Abilene, Texas – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team held a two-point advantage with five minutes left but failed to make a field goal the rest of the way as host Abilene Christian topped the Eagles, 79-72, in a nonconference contest at Moody Coliseum.

Win-Loss Records
Eastern falls to 2-2 on the young season while Abilene Christian improves to 3-1 with the win.

What It Means
The defeat prevents EWU from starting its campaign with a 3-1 record for the first time in five seasons.

Turning Point
In a game of runs, the Eagles closed the first half on a 10-4 run before starting the second stanza with a bucket from junior Hayley Hodgins to take a six-point lead, 47-41. EWU remained ahead until the Wildcats' Lizzy Dimba buried a three-pointer at the 12:58 mark to give ACU a one-point advantage, 58-57.

Abilene Christian's lead would expand to as many as five points before a jumper from Hayley Hodgins and a layup from sophomore Jade Redmon put Eastern back on top, 70-68, with 5:29 left to play. It was then that things turned sour for EWU as they had a number of good looks that failed to fall. The Eagles would go without a field goal for the remainder of the game as the Wildcats reeled off 11 straight points to seal the win.

Top Performers
Senior Lexie Nelson led all players with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting. She was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line and added two assists to her stat line.

Hayley Hodgins went for 19 points, knocking down three three-pointers while dishing out a career-best five assists along with four rebounds and three steals.

Freshman Delaney Hodgins added a season-high 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting while notching six rebounds and two blocked shots.

Senior Melissa Williams chipped in 12 points, going 6-of-8 from the field along with six rebounds and four assists.

Key Statistics
Eastern shot 45.5 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from downtown on the night while Abilene Christian shot 46.6 percent and 30.4 percent from long range. The Wildcats went to the free throw line 26 times, making 18, while EWU was 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.

ACU pulled down 43 rebounds to the Eagles' 31 and finished with 15 second-chance points while Eastern notched five second-chance points.

Quoting Coach Schuller
"We just went cold down the stretch. I thought we got good looks, including a great look on a three-pointer out of a timeout that went everywhere but in. They did a good job of attacking us late and converting their free throws.

"The biggest thing we have to improve on is rebounding. We need to have a consistent effort on the glass. Abilene Christian wasn't must bigger than us. We just have to do our jobs better and improve in that area."

Game Notes
Hayley Hodgins surpassed 700 career points with her three-pointer at the 11:07 mark. She now has 715 career points and has scored in double-figures in each of Eastern's last three games.

Nelson's 20 points leave her just nine shy of 1,000 career points. She will become the 16th player in EWU history to reach that plateau.

The Eagles lost for the first time this season when shooting greater than 40 percent from the field.

Head coach Wendy Schuller lost for just the 30th time in 13-plus seasons when Eastern scores at least 70 points.

Tweet of the Night

Up Next
EWU returns home to Reese Court for a three-game home stand beginning this Sunday, Nov. 30, against Central Washington. Tipoff is set for 4:35 p.m. PT following Men's Basketball's game at 2 p.m.