Game Notes

Cheney, Wash. – It must be March because madness has shown up in spades through two rounds of the 2016 Big Sky Conference Women's Basketball Championship at the Reno Events Center this week.
 
The second-seeded Eastern Washington University women's basketball team came from behind to top No. 7 Sacramento State, 100-97, yesterday, Mar. 9, to earn a spot in the semifinals of the conference tournament. EWU (20-11) will square off with No. 3 Idaho tomorrow, Mar. 11, at 2:35 p.m. PST, for a berth in the tournament's championship game.
 
The winner of the Big Sky Tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament next week.
 
All four of the conference tournament's quarterfinal games were decided by a total of 11 points, while two contests ended with buzzer-beating three-pointers. Ninth-seeded Idaho State topped No. 1 Montana State, 52-50, on a last-second triple while the Vandals bested No. 6 Weber State in overtime, 86-83, also on a last-ditch shot from distance. North Dakota, the tournament's No. 4 seed, held on to defeat fifth-seeded Montana, 65-62, as a desperation heave from the Lady Griz hit the front rim and bounced out.
 
Idaho State and North Dakota will play in the Big Sky Tournament's other semifinal game tomorrow at 12:05 p.m. PST.
 
The Eagles scored 100 points yesterday for just the fifth time in its 34-year history as an NCAA Division I member, and they needed every single one of them to top a feisty Sacramento State team. Eastern trailed by as many as eight points during the game, including a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but it scored 15 of the game's final 21 points to secure the come-from-behind win.
 
Junior Ashli Payne pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds, a mark that is tied for third all-time in Big Sky Tournament history. She added 19 points for her eighth double-double of the season.
 
Redshirt senior Hayley Hodgins led all scorers with 27 points, knocking down five three-pointers, while sophomore Delaney Hodgins scored 18 of her 26 points in the second half while shooting 10-of-17 from the floor on the night.
 
Idaho (22-9) trailed by as many as 15 points against Weber State last night and led for just over a minute, but made enough plays down the stretch to pull out the win. Mikayla Ferenz scored a game-high 29 points, going 8-of-16 from three-point range, as the Vandals shot 40.6 percent from the field and 39.3 percent (11-28) from beyond the arc versus the Wildcats.
 
Eastern claimed both meetings against Idaho during the regular season, winning 74-66 in Moscow, Idaho, back on Jan. 9, and 84-70 at Reese Court on Feb. 27. The Eagles had their best offensive display of the season in that 14-point win in Cheney, shooting 60.0 percent from the floor, going a remarkable 20-of-30 from the floor in the second half. EWU outrebounded the Vandals in both match-ups this season and outscored Idaho by a total of 20 points in the painted area.
 

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HAYLEY HODGINS NAMED TO COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS ALL-MID MAJOR TEAM
 
Official Release

Hayley Hodgins has enjoyed a senior season for the record books, and her performance was awarded a spot on the College Sports Madness All-Mid Major Team, the organization announced today, Mar. 10.
 
Hodgins has scored 661 points, a new school record for points in a season. Her scoring average of 21.3 points per game ranks second, and she is on track to be just the second Eagle to average 20 or more points per game in a single season. Her 661 points also rank fifth all-time in Big Sky Conference history, while her scoring average is tied for sixth.
 
A unanimous First Team All-Big Sky pick this year, Hodgins set a new single-season record with 85 made three-pointers, snapping the mark with a triple against Idaho State in Pocatello on Wednesday, Mar. 2. Her 85 made three-pointers are also good for third in Big Sky single-season history, just seven shy of tying the league record.
 
Hodgins has made 239 field goals this year, good for second all-time in program history, and her 543 field goal attempts are a new school record. She has also racked up 65 steals this season, good for fourth all-time.
 
A Pasco, Wash., native, Hodgins became EWU's all-time leading scorer this season and has amassed 1,845 points in a school-record 125 appearances. Her 1,845 career points also rank sixth in Big Sky history.