by Eastern Washington women’s basketball team made it two wins in a row Monday afternoon, knocking off Portland State, 68-44. The Eagles used another lockdown defensive performance to improve to 4-11 this season and 2-4 in the Big Sky.
“We started out extremely well and we were defending with urgency,” head coach Joddie Gleason said. “That was one of our keys at that end of the court and held them to single digits in the first and fourth quarter. It got away from us a little bit in the second and third. We came out and opened it up in the first and got that comfortable lead. Portland State kept clawing and fighting and closed it back to five. But we answered in the fourth quarter and executed down the stretch at the offensive end. Defensively we got some steals and turned them into transition buckets. Those two book-ends were good for us.”
Eastern Washington held Portland State to a 21.4 shooting percentage and 18.2-percent from three-point range. The Eagles finished with a 37.5 shooting percentage and 31.8-percent from three. Eastern had four players scoring in double figures, led by Jaydia Martin’s game high 19.
“I was trying to take the open shots and we have been talking about moving the ball around,” Martin said. “It would come back to us at some point, and somebody would eventually be open. I felt like I was pretty open today because of our team ball movement. Just being aggressive and playing with nothing to lose was important.”
Martin started the Eagles off on the right foot, hitting a three early in the first quarter. The three led to a 7-0 run out of the gate for Eastern and forced a quick timeout from Portland St. Following a Vikings and-one, the Eagles ripped off another run; this time with an 8-0 spurt to give them a 15-3 advantage. Eastern maintained its intensity throughout the first and led 22-6 at the break. The Eagles were shooting at an impressive rate, going 10-of-18(58%) from the floor and 2-of-5(40%) from three. On the defensive end, Eastern locked down the Vikings, limiting them to 1-of-12(8%) shooting.
The lid remained tight on the hoop for PSU in the second quarter, as the Eagles held them scoreless for a 10-minute stretch between the first and second quarter. The extended stretch allowed Eastern to go on a 12-0 run. The Vikings did break the streak at the 4:12 mark and responded with a 6-0 run. Martin would counter with a jumper and a pair of three-throws to keep the momentum. Both teams had difficulty scoring in the second. At the half, the Eagles had a 33-19 lead over PSU. Eastern shot only 23.1-percent in the second but held PSU to a 11.8 average.
The Eagles and Vikings found space to open the second half, with both teams connecting from three and getting the ball inside. PSU used a 12-0 lead to cut into Eastern’s lead to five at 39-34 with 4:33 on the clock. Martin halted the run with a three to put the Eagles lead back up to eight. After the team’s battled down the stretch, Eastern was ahead, 46-41 lead going to the final quarter. PSU was shooting 53.3-percent from the floor, while the Eagles put up a 23.8-percentage.
Beginning in the fourth, Eastern refocused and fired off a10-0 run to push the lead to double-digits. Martin and Andie Zylak each connected from three, while Jacinta Buckley added a pair of free-throws and Milly Knowles scored an easy layup. Following a three from the Vikings, the Eagles went running again, scoring seven straight, powered by another three from Zylak. Eastern closed out PSU, 68-44, allowing the Vikings only three points in the final frame.
“Our focus has been believing that what we are doing day-in and day-out is eventually going to pay off,” Gleason added. “I think that this team has totally bought into that. Right now, it’s about recovery. We played three games in five days. We need to take some time off and rest our legs and minds.”
Top Performance
Jacinta Buckley (Spokane Tribe) notched her second straight double-double and fourth overall this season with 13 points and a career-high, 16 rebounds. The sophomore was 5-of-13(38%) from the floor.
