by For the second-straight season, Eastern Washington women’s basketball defeated Montana State in Bozeman. The Eagles topped the Bobcats, 78-65, on Monday night (Feb. 27) in the final regular season game of the season. After Montana St. put on a shooting clinic in the first quarter, the Eagles defense shut down the Bobcats to get the team’s fourth-straight win. Eastern improves to 11-7 in the Big Sky and 18-10 overall this season. Montana St. falls to 13-5 in conference and 20-10 on the season.
“What a game! This team continues to show competitive greatness at the times when we need it most,” head coach Joddie Gleason said. “Montana State is such a good team; they are well coached and prepared. They did not make anything easy for us. We got down big in the first quarter, held our composure, amped up our defense in the second and held them to six points.”
The Eagles had five players in double figures, led by Aaliyah Alexander’s 21 points and Jaleesa Lawrence adding 15. Jacinta Buckley notched her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
“We did a nice job of sharing the ball and finding open teammates,” Gleason continued. “Our execution and unselfish play really propelled us forward. This team is so fun to coach and were are excited to head to the Big Sky Championships next week. Go Eags!”
The Eagles started fast with the first four points, and jumped out to a 7-3 advantage. Jaleesa Lawrence contributed five points in the early stage of the game. The Bobcats would counter and took the lead, 10-9, with 6:19 on the clock. A layup in transition from Milly Knowles would give Eastern the lead back, but MSU responded with 10-straight points. Aaliyah Alexander would end the run with a tough jumper from just inside the paint. MSU would close the quarter with a 6-0 run, combining for a 16-2 stretch for the Bobcats to take a 23-13 lead after one.
Eastern shot 33.3 percent in the opening quarter, while Montana St. shot 58.8 from the floor.
Defense became the story in second quarter, as the teams combined for five points through the first three-and-a-half minutes. Eastern offense then exploded for an 18-0 run and took a 31-27 lead with 2:38 left in the half. Loera scored seven points and Alexander added five points to spark the run and put the Eagles in the driver’s seat. MSU stopped the bleeding with a short 4-0 burst to end the half. The teams were tied at 31 at the break.
The Eagles shooting improved to 41.2 percent in the second quarter and they limited the Bobcats to a 15.8 percentage.
The third quarter with the scoring pace picking up, as both teams found their shooting. Eastern had the early advantage with 6-3 run for a 37-34 lead. After MSU pulled within one, Eastern went on a 10-1 run to take a 10-point lead on the Bobcats. MSU would cut into the lead and it was down to five at the 4:19 point in the quarter. A jumper from Jacinta Buckley and a alyup form Knowles would push the advantage back to nine. The Bobcats would keep the score in single digits, scoring the next four points. Eastern had taken a 51-46 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
Eastern maintained a 40.4 percentage in the quarter with MSU shooting 33.3 percent.
Buckley would start the third with a long three and extend the Eagle lead. Lawrence followed up with an and-one to give Eastern the 57-47 lead. Gabrielle Jung stepped up for the Eagles, scoring five-straight points and helping extending the lead to 62-49. A 6-0 run from the Bobcats would bring the lead back to single digits, but Eastern had a response. The Eagles scored five-straight with Alexander and Loera going inside. The teams then battled at the free throw line and Eastern kept its distance from the Bobcats. The Eagles closed out MSU, 78-65, and had a 40.0 shooting mark in the fourth. The Bobcats finished the fourth at 31.3 percent.
In the game, Eastern had a 40.0 shooting percentage, with Montana St. shooting 34.4 percent.
