by Cedar City, Utah – The Eastern Washington University women’s basketball team remained perfect in Big Sky Conference play by defeating Southern Utah 85-82 on the road on Thursday, Jan. 14.
Win-Loss Records
Eastern improves to 10-6 with the win and 4-0 in league play, while Southern Utah drops to 3-12 with the loss and 0-4 in league play.
Turning Point
Despite a slow start from both teams through the majority of the opening quarter, the game quickly turned into an offensive showcase. Off the momentum of two quick threes by junior Ashli Payne and sophomore Delaney Hodgins to end the first quarter, EWU went straight after SUU, going on a defining 7-0 run through the first three minutes of the second quarter. The half ended with the Eagles ahead 48-36, shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three point range.
With the fourth quarter beginning, the Thunderbirds started to work their way back into the game. With five minutes left in the game, Southern Utah completed its comeback, bringing Eastern’s lead down to only one, 67-66. After SUU hit a jumper with 3:44 left, taking the lead 71-70, EWU decided enough was enough. Senior Hayley Hodgins quickly answered with a three, stealing the lead back. Not 30 seconds later, she answered the Thunderbirds’ game-tying shot with another three pointer. After a third straight three, this time by Delaney Hodgins, EWU’s lead was back intact at 79-75 with 2:14 left. Down the stretch, the defense held, the offense hit its free throws, and the Eagles won the game, 85-82.
Top Performers
Hayley Hodgins led the team in scoring with 24 points on 7-of-16 shooting. 18 of her 24 points came from three pointers, shooting 6-of-13. She also grabbed six rebounds.
Junior Tisha Phillips (Nez Perce Tribe) recorded her first career double-double, scoring 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while dishing out 10 assists.
Sophomore Delaney Hodgins scored 21 points, including 8-of-8 shooting from the free throw line. She led the team in rebounds with eight, and also collected five assists.
Junior Ashli Payne scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting, and tallied seven total rebounds.
Key Statistics
Eastern shot 43.5 percent from the field, and 38.2 percent from three, while Southern Utah shot 48.4 percent from the field, and 40 percent from three.
EWU shot well from the charity stripe shooting 18-of-24 compared to 14-of-20 free throw shooting for SUU.
The Eagles grabbed 37 total rebounds, while the Thunderbirds tallied 34 rebounds.
Eastern kept its turnovers down with 14 total miscues, allowing Southern Utah to score 17 points off the turnovers. SUU turned the ball over 12 times, giving EWU 13 points off the mistakes.
Quoting Coach Schuller
“I thought Southern Utah played a phenomenal game on the offensive end and we were fortunate enough to come away with the win. I think offensively, we played well. I’m not sure how many times we have had such a positive assist-turnover ratio. Hayley and Delaney hit huge threes for us down the stretch and I thought it was a case of us being gritty and finding a way to win. It wasn’t our best performance of the year, but it’s a tough trip and I’d always rather win ugly than lose pretty.”
Game Notes
Tisha Phillips recorded her first double-double of her career with 13 points and 10 assists.
Hayley Hodgins has now scored in double figures in 32 straight games dating back to last season, and has 79 career games of at least 10 points. She now has 1,497 career points in 110 career appearances, good for second all-time in career scoring in EWU’s NCAA Division I era. She sits 234 points back from Brenda Souther, 1983-87.
Up Next
The Eagles conclude their road trip on Saturday, Jan. 16 against Northern Arizona. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. PST.
