by Cheney, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women’s basketball team maintained its spot as the Big Sky Conference co-leaders with a hard-fought victory over visiting Northern Arizona, 72-65, on Thursday, Feb. 4.
Turning Point
After first half shooting struggles plagued both teams, the game would certainly turn out to be a tale of two halves. EWU found its groove in the third quarter, taking a 37-36 lead with 4:27 left in the third, in a game that had already been tied 10 times. Immediately following its new lead, Eastern forced two quick turnovers, completing a four point swing, and establishing a lead they would not give up the rest of the game.
EWU began the fourth quarter up 47-42, and with the help of a 9-4 run, the Eagles started to pull away. Feeding off the momentum, sophomore Delaney Hodgins hit her first three of the game, giving Eastern a 10 point lead, and junior Tisha Phillips (Nez Perce Tribe) ended the run with a quick layup, courtesy of junior Ashli Payne‘s steal. Now sitting with a 12 point lead, 54-42, with 8:29 left, EWU would maintain at least a 10 point margin for the next four minutes of the game. However, NAU was not through with the game, it went on a late game run, coming back from a 68-58 deficit with 2:37 left, to a 68-65 margin with 58 seconds left. Needing one last shot to ice the game, Tisha Phillips came up in the clutch, draining a three pointer over the defense as the shot clock expired with 20 seconds left in the game.
Top Performers
Tisha Phillips scored 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while recording seven rebounds, and a team leading four assists and three steals.
Ashli Payne scored 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting. She also tallied nine total rebounds on the evening.
Freshman Amira Chandler played a large role off the bench, scoring eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, while grabbing six rebounds.
Up Next
The Eagles stay at home to play their second game against Southern Utah, on Saturday, Feb. 6, starting at 2 p.m. PST.
