East Michigan News

The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team faced a defeat against the University of Akron with a score of 70-53 at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio, on March 5. Sisi Eleko stood out for the Eagles, achieving her 14th double-double of the season by scoring 21 points and securing 11 rebounds. Olivia Smith contributed 16 points in the game.

The Eagles started strong with an early lead but soon found themselves trailing after a series of plays by Akron. "Eleko added a put back off an offensive rebound to tie things at 13-13 before the Zips scored with two seconds remaining to take a 15-13 lead after one," according to the report.

In the second quarter, despite efforts from Eleko and Smith, Akron managed to maintain their lead going into halftime with a score of 32-29. The third quarter saw Akron extending their advantage significantly before EMU made some headway through scoring contributions from Thrash and Amalia.

During the final quarter, Eleko increased her tally to 21 points. "Following the media timeout, the teams played even the rest of the way as Smith buried a three close to the buzzer," bringing about the final scoreline.

Some key highlights include Eleko tying for ninth on EMU's all-time list for double-doubles and ranking seventh in single-season rebounds. Olivia Smith extended her streak of double-digit scoring games and climbed up on EMU's all-time scoring ledger.

The loss brought EMU's record to 2-26 overall and continued their losing streak against Akron, marking their seventh consecutive defeat against them. Eastern Michigan will next face Bowling Green State University in Ypsilanti on March 8.