BOX SCORE
YPSILANTI, Mich.- In a battle to stay atop the MAC West, Western Michigan (7-12, 4-1 MAC) prevailed, beating Eastern Michigan on the road for the first time in three years, 83-72, Wednesday night.
Both teams jumped out of the gates in a run-and-gun style of play, and set the nets on fire in a heated West Division shootout. In the first half, Eastern Michigan shot 57 percent, while the Broncos hit 47 percent from the field, and the two combined to make 15 three pointers.
EMU's (9-8, 3-2 MAC) Alyssa Pittman and Western Michigan's Molly Dwyer personally put on a clinic behind the arc. Pittman went 5-for-5 for 15 points from long range and Dwyer went 4-for-7 for 14 points in the first half.
WMU led by as many as five in the half, but Eastern Michigan went on a run at the end of the period to take a 44-41 advantage at the intermission.
Western Michigan regained the lead at the 14:34 mark in the second half on a layup by Sara Vest. Vest followed with two more layups over the three minutes and Maria Iaquaniello streaked to the basket for a bunny off the glass, as the Brown & Gold never looked back.
With Western Michigan, leading by three with just over two minutes remaining, Pittman was fouled and had a chance to cut the deficit to one, but missed both. The Broncos stormed back to the other end and Amanda Parker hit a back-breaking three with 1:43 to go to push WMU's lead to six.
Tiera DeLaHoussaye came up defensively with a steal on the EMU's next possession and took it coast to coast, getting fouled on the make. Missing the free throw, DeLaHoussaye snuck in for another steal off the rebound and was fouled again, this time making both, pushing the lead to double digits for the first time on the night, 79-69, with 1:09 remaining.
Western Michigan took care of business down the stretch and sealed the 11-point, 83-72, victory.
Parker ended the night with a team-high 18 points, matching a career-high. DeLaHoussaye recorded her third double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 assists. Dwyer also tied a career-high with 16 points. Ebony Cleary led the team with nine rebounds, chipping in eight points.
With the 14 assists, DeLaHoussaye moved into sixth place on WMU's all-time career-assist list, passing Brooke Gallert (409) with 413 assists to date.
WMU shot 45 percent from the floor and the EMU cooled off to just 30 percent in the second half, making 43 percent on the night. After giving up nine three pointers in the first half, the Broncos limited the Eagles to just two in the final 20 minutes.
Wrapping up the first round of play against MAC West opponents, Western Michigan will play MAC East teams over the next six games. The Broncos start off with Kent State at home on Saturday, Jan. 26, tipping off from University Arena at 2 p.m. The game can be heard live on WQXC 100.9 FM.
