Sacramento, Calif. - The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team rebounded in a huge way, with its best offensive performance of the season, winning 100-83 against Sacramento State on the road.

Win-Loss Records

Eastern improves to 14-7 with the win and 8-1 in league play, while Sacramento State drops to 7-12 with the loss and 4-4 in league play.

Turning Point

Despite struggling in its last outing, the EWU offense made a huge statement in the first half of the game. The Eagles stayed stride for stride with the fast paced offense of CSUS, shooting at a blistering pace of 66.7 percent from the field in the second quarter alone. Due to the Hornets' feisty defense, and some issues holding onto the ball, the score remained close at 45-44 at the end of the half.

However, living off turnovers and quick threes would not be sustainable for Sacramento State, as they began the third quarter completely locked up by Eastern's defense. Holding CSUS scoreless through the first six minutes of the third quarter, EWU went on an absolute tear on the offensive side of the ball, scoring 15 straight points on 50 percent shooting to take the lead 60-44 with 4:34 left in the third. With the Eagles up 73-60 at the end of the fourth, they did not take their foot off the gas. The fourth quarter started with five made shots from Eastern, four of which came from three point range alone. Anytime Sacramento State pushed for any bit of momentum, EWU answered on the other end of the court. Overall, the Eagles shot 55 percent from the field in the second half, including 6-of-9 of beyond the arc.

Top Performers

Junior Ashli Payne led the team in scoring with 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while shooting 5-of-7 from three. She also grabbed eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Senior Hayley Hodgins scored 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while also tallying two steals and a block.

Sophomore Delaney Hodgins scored 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, with eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Junior Tisha Phillips scored 15 points on an efficient 7-of-10 from the field, and led the team with nine rebounds, and five assists.

Freshman Violet Kapri Morrow scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting in limited minutes off the bench.

Key Statistics

Eastern shot 56.2 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from three, while Sacramento State shot 37.8 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from three. CSUS attempted 82 total field goals, including 41 attempts from three point range.

EWU scored 56 points in the paint, compared to 32 for the Hornets.

The Eagles turned the ball over 26 times, resulting in 35 points off the miscues for Sacramento State, while CSUS turned the ball over 22 times, resulting in 24 points off the mistakes for Eastern.
 
Quoting Coach Schuller

"I was really pleased with our effort and resilience to bounce back from a disappointing loss on Thursday. Anytime you're in that situation, you can go one of two directions. I was happy to see that the team played hard, stuck to the game plan and got refocused today. We were aggressive. We talked about playing downhill and not being afraid to attack. We had a nice mix of moving the ball and knowing when to attack, and I thought we finished well around the rim."

Game Notes

Eastern scored 100 points for the first time this season, and shot a team high 52.9 percent from three.

Hayley Hodgins has now scored in double figures in 37 straight games dating back to last season, and has 84 career games of at least 10 points. She is getting closer to becoming Eastern's all-time NCAA Division I leading scorer, sitting 89 points behind Brenda Souther (1983-87).  With at least 10 games left on the season, Hodgins needs to average 8.9 points per game to break the record.

Up Next

The Eagles continue their season at home, facing Northern Arizona for the second time, on Thursday, Feb. 4, starting at 6 p.m. PST.