OREM, Utah -- The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team concludes its season-opening four-game road trip this Tuesday (Nov. 22) with a contest at Utah Valley University. Tipoff against the Wolverines is set for 6 p.m. PT.
The contest against Utah Valley will be the first of two games this week for Eastern Washington, as the Eagles will host its 2016-17 season opener against Multnomah University on Sunday at 3 p.m. PT. Eastern is coming off a 1-2 showing in the Preseason WNIT. EWU opened the tournament with a loss to the eventual Tournament Runner Ups, Washington, back on Nov. 11, then spilt a pair of contests in the in the Central Michigan quadrant of the Preseason WNIT Consolation Bracket this past weekend.
Junior Delany Hodgins leads a trio of double-digit scorers for Eastern Washington at 13.7 points per game. As a team, the Eagles are averaging 58.3 points per game through three contests, while shooting 34.2 percent as a team.
Last Time Out
On the backs of three double-digit scorers, the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team toppled Furman, 68-56, for its first win of the season in the Preseason WNIT Consolation Bracket on Saturday (Nov. 19).
Hodgins picked up the season's first double-double on 15 points and 10 boards, while Payne lit up the scoreboard from downtown with a team-high 20 points on four threes. Junior Tisha Phillips scored a season-best 14 points, while also picking up season highs in assists (7) and rebounds (9) against the Paladins.
All-Time Series
Eastern holds a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series against Utah Valley. Tuesday's matchup will mark the third-straight season the two teams have hooked up and it will be the second time in the last three seasons that Eastern has traveled to Orem, Utah.
Each of the last two meetings between the Eagles and Wolverines have been decided by six points or less. Eastern knocked off UVU, 68-64, last season in Reese Court.
A Chance to Even Up the Record
Eastern ran into a pair of tough opponent to open the Preseason WNIT, as the Eagles opened the Tournament at No. 15 Washington the played an Elon team that just knocked off Rutgers out of the Big Ten Conference on its home court before playing EWU last Friday (Nov. 18). Eastern Washington ended the Preseason WNIT on a high-note, as the Eagles picked up their first win of the season with a 12-point victory over Furman.
EWU will have a chance to pull its overall record to an even .500 on Tuesday when the Eagles conclude their season-opening four-game road trip against Utah Valley. The Wolverines are currently 0-3 on the year, with one of the losses coming against fellow Big Sky Conference team, Weber State, who was projected as No. 7 and No. 8 in the Big Sky Preseason Polls.
Returning in Bulk
Despite graduating the school's all-time leading scorer last season, the Eagles return three players who made up 53 percent of the team's scoring last season along with four starters who a team that won 20 games. Junior Delaney Hodgins (15.7 ppg), senior Ashli Payne (11.2 ppg) and senior Tisha Phillips (10.9 ppg) return a combined 37.8 of the team's 71.8 points-per-game average from a year ago, while junior Mariah Cunningham also returns after making all 32 starts last season.
Hodgins, Payne and Phillips are each averaging double-digits in the scoring column through three games this season, as Hodgins is averaging a team-best 13.7 points per game, while Payne and Phillips are each putting up 11.7 points per contest so far this season.
20-Point Outing
Eastern Washington had a player scored 20-plus points for the first time this season last Saturday (Nov. 19), as senior Ashli Payne scored a game-high 20 points to help the Eagles pick up their first win of the season over Furman in the team's final game of the Preseason WNIT.
It is the second career 20-point outing for Payne at Eastern, as her only other one came on Jan. 30, 2016, when she posted a career-best 23 points against Sacramento State.
Double Trouble
Junior Delaney Hodgins recorded the team's first double-double of 2016-17, while picking up her seventh double-double, last Saturday with a 15-point, 10-rebound performance in Eastern's 68-56 win over Furman in the team's first Preseason WNIT game.
The 15-point outing also extended Hodgins double-digit scoring streak to 19-straight games.
Letting It Fly
Eastern has the Big Sky's second-longest active streak with at least one three-point field goal made in 305 consecutive games, trailing only Sacramento State (362).
Knowing Your Opponent: Utah Valley
The Wolverines are 0-3 on the year after playing a trio of fellow NCAA Division I teams from Utah to open the year. Utah Valley's game against Eastern will mark the first time this year that the Wolverines have played a team not from the Beehive State, as they have dropped contest to BYU, Weber State and Utah.
Utah Valley is averaging just 54.3 points per game this season, while they are shooting 33.3 percent from the field. Like the Eagles, the Wolverines feature a trio of double-digit scores, as Taylor Gordon leads the way with her 14.0 points per game average. Gordon also leads the team in rebounds with 7.0 per contest. The Wolverines are shooting just 22.6 percent from behind the arc through three games this season.
Defensively, UVU is allowing 77.3 points per game, while the opposition is shooting nearly 50 percent against the Wolverines with a 48.1 percent success rate from the field. Utah Valley has picked up 31 total steals on the year, led by Gordon's 12.
For more information on the Eastern Washington women's basketball team, follow @EWUWBB on Twitter and Instagram or like EWU Women's Basketball on Facebook.
