Cheney, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team outscored visiting Central Methodist 49-19 in the second half en route to a convincing 82-37 victory in an exhibition contest Thursday, Oct. 30, at Reese Court.

Turning Point
Central Methodist, ranked No. 25 nationally at the NAIA level, proved a worthy opponent in the early going, using a jumper from Jesse Ellis cut Eastern's lead to four, 18-14, with 8:35 left in the first half. EWU would turn it on from there, however, closing the first half on a 15-4 run, including eight points from senior Melissa Williams, to take a 33-18 lead into halftime.

Eastern upped its defensive pressure in the second half, limiting the visitors to just seven points through the first 14 minutes of play. EWU's lead would balloon to as many as 46 points before settling on the final margin.

Top Performers
Senior Lexie Nelson led all scorers with 22 points, 17 of which came in the second half. She got to the free throw line 13 times, knocking down 10 shots.

Williams added 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Junior Hayley Hodgins chipped in 15 points, adding seven boards, three assists and three steals.

Freshman Delaney Hodgins came off the bench to score 11 points in her first collegiate game. She also finished with five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Key Statistics
EWU shot 43.1 percent from the field on the night, upping its percentage to 51.5 percent in the second half. Eastern's defense limited Central Methodist to a 22.0 clip from the field.

Eastern registered 14 steals, forcing CMU into 24 miscues while only turning the ball over four times. EWU finished with 28 points off turnovers while CMU tallied just two points.

EWU did most of its damage in the paint, outscoring Central Methodist 44-18 in the key. Eastern was especially dominant in the second half, notching 30 points in the paint to CMU's six.

Quoting Coach Schuller
"I liked our effort. I thought we played extremely hard, and I liked the fact that we were able to get our young players some minutes. I saw some good things from our defense that we've been working on in practice. We didn't shoot the ball extremely well, especially in the first half. I think a little of that had to do with first-game jitters, but I loved our effort. As the game went on, we got better at playing together. We shared the ball a bit more and learned more about what shots certain players should be taking. Overall, it wasn't perfect, but if it was, I'd be worried."

Tweet of the Night

Video Highlights

Up Next
Eastern will play its first official game of the 2014-15 season Friday, Nov. 14, at Utah Valley. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. PT.