East Michigan News

Eastern Michigan University's women's basketball team faced a challenging start to their Mid-American Conference play, losing 65-51 to Western Michigan University at the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti. Sisi Eleko led Eastern Michigan with an impressive performance, recording her eighth double-double of the season with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Elena Cabello also contributed significantly, tying her career-high with eight points and achieving a career-best 10 rebounds.

The game began with Eastern trailing 17-9 after the first quarter. Despite Eleko's efforts, including five points and five assists, the Eagles struggled with shooting accuracy. The second quarter saw Eastern briefly close the gap through strong defense and a 6-0 run but ended with Western extending their lead to 40-20 by halftime.

In the third quarter, Eastern showed resilience, starting with a 10-3 run led by Cabello's drives to the basket. However, despite winning both the third (16-11) and fourth quarters (15-14), they could not overcome Western's lead.

Post-game notes highlighted Eleko's consistent performance throughout the season as she leads the MAC in double-doubles. Cabello's contributions were also notable as she doubled her previous best rebound record. Mackenzie Amalia provided eight assists during the game, maintaining her streak of games with six or more assists.

Despite this loss, historical data shows that Eastern has had mixed results against Western Michigan over time. With this defeat, Eastern fell to a record of 1-10 overall for the season and 0-1 in MAC play.

Looking ahead, Eastern will travel to Bowling Green State University for their next conference game on January 4th.