CHENEY, Wash. -- The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team will celebrate New Year's Eve in style, as they open up Big Sky Conference play at home against rival Idaho on Saturday (Dec. 31) afternoon. Tip-off from Reese Court is set for 2:05 p.m. PT.

The Eagles look to rebound from a rough end to their non-conference season, dropping each of their last three games to fall to 5-6 overall entering Big Sky Play. Eastern returns to Reese after a two-game stay at last week's Tulane Classic in New Orleans. EWU went 0-2 in the Big Easy, as they dropped a 63-51 decision to host Tulane on Dec. 21 before falling to Drake, 93-78, in the Consolation Game of the Classic on Dec. 22.

Eastern Washington is coming off second-place regular season finish in the Big Sky, as they went 13-5 a year ago. The Eagles were projected to finish as high as fourth in the Big Sky Preseason Media Polls. They return four starters from last season's 20-12 squad.

The Eagles will be looking for a bit of redemption against the Vandals in the Big Sky opener. It was Idaho who ended Eastern's 2015-16 season with an 86-71 win in the Quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament in Reno, Nevada. That victory propelled the Vandals to the 2016 Big Sky Tournament Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Last Time Out
The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team dropped a 93-78 decision to Drake in the consolation game of the 21st Annual Tulane Classic on Thursday (Dec. 22) afternoon.

The Eagles ran into a hot-shooting Bulldog squad that shot 56.3 percent from the field on Thursday.  Eastern was able to post a 46.3 percent shooting performance, but a 34-21 advantage in points off turnovers for the Bulldogs was too much for Eastern to overcome in the team's final non-conference game of the season.

Leading the Way
Junior Delaney Hodgins opens Big Sky play as the Conference's most prolific scorer. The Pasco, Washington native is averaging a league-best 19.2 points per game. Hodgins has scored 211 points through 11 games this season and has recorded double-digits in every game this season. The forward is riding a 28-game double-digit scoring streak entering Saturday's game against Idaho.

Finding a Groove
The Eagles have been in an rhythm offensive over the last eight games, as they have shot over 45 percent from the field in five of those contest. That output has lifted EWU to a 43.0 shooting percentage on the year, which is the second-best in the Big Sky Conference.

Eastern has two players rank inside the top 10 of the Conference in field goal percentage. Junior Delaney Hodgins is sporting the seventh-best field goal percentage (48.5) in the Big Sky, while senior Ashli Payne ranks 10th (46.3).

Handle with Care
A feisty Eastern defense been the trend so far throughout the 2016-17 season for Eastern Washington. The Eagles are just one of two teams in the Big Sky to average double-digits steals, as they are collected 10.8 steals per game through 11 contests.

Freshman Symone Starks is currently fourth in the Big Sky in steals with her 2.3 steals per game average. She is one of three EWU players to rank inside the Top 10 of the Conference in the category, as she is joined by redshirt senior Tisha Phillips (5th; 2.3) and junior Delaney Hodgins (7th; 2.1).

Not Playing Like a Freshman
True freshman Symone Starks has made a quick adjustment to the collegiate game and last Thursday she had her coming out part, as she scored a career-best 16 points off the bench in a 93-78 loss to Drake in the Consolation game of the Tulane Classic.

Starks has seen an increase in minutes of last, as she has played at least 19 minutes in the last five games. That extended play has allowed the elite defender to make her presence felt, as she enters Big Sky play ranked fourth in the Conference in steals with 2.3 per game.

Letting It Fly
Eastern has the Big Sky's second-longest active streak with at least one three-point field goal made in 313 consecutive games, trailing only Sacramento State.

Knowing Your Opponent: Idaho
Like the Eagles, Idaho enters Big Sky play sporting a 5-6 record in the 2016-17 season. The Vandals, who was picked as the Big Sky Preseason favorite by the league's coaches, have won three of their last four games. However, two of the victories came against non-NCAA Division-I teams in Central Washington (NCAA Division I) and Lewis-Clark State (NAIA).

Idaho is averaging 69.2 points per game, which is the sixth-best average in the Conference. Mikayla Ferenz leads the team in scoring with her 16.5 points per game average. Ferenz's point-per-game average is the third-highest in the Big Sky, while teammate Geraldine McCorkell is ninth in the Big Sky in scoring with her 14.4 points per contest.  As a team, the UI is shooting 41.2 percent from the field, which is third-best in the Conference.

Defensively, the Vandals are giving up 69.6 points per contest. Teams are shooting 40.5 percent against Idaho, while they are forcing teams into 13.5 turnovers per game against them.

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.