IUPUI at Akron, Noon Akron Notes|IUPUI Notes|Live Stats|Watch Live The University of Akron women's basketball team will officially tip off its 2009-10 campaign Friday afternoon when IUPUI comes to Rhodes Arena for a Noon start... It will mark the first meeting between the two schools... All-MAC junior Kara Murphy set numerous school records last winter... In addition to breaking UA's single-season scoring record (580 points), the physical forward became the youngest player in program history to record her 1,000th-career point... The Jaguars have 10 newcomers and just four returning letterwinners from a team that went 16-15 last year, including a 10-8 mark in the Summit League... Senior center Julia Whitted is an all-conference first team honoree who averaged 13.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in 2008-09.
Western Michigan vs. Vermont, 6:00 p.m. (Sheraton Wolfpack Invitational) Western Michigan Notes|Vermont Notes|Live Stats|Listen Live Western Michigan welcomes back eight returners and brings in four newcomers for 2009-10... Molly Dwyer, Jenny Loney and Sara Vest head up the senior class, followed by a group of five juniors...Two of the faces in that group are new as junior college transfers Kemmy Dominique (Rend Lake College) and Taylor Manley (John A. Logan/Illinois-Chicago) suit up for the Broncos this season... They join a solid group of junior veterans in Brenna Banktson, Ebony Cleary and Maria Iaquaniello.
Northwestern at Toledo, 7:00 p.m. Toledo Notes|Northwestern Notes|Live Stats|Watch Live UT returns a veteran lineup from last year's squad that finished 18-13 overall and 11-5 in MAC action, including all five starters in seniors Tanika Mays (12.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.5 spg) and Allie Clifton (9.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg), juniors Melissa Goodall (7.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Jessica Williams (9.6 ppg, 2.6 apg), as well as sophomore Naama Shafir (11.7 ppg, 4.5 apg)... Northwestern is coming off a 7-23 record in 2008-09... The Wildcats have four starters returning for second-year Head Coach Joe McKoewn....They are led by junior Amy Jaeschke, who averaged 13.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game in 2008-09.
Bradley at Northern Illinois, 7:00 p.m. Northern Illinois Notes|Bradley Notes|Live Stats|Watch Live The Northern Illinois women's basketball team tips-off the 2009-10 season against Bradley Friday night at the Convocation Center... Northern Illinois holds a 6-4 edge in the all-time series, and has won the last two match-ups in DeKalb... Marke Freeman is one of two All Mid-American Conference selections returning for the Huskies... Junior forward Ebony Ellis earned All-MAC Honorable Mention accolades, and is one of three returning players in the conference to average more than eight points and nine rebounds per game.
Buffalo at Niagara, 7:00 p.m. Buffalo Notes|Niagara Notes|Live Stats| Watch Live The University at Buffalo women's basketball team got off to a roaring start in their exhibition game on Thursday night as the Bulls defeated Mercyhurst, 76-35, at Alumni Arena...The Bulls had 12 different players score on the night... The Bulls were led by 18 points from sophomore Brittany Hedderson who also had six assists, three rebounds, a block and a steal... Hedderson went a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range. Junior Kourtney Brown added 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
Central Michigan at DePaul, 8:00 p.m. Central Michigan Notes|DePaul Notes|Live Stats|Watch Live The 2009-10 regular season will officially begin for the Central Michigan women's basketball team on Friday at 8 p.m., CT... The Chippewas will travel to face No. 17 DePaul to open the campaign, the first of back-to-back trips to Illinois to start the season... Freshmen Jalisa Olive and Stefanie Mauk made quite the fi rst impressions inCMU's exhibition game against Saginaw Valley... Olive finished with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, five offensive rebounds, three assists and six steals in just 16 minutes against the Cardinals... Mauk hit five threes in her Chippewa debut, finishing with 17 points in 16 minutes.
Ball State at Michigan, 7:00 p.m. Ball State Notes|Michigan Notes|Live Stats|Watch Live The Cardinals return three of their five starters from last season along with four of its eight letterwinners.Eastern Michigan at Illinois-Chicago, 7:00 p.m... Three of those five starters are tabbed team captains this season for Ball State, seniors Danielle Gratton and Audrey McDonald along with junior Emily Maggert... Last season, the trio combined for 51 percent of Ball State's total scoring and 43 percent of its rebounding... Last season the Cardinals posted their best ever overall and home records, 26-9 and 14-1, respectively... Michigan ended the 2008-09 season with a 10-20 overall record and a tie for 10th place in the Big Ten Conference with a 3-15 ledger... The Wolverines lost four starters and six letterwinners and welcome seven newcomers to this year's squad.
Kent State at Robert Morris, 7:00 p.m. Kent State Notes|Robert Morris Notes|Live Stats|Watch Live Friday's contest is the first of four straight road games for the Golden Flashes to start the new campaign... Kent State is coming off a 19-10 season, which included a second place finish in the MAC-East with an 8-8 mark... The Golden Flashes started the 2008-09 campaign with wins in 11 of their first 12 games of the season... Robert Morris was slated to finish fourth in the Northeast Conference in the NEC's preseason poll of head coaches... Last season the Colonials went 13-18 overall and 9-9 in the NEC race... Just five players return for Robert Morris from last year's team, giving the Colonials a vastly different look this season... The five returning players accounted for just over 15 percent of the team's scoring in 2008-09.
The Eastern
Michigan University women’s basketball team opens the 2009-10 campaign with a
non-conference tilt Friday, Nov. 13, versus the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Ill… When
the Eagles open their season versus the Flames Friday, Nov. 13, it marks just
the second time since 2000-01 that the Green and White have begun the season
away from Ypsilanti… The Eagles and Flames are squaring off for the ninth time
with Eastern Michigan holding a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series… The
meeting will be the first since 1999, when Eastern posted a 63-54 victory at
the Convocation Center, Dec. 30… EMU won the first four meetings to open the
series before UIC notched back-to-back wins in 191 and 1992.
Chicago State at Bowling Green, 7:30 p.m. (Preseason WNIT) Bowling Green Notes|Chicago State Notes|Live Stats|Listen Live Curt Miller and his staff return 10 letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's 29-5 team that won the Mid-American Conference's regular-season title for a fifth-straight season ... BGSU ended the campaign with an overall record of 29-5 and a MAC mark of 15-1, and advanced to the third round of the WNIT... The returnees in the junior class include a pair of highly-decorated players in Lauren Prochaska and Tracy Pontius ... Prochaska, a wing, was the 2009 MAC Player of the Year, while Pontius, a point guard, was an honorable-mention selection to the Associated Press All-America Team ... both Pontius and Prochaska earned All-MAC First-Team honors in 2008-09... Chicago State has posted a school-record 16 wins in each of the last two seasons, going 16-13 in both years ... returnerAlyssa Waldon averaged 11.9 points and 3.5 assists per game a year ago, before missing the final 13 games due to injury.
Ohio at Cleveland State, 7:30 p.m. Ohio Notes|Cleveland State Notes|Live Stats|Watch Live The 'Cats will be starting their second season under head coach head coach Semeka Randall during the 2009-10... Ohio finished 13-18 overall last season... Cats ranked second in the conference in scoring defense and blocked shots and first in field goal percentage defense and rebounding defense... Nine letterwinners, including three starters, return for the Green and White this season... CSU returns four starters and eight letterwinners from last year's squad that won 19 games. Headlining the list of Viking returnees is senior guard Kailey Klein (16.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.1 apg), who a preseason All-Horizon League first team selection and the Horizon League preseason Player of the Year.
