by Moscow, Idaho – The Eastern Washington University women’s basketball traveled down to Idaho on Saturday, Jan. 9, and extended its winning streak to three games, with a huge victory, 74-66, over the Vandals in a Big Sky Conference contest.
Turning Point
After a first quarter that had UI ahead 15-14, the Eagles took charge with a 19 point second quarter. With 5:31 left in the half, freshman Aqeelah Williams would hit a three that gave Eastern its first lead since early in the first, 23-22. From here on out, EWU would start to pull ahead and never look back, securing its lead and expanding on it in the third.
Shooting 41.9 percent from the field, and 15.4 percent from three-point range, Eastern headed into the second half up 33-29. EWU continued its momentum from the second quarter, hitting four three pointers, resulting in a 21 point third quarter that saw it reach its largest lead of the game up 51-36 with 4:09 left in the third. Despite a strong push made by the Vandals in the fourth quarter that brought the lead down to three with 30 seconds left in the game, the Eagles would not surrender the lead, delivering an and-one dagger by sophomore Mariah Cunningham with 18 seconds left.
Top Performers
Junior Ashli Payne recorded her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 15 points, and a season high 16 rebounds.
Senior Hayley Hodgins led the team in scoring with 16 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field. She also led the team with five steals.
In her first game back from injury, junior Tisha Phillips (Nez Perce Tribe) scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds, and stole the ball three times.
Key Statistics
Eastern shot 41.3 percent from the field, and 34.8 percent from three, while Idaho shot 37.9 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three. EWU controlled the paint, scoring 30 points inside, compared to 16 for UI.
The Eagles grabbed 43 total rebounds, and 18 offensive, compared to the Vandals’ 36 rebounds and 15 offensive. Idaho led in second chance points, scoring 23, while Eastern scored 14.
UI used its bench extensively scoring 32 total bench points, compared to 14 bench points for EWU.
