by From the opening tip, Eastern Washington women’s basketball was in control against Evergreen State on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 20). Eastern defeated the Geoducks, 90-44, and improved to 4-1 on the season. Evergreen’s record fell to 1-1.
“One of our thoughts of the day is to be us. We had to execute our game plan for the entire game. Our team did a nice job of that.,” head coach Joddie Gleason said. “We wanted to prepare the same for every opponent. Evergreen did a nice job and executed their action really well. Our players did a nice job of defending and making it difficult to them. A goal for us is to distribute the ball. We are always looking for one more pass and try not to be selfish. The team assist column is something that we take pride in.”
Three Eagles scored in double figures and the team was 50.8% on field goals for the game. The team also was 12-of-26(46.2%) from behind the arc. Jacinta Buckley scored a game-high 15 points on 6-of-7(85.7%) shooting. Jaleesa Lawrence scored 12 points on 4-of-6(66.7%) shooting and Jaydia Martin had 11 on 4-of-9(44.4%) shooting.
Eastern created a wealth of turnovers, as the Geoducks had 28. The Eagles seized those opportunities, scoring 35 points off of turnovers.
“Mostly, it was my teammates allowed me to score. My teammates saw the floor and looked up for me. Our defense was important to get stops and then go into transition. For me, it starts on defense and doing everything I can. I try to cheer my teammates on from the bench. I then come in and get rebounds to help start transition. That is an emphasis for us.”
Eastern asserted itself in the first quarter with an 11-5 lead. Four Eagles scored in the first three minutes of game time. Milly Knowles led the way with four points in the paint. Jaleesa Lawrence found her shot for the Eagles, ripping off six quick points for a 24-9 lead with 1:45 on the clock. Lawrence closed the quarter with buzzer-beater three and the Eagles were up 30-8 on the Geoducks. Eastern connected with 11-of-21(52.4%) of their shots and 6-of-11(54.5%) from three-point range. They held Evergreen to 2-of-9(22%) from the floor.
The second quarter was more of the same as Eastern continued to extend the lead. Jamie Loera was effective on her jump shots, while Jacinta Buckley and Aaliyah Alexander jumped into Evergreen’s passing lanes and stole the ball. With four minutes left in the half, Eastern’s lead had ballooned to 46-17. The Eagles then went into half with a 52-22 lead after shooting 43.8 percent in the quarter. The Geoducks shot 37.5 percent.
Buckley started the third quarter strong, scoring Eastern’s first six points and would later add a layup in fast break off an Evergreen turnover. The Eagles’ lead was up to 64-26. Lawrence would drain another three to give Eastern a 69-29 lead in the game at the 4:50 mark of the quarter. Near the end of the quarter, Jayden McNeal came off the bench and scored four points to push the lead to 75-31 at the break. In the quarter, Eastern shot 53.8 and limited Evergreen to 30.8 percent shooting.
