OREM, Utah. -- Junior Delaney Hodgins recorded her second-straight double-double for the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team on Tuesday night (Nov. 22) to help a hot-shooting Eagles team pick up an 83-50 road victory at Utah Valley.
Hodgins picked her eighth career double-double on Tuesday, as the junior scored a career-best 29 points while pulling down 10 rebounds for the second-straight contest. The Pasco, Washington was efficient throughout the night as she went 11-of-14 from to help the Eagles post a 59.3 field goal percentage for the night.
"Delaney was all over the floor tonight," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "Offensively she shot it great, but she also rebounded and defended extremely well.
Eastern led from beginning to end against the Wolverines, as the Eagles jumped out a 25-2 lead at the end of the first quarter of play and never looked back. EWU was blistering hot from the field in the opening quarter, as they shot 75 percent from the field (9-of-12) and went a perfect 6-of-6 from behind the arc. Eastern Washington hit a season-best 11 trifectas on the night, led by Hodgins' five 3-point field goals.
The Eagles were equally as impressive on the defensive end, as they limited Utah Valley to 29.8 percent from the field and forced a season-best 21 turnovers in the victory. EWU opened the game on a 17-0 run, as the Wolverines did not pick up their first points of the contest until the 2:14-mark of the first quarter.
"This is a great way to end an extremely tough road swing," added Schuller. "I thought we came out in the first quarter with a great mindset on the defensive end and then we got ourselves going offensively. We haven't shot the three well so far this season, so it was nice to get that going tonight. Having traveled for nearly 40 hours in six days, I think this team showed a level of toughness that we definitely will need when we get into Big Sky play."
Win-Loss Record: Eastern improves to 2-2 on the year, while Utah Valley drops to 0-4 in 2016-17.
What It Means: With tonight's win, the Eagles split their season-opening four-game road trip at 2-2. Eastern will enter Sunday's home opener against Multnomah University looking to jump above the .500 mark for the first time this season.
Turning Point: Eastern made a statement to open the contest against Utah Valley, as they jumped out to a 17-0 advantage after the first seven minutes of play on Tuesday. The Eagles would close the first quarter with a 25-2 lead after shooting a blistering 75 percent from the field.
Key Stats: The Eagles shot 59.3 percent from the field in the victory over Utah Valley, while they limited the Wolverines to a 29.8 percent success rate.
EWU posted a 40-26 edge on the glass against UVU. Every Eagle that played on Tuesday picked up a rebound, led by Delaney Hodgins' game-best 10 caroms.
Eastern was in the sharing mood tonight, as they passed out a season-best 22 assists. Senior Ashli Payne handed out a career-best six helpers in the win.
Top Performers: Junior Delaney Hodgins posted her second-straight double-double with a career-best 29 points and a game-best 10 rebounds. The Pasco, Washington native also blocked a game-best three shots, handed out four assists and collected two steals in 32 minutes of action.
Senior Ashli Payne enjoyed her second-straight 20-point outing with an even 20 points against Utah Valley. The forward was nearly perfect from the field, as she went 7-of-8 and a perfect 3-of-3 from the 3-point line.
Redshirt senior Tisha Phillips ended her night in double figures for the third time in four games with 12 points.
Notables: The Eagles are back to .500 for the first time this season, as they close their season-opening four-game road trip with back-to-back wins.
Eastern Washington in now 5-0 all-time against Utah Valley.
The 11 3-point field goals hit by Eastern tonight was a season high.
Junior Delaney Hodgins picked up her eighth double-double, while she extends her double-digit scoring streak to 21 games dating back to last season.
Tonight's 83 points and 59.8 shooting percentage were both season-highs for the Eagles.
What's Next: Eastern takes the floor at Reese Court for the first time in the 2016-17 regular season this Sunday (Nov. 27) against Multnomah University. The game against MU will be the second contest of a basketball tripleheader at Reese on Sunday, as it will be sandwiched between a pair of men's basketball games for the EWU Classic.
For more information on the Eastern Washington women's basketball team, follow @EWUWBB on Twitter or Instagram and like EWU Women's Basketball on Facebook.
