by Eastern Washington women’s basketball was back in action at Reese Court on Saturday afternoon, hosting Idaho. The Eagles fell to the Vandals, 63-42, and their record on the season now sits at 2-10 and 0-3 in conference play.
“We have to find a way to score a little bit more,” head coach Joddie Gleason said. “I thought we had pretty good looks that did not fall. Credit to Idaho; they came in prepared and were tougher then us for 40 minutes. I think Jacinta [Buckley] does a great job inside. She battles and we need more people getting those [offensive] boards. The game was really physical tonight and that physicality took us out of our game, preventing us from getting good looks and finishing inside. We are slowly trickling back in and trying to get our legs under us, but we are not making any excuses.”
“I really just kept going [inside] and my teammates rallied behind me,” Sophomore Jacinta Buckley said. “They encouraged me to keep going at it and keep going tough. That’s what I was trying to do. It has been really nice to back to be girls. It was a tough loss today, but there is nothing we love more than playing the game we love, with the people we love, for the people we love.”
The game was back-and-fourth in the first quarter, as both teams worked to get their offense going. Eastern found its three-point shot early, getting triples from Jacinta Buckley (Spokane Tribe) and Jaleesa Lawrence. After the Eagles lead 8-6, Idaho went on a 12-1 run over a two-minute stretch to jump in front 18-9. Jaydia Martin hit a three near the end of the quarter to pull Eastern to 18-12 at the break.
In the second, Idaho continued to hold its advantage over Eastern mid-way through the quarter. Alexis Pettis knocked down a three, while Buckley and Milly Knowles went to work in the paint, adding a basket each. Idaho built a 31-20 lead with 3:16 left in the half after the Vandals’ Tiana Johnson connected with a three-pointer. Despite the deficit, the Eagles stayed poised and ended the half on a 6-0 run. The run was fueled by jumpers from Pettis, Buckley and Knowles. Going to half, Eastern trailed Idaho, 31-26.
The Vandals responded in the third quarter, going on their own 6-0 run to rebuild their 11-point lead. Both teams struggled from the floor in the third, with an almost three minute stretch of the quarter with no points from either side. The two teams combined to shoot 5-of-37 from the floor. Eastern trailed Idaho, 41-29, heading to the final quarter.
Buckley started the fourth quarter for Eastern with a three, followed by a pair of layups by Martin and Lawrence to keep the game close. Idaho used a 9-0 run to separate from the Eagles and build a 20-point lead at 56-36 with 4:16 left in the game. Idaho went on to win 63-42 over Eastern.
For the game, the Eagles finished with a 23.5-shooting percentage and 25-percent from three. Idaho had a 37.5-percent mark from the floor and 36.7-percent from behind the arc.
