CHENEY, Wash. -- The Eastern Washington women's basketball team lit up the scoreboard in its 2016-17 home opener on Sunday (Nov. 27), as the Eagles shot an even 50 percent from the field to claim an 88-30 victory over Multnomah University.
The Eagles shot 50 percent-or-better for the second-straight contest to extend their winning streak to a season-best three games. Eastern was blistering hot in the second and third quarters, as they hit 66.7 percent of its shots in the two frames. EWU was just as impressive on the defensive end, as they limited the Lions to a 20.8 shooting percentage and held MU to single digits in three of the four quarters on Sunday.
"The biggest thing out of today's game is that we had some young players get some significant minutes and get better at some of the things that we do," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "We worked on a lot of different areas as a team today, but I was really happy that a number of our younger players were able to get some minutes."
The extended play by the Eagle reserves led to a 38-12 advantage in points off the bench. All but one EWU player logged at least 10 minutes of play against the Lions, while all but two players scored on Sunday. Sophomore Aqeelah Williams posted a career-best nine points off the bench, while fellow classmate Amira Chandler tallied a season-best eight bench points.Four other reserves scored at least five points in the victory.
Junior Delaney Hodgins and redshirt senior Tisha Phillips each scored double figures against the Lions. Hodgins poured in a game-best 24 points, while Phillips added 14. The 24-point outing for Hodgins extends her double-digit scoring stream to 21 games, while it is also the second-straight 20-plus-point effort for the Pasco, Washington native.
"Reliable is the exact word I would use to describe Delaney," said Schuller of her Preseason All-Big Sky first team player. "Every day she shows up. She is never too high or too low on herself. You know exactly what you're going to get from her on defense, and she has been really good for us on the glass this season. We really needed her to step up and be a bit more of a scorer this season and she is doing that for us."
Win-Loss Record: Eastern Washington moves to 3-2 overall on the year with the victory. For Multnomah, they remain at 1-5 on the year as today's contest was an exhibition for the NAIA Lions.
What It Means: Today's win gives Eastern its third-straight victory as they move above the .500-mark for the first time this season.
Turning Point: Eastern Washington's defense was top-notch to open the game against Multnomah. The Eagles held the Lions scoreless from the 7:15 point of the first quarter until the 5:49-mark of the second frame. The 11:26 drought by MU allowed EWU to open up a 25-point lead at 29-4.
Key Stats: For the second-straight game Eastern Washington wreaked havoc on both ends of the floor en route to the blowout-victory. The Eagles shot 50 percent-or-better for the second-straight game (50.0), while holding Multnomah to a 20.8 shooting percentage. It is the third-straight contest that Eastern has held its opponent under 32 percent from the field.
Top Performers: Junior Delaney Hodgins scored a game-best 24 points win the win. The forward hit 11 of her 13 shot attempts and went 2-of-3 from behind the arc. She also swatted a game-best two shots.
Redshirt senior Tisha Phillips extended her double-digit scoring streak to three games as she ties her season-high with 14 points against the Lions.
Freshman Uriah Howard came off the bench to score five points and pull down a game-high eight boards. The eight caroms are a career-best for the freshman.
Notables: Today's victory puts Eastern above the .500-mark this season at 3-2.
Eastern hit eight three-pointers against the Lions to extend their streak of games with at least one 3-point field goal to 307.
The victory extends Eastern's recent winning streak to three games.
Eastern has now won three-straight home games dating back to last season.
Junior Delaney Hodgins extends her double-digit scoring streak to 21 games. In addition, her 24-point outing gives her back-to-back outings with 20-or-more points.
Eastern forced a season-best 30 turnovers on Sunday, while they held Multnomah to a 20.8 shooting percentage, which was also a season-best for Eastern.
The 30 points allowed by Eastern is the lowest since they allowed 33 points to Corbin back on Nov. 21, 2009.
What's Next: The Eagles will now take to the road for a brief two-game road trip to Boise State and Cal State Northridge. Eastern takes on the Broncos this Thursday (Dec. 1) for a 6 p.m. PT tip before challenging the Matadors on Saturday (Dec. 3) at 6:30 p.m. PT.
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.
