by SACRAMENTO — The Big Three for the Eastern Washington University women’s basketball team made their presence felt on Thursday (Feb. 2) against Sacramento State, as they helped the Eagles collect a 72-65 victory over Sacramento State in Big Sky Conference action.
Seniors Ashli Payne and Tisha Phillips (Nez Perce Tribe), along with junior Delaney Hodgins scored a combined 55 points on Thursday to help Eastern open an important Big Sky road trip with a victory. It was the junior, Hodgins, leading the way for EWU, as the Pasco, Washington native scored a game-high 22 points. Payne was just one point off Hodgins’ pace with 21, while Phillips got hot in the fourth quarter and chipped in 12 points.
“I was really pleased with our effort tonight,” said head coach Wendy Schuller. “We worked hard to prepare and I thought that our players really carried over the things that we wanted them to do in this game. I thought defensively we did some nice things and played with a lot of intensity. It was good to see the Big Three be effective for use offensively. Overall, just a great team effort tonight, which lead to a win over a tough Sacramento State team.”
EWU’s defense limited the highest scoring team in the conference to their lowest point total of the season. The 65 points by the Hornets tonight is 19.2 points fewer than the 84.2 points per game they were averaging coming into contest. Eastern limited Sacramento State to a 31.3 field goal percentage on the night, while they forced 15 turnovers. Freshman Symone Starks paced the EWU defense with three steals.
Eastern’s offense got back into a groove on Thursday, as the 72 points were the most scored for the Eagles over their last four games.
EWU shot 47.3 percent from the field on Thursday thanks to an impressive offensive display in the final two quarters of play. The Eagles hit a combined 53.3 percent from the field in the third and fourth quarter after shooting an even 40 percent from the field through the first two quarters.
Eastern’s hot-shooting was need towards the end of the game, as both squads shot over 50 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, as the Eagles were able to collect the seven-point victory on the road
Top Performers: Redshirt senior Tisha Phillips handed out a game-high seven assists to go along with 12 points. The point guard went a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc.
Sophomore Violet Kapri Morrow pulled down seven rebounds on Thursday, just one off her season-high recorded at Boise State earlier this season.
What’s Next: The Eagles will look to go a perfect 2-for-2 on this Big Sky road trip, as they take on Portland State on Saturday (Feb. 4). Tip-off from the Rose City is set for 2 p.m. PT. Fans can watch the game live on WatchBigSky.com or on the Watch Big Sky app.
