Pocatello, Idaho – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team surrendered 25 fourth-quarter points to host Idaho State as the Eagles fell, 71-62, in a Big Sky Conference contest at Reed Gym Wednesday night, Mar. 2.

Despite the defeat, EWU remains in the hunt for a share of the Big Sky regular season title and the No. 1 seed at next week's Big Sky Basketball Tournament. Coupled with Montana State's road setback at Northern Colorado tonight, the Eagles must now beat Weber State in Ogden, Utah, this Friday and have the Bobcats lose at North Dakota. If that happens, both Eastern and MSU would have identical 14-4 league records, giving them both a piece of the conference's regular-season title, but handing the league tournament's top seed to EWU by virtue of its 81-69 victory over the Bobcats earlier this season.
 
Win-Loss Records
EWU now owns a 19-10 overall record and a 13-4 mark in league action after tonight's defeat while Idaho State improves to 14-14 overall and 7-10 in Big Sky play.
 
Big Sky Basketball Tournament Update
North Dakota and Idaho were the big winners Wednesday night as the top four seeds at next week's conference tournament were finalized. UND clinched the No. 4 seed by beating Montana, 73-61, in Grand Forks, N.D. The Vandals, who earned a 77-70 road win over Weber State, remain in the hunt for either the second or third overall seed, depending on the results of Friday's upcoming contests.
 
The Eagles can finish no worse than third in the final Big Sky standings and own tiebreakers over Montana State and Idaho if multiple teams end up with identical league records after Friday's games are complete. If the Big Sky Tournament started tomorrow, Eastern would be the No. 2 seed and would play either Sacramento State or Portland State in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday, Mar. 9.
 
Turning Point
The first 30 minutes proved a back-and-forth affair as the game entered the fourth quarter deadlocked at 46-46. The Bengals opened up a five-point cushion, 57-52, on a three-pointer by Freya Newton with 5:50 remaining, only to see the Eagles crawl back to within three, 59-56, thanks to buckets from senior Hayley Hodgins and junior Tisha Phillips.
 
ISU's Isabel Vara de Rey drained another triple on the hosts' next possession, but Hayley Hodgins kept EWU alive, making two free throws to cut the Bengals' lead to four, 62-58, with 3:01 left. The Eagles had a chance to pull within one on a three-pointer by junior Ashli Payne at the 2:02 mark, but it went in and out and Idaho State corralled the rebound,
 
The Bengals' Apiphay Woods converted inside to give ISU a 64-58 edge on its next possession, and Freya followed with another triple to put the hosts up nine, 67-58, with one minute to go.
 
The Bengals made all four of their free throws down the stretch as Eastern went over four minutes without a field goal down the stretch until Phillips scored on a lay-up with nine seconds left, resulting in the final margin.
 
Top Performers
Hayley Hodgins finished with a game-high 31 points on the night, including a perfect 8-of-8 performance from the free throw line. She added three rebounds and a steal to her stat line.
 
Phillips added 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor and came up with four steals and three rebounds.
 
Sophomore Delaney Hodgins was the only other Eagle in double figures, finishing with 10 points, two rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot.

Payne finished with a team-best nine rebounds while freshman Amira Chandler came off the bench to pull down seven boards.
 
Key Statistics
Eastern was held to just 62 points, its lowest output since scoring 60 points in a win over North Dakota back on Jan. 2. The Eagles shot 34.8 percent from the field and were just 4-of-18 from three-point range on the night. The Bengals' defense made EWU work for every basket, causing Eastern to notch just three assists, its lowest since recording three helpers back on Feb. 27, 2010, against the same ISU program.
 
Idaho State shot at a 44.4-percent clip and made six three-pointers.
 
Both teams finished with 40 rebounds while Eastern turned the ball over 12 times compared to 11 miscues for the Bengals.
 
Quoting Coach Schuller
"I thought the entire game was a battle. It was a physical game, and we didn't respond very well to their physicality. I thought we'd do a better job of getting to the line. Give credit to Idaho State; they played well and hit some big shots in the fourth quarter. I didn't think we played as well as we're capable of playing, but we had some chances down the stretch, like Ashli's three-pointer that went in and out that would have cut it to one point.
 
"As we get ready for Friday, we've got to just remember who we are. We have a great team. If we spread the floor and play our game, we are really good. We weren't able to do that enough tonight, but it's important for us to remember that and get ourselves back on track and gain some momentum heading into the conference tournament next week."
 
Game Notes
Hayley Hodgins played in her 123rd game as an Eagle, setting a new program record for career appearances. The previous record of 122 career games played was held by recent alumnae Aubrey Ashenfelter (2011-14) and Melissa Williams (2012-15).
 
Hayley's 31 points tonight moved her into seventh all-time on the Big Sky's career scoring list. She now has 1,800 points, just 34 behind Boise State's Lidiya Varbanova.
 
Up Next
The Eagles wrap up their regular season against Weber State in Ogden, Utah, this Friday, Mar. 4. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. PST.