished with a game high 18 points.
The lopsided halftime score was the largest halftime deficit the Broncos have been faced with since Nov. 23 when they were down 25 points against the SMU Mustangs.
“We made an adjustment at halftime, and that worked fairly well," WMU head coach Ron Stewart said. "In the first half we were trying to make some of those adjustments in timeouts, trying to set picks, trying to do things, but you never really get five people that were picking up on that. That might be the mark of a young team."
The Broncos made several attempts to cut the double-digit lead in the second half, but were out matched by the Eagles for a majority of the period. With 12:20 left in the half, EMU's Amber Land sank two free throws to give EMU an 18-point lead, its largest of the game.
After getting as close as 12 on several occasions, Amanda Parker broke the double-digit deficit, driving to the basket and drawing contact. She sank two free throws to cut the lead to eight, 61-53.
After trading baskets, Molly Dwyer stole the ball and passed it ahead to Banktson for a breakaway layup with 2:06 left to make it 63-57. On the Eagles' next possession, Sara Vest snatched the ball away and was fouled in the process. She knocked down four free throws in a 10-second span, to make it a two point game, 63-61, with 57 seconds left in the game. Vest finished with eight points, all coming from the free throw line.
On Eastern Michigan's ensuing possession, however, six foot-five inch Colleen Russell hit a bank shot to put the Eagles up by four with only 30 seconds remaining. Russell would finish with 16 points, but also turned the ball over 10 times.
EMU's Kelly Watts converted on two free throws with 15 seconds left in the game, and sealed the win for the Eagles, 67-61.
The Broncos had the edge in the turnover margin with just 17, compared to the Eagles 40 giveaways that resulted in 22 points for WMU. But the deciding factor may have been the Eagles ability to out rebound the Broncos throughout the entire game. EMU grabbed 40 boards on the night, while WMU only had 26.
The Broncos will look to bounce back, taking on rival Central Michigan Saturday, Feb. 23 at University Arena. Tip-off is set for 2 pm.
