by The Eagles are back in the win column, following a 74-61 win against Weber State on Thursday night. Eastern Washington women’s basketball ended its five-game losing streak powered by a career-high 25 points from Jacinta Buckley (Spokane Tribe).
“I’m so proud of the way the team prepared for this game and got the sweep of Weber State,” head coach Joddie Gleason said. “They have been working extremely hard and have stuck together through a lot of adversity. The team chemistry is outstanding. They are playing for each other, and it shows on the court.”
After a close game through the first three quarters, Eastern controlled the game in the fourth, outscoring them 20-11. Buckley was the key contributor, scoring 13 points in the final quarter.
In the opening quarter, the two teams were in a tight contest, with neither team being able to separate for long. The Wildcats went up 10-6 at the 5:32 mark before the Eagles pulled them back. A 7-0 run from Eastern put the team ahead only a minute later. Weber, in response, executed their own 7-0 run for a 17-13 advantage with 2:34 left in the quarter. The Eagles kept the battle going and tied the game at 17 behind a pair of free-throws from Alexis Pettis and a layup from Jordyn Boesel. The Wildcats would get a late score and were up 19-17 at the break. Eastern had six different players score, led by Buckley’s five points.
Weber built its lead to six in the second, going up 23-17, one minute into the quarter. Andie Zylak kept the Eagles close, scoring three points to keep it a one possession game. Buckley would tie the game at 23, followed quickly by a jumper from Jaydia Martin to give Eastern a 25-23 lead. The Wildcats would then tie and retake the lead, 28-26. Another layup from Martin would knot the game up yet again in the quarter. Weber would score with 34 seconds on the clock to take a slim lead into halftime, 30-28. Eastern was 4-of-15(26.7%) in the quarter and the Wildcats went 5-of-14(35.7%).
The offensive pace of the game picked up in the third, as both teams came out aggressive. Eastern continued to match Weber’s baskets, limiting any lead the Wildcats were able to establish. At 6:38 on the clock, Martin drained a three-pointer to give the Eagles a 38-37 advantage. The teams continued to trade scores, with neither gaining any separation. Martin had found her shot, scoring nine points in the quarter to drive the Eastern offense. The quarter ended with the teams knotted up at 50, after the Wildcats scored late with two free-throws. Eastern was 9-of-14(64.3%) from the floor to make up the two-point deficit, while Weber was 8-of-14(57.1%).
Now in the fourth, the Eagles made their move, ripping off a 10-0 run to open the quarter. Martin and Buckley led the charge, scoring five and four points, respectively. Weber managed to halt the run with a layup, but Eastern had found their rhythm shooting. Buckley shot lights-out in the quarter, putting in 13 points to outscore the Wildcats team scoring in the quarter. The Eagles converted their opportunities at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to quell any hope of a Weber comeback. Buckley was 8-of-8 from the line.
Eastern won the game 74-61, behind 43.1 percent shooting from the floor. The Eagles were also 26-of-33(78.8%). from the free-throw line. The Wildcats finished with a 43.6 shooting percentage for the game.
Gleason talked about the offensive turnaround against Weber. “We made some tweaks to our offense which gave us some better looks at the rim and got us to the free-throw line a little more. That was a focus for us going into the game and the team executed the game plan well.”
Top Performances
Jacinta Buckley surpassed her previous career-high(18) in scoring by seven points, while shooting 7-of-13(53.8%). The sophomore also grabbed eight rebounds and was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.
