by If you wanted drama, you found it at Reese Court on Monday night. Eastern Washington women’s basketball played Southern Utah down to the wire and emerged with a 62-60, buzzer-beater win. Jamie Loera came up with clutch layup to propel Eastern to a 3-0 record to start the season. The Thunderbirds fell to 2-2 on the year.
“It feels good knowing I’m on a team that has my back and for me. Them having that faith in me builds my confidence and makes me improve every day,” Loera explained. “I consistently stay in-tune with my teammates at practice. I try to be aware of their tendencies and offense so I can facilitate and get them open. I watch film with the coaches to work things through after every game. I love the dog mentality that our whole team has. These are teammates that want to go hard and score.”
Eastern was off to races to begin the game with an 8-0 run after forcing four T-Bird turnovers on their first four possessions. Loera had two steals, two points and an assist in the first two minutes of the game. Southern Utah pulled the Eagles back with a 9-2 run and the lead was reduced to one. The first quarter would close with Eastern leading 12-9. The Eagles went 5-of-13(38.5%) from the floor in the quarter and they held the T-Birds to 4-of-20(20%) shooting.
Both teams struggled to find the basket to open the second quarter, but Jaydia Martin would drain a three-pointer at the 7:54 mark for the team’s first points. Martin would add a jumper on the Eagles next possession and the lead increased to 17-9. Southern Utah would get back into the game at the free-throw line, converting six shots. The T-Birds would then tie the game with a layup at 19 before taking the lead on another free-throw. They added a three-pointer for a 25-19 lead, but Martin came right back with her own three. Eastern trailed the Southern Utah at the half, 22-25. The Eagles were 2-of-5(40%) from three in the quarter, but 4-of-14(28.6%) from the floor. The Thunderbirds were 2-of-4(50%) from three, and 6-of-8(75%) from the free-throw line.
The Eagles would claw back into the game in the third. Milly Knowles found space in the paint and put up a pair of layups, while Martin would connect from three again to take a 31-30 lead at 6:57. After the T-Birds made a three to jump back in front, Jacinta Buckley found her shot from deep and got the lead back for Eastern. Loera would get in the paint for a fast break layup and Martin delivered another three-pointer to keep the Eagles in front at 44-38 with 1:28 left in the quarter. The T-Birds closed the quarter with four straight points and the Eastern lead was down to 44-42. The Eagles shot a hot 60 percent from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc. Southern Utah had a 42.9 percent shooting mark, and 66.7 from three.
Eastern looked to expand its lead in the fourth, as Loera and Buckley continued to put in points. The T-Birds were not fading away and had an effective inside-outside game working to stay in the game. Aaliyah Alexander came up with key baskets for Eastern in the fourth and the lead sat at 56-51 with five minutes left in the game. The T-Birds then managed to tie the game up at 56 with a 5-0 spurt. The game was going down to the wire as the Eagles were ahead 58-56 with 1:08 in the game. Southern Utah found space behind the arc and hit a long three to take a 59-58 lead with 49 seconds on the clock. After both team’s missed their next shots, Jaleesa Lawrence came up clutch with a layup to put the Eagles ahead, 60-59. The T-Birds went into the paint and found contact to draw the foul. They converted 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game. Now the stage was set for the Eagles to deliver the win. Loera drove into the paint and put up her shot to give Eastern the 62-60 lead. Eastern forced a turnover on the final Southern Utah possession and secured the win.
The Eagles have now started 3-0 for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
