Reno, Nev. – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team scored 15 of the game's final 21 points to defeat Sacramento State, 100-97, in a Big Sky Conference Basketball Tournament quarterfinal contest Wednesday night, Mar. 9.
 
The victory puts the Eagles into the semifinals of the conference tournament for the second straight season. They will take the court at 2:35 p.m. Thursday afternoon, Mar. 11, against either Idaho or Weber State.
 
Not only did tonight's win keep Eastern's bid for a Big Sky Tournament alive, but it marked the program's 20th win of the season. EWU has recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons under EWU Hall of Fame coach Bill Smithpeters.
 
Win-Loss Records
Eastern now owns a 20-11 mark on the year while Sacramento State's season concludes with a 14-17 record.
 
Turning Point
The Eagles turned a five-point first-quarter deficit into a 51-45 lead at the half behind a 30-point effort in the second frame. Redshirt senior Hayley Hodgins had 18 first-half points, knocking down four of her five three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.
 
EWU, the conference tournament's No. 2 seed, extended its lead to 10 points, 58-48, on a jumper from redshirt junior Tisha Phillips at the 8:30 mark of the third quarter. The Hornets would battle back to within two points, 77-75, at the end of the third frame before taking an 81-79 lead on a bucket by Adella Randle-El with 8:33 left.
 
Sacramento State led by as many as six points in the fourth quarter, using a lay-up from Gretchen Harrigan to open up a 91-85 advantage at the 4:15 mark. Sophomore Delaney Hodgins answered with a jumper for Eastern, sparking a 10-4 run and even the score at 95-95 with 1:04 remaining. The Eagles got a defensive stop on the Hornets' next possession as Delaney Hodgins recorded a crucial steal with 29 seconds left.
 
The seventh-seeded Hornets fouled freshman Violet Kapri Morrow, but she calmly made both free throws to give EWU a 97-95 lead with 21 seconds remaining. Junior Ashli Payne came up big for the Eagles on defense, stealing the ball from Randle-El with six seconds to play. Hayley Hodgins subsequently made two free throws as the Eagles led by four, 99-95, with five seconds left.
 
Randle-El made a quick lay-up at the other end, but Payne sealed the win for Eastern by going 1-of-2 from the line as Sacramento State was unable to get a shot off as time expired.
 
Top Performers
Payne had a near-record-breaking performance, finishing with 19 points and 18 rebounds. Her 18 boards rank third all-time in Big Sky Tournament history, just two shy of the single-game record. She went 7-of-17 from the field and added four assists and a steal to her stat line.
 
Hayley Hodgins scored a game-high 27 points, going 5-of-11 from three-point range and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
 
Delaney Hodgins poured in 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. She scored 18 points in the second half, making seven of her eight field goal attempts over the final 20 minutes.
 
Morrow played 13 minutes off the bench and finished with six points and three rebounds.
 
Key Statistics
The Eagles committed just 13 turnovers against Sacramento State's trademark full-court pressure defense while converting the Hornets' 17 miscues into 22 points.
 
EWU held the Hornets to an 11-of-40 shooting performance from beyond the arc, good for a 27.5-percent clip. Sacramento State made 19 triples in its Big Sky Tournament opener against Southern Utah on Monday, Mar. 7.
 
Sacramento State won the rebounding battle, 49-47, and grabbed 21 offensive rebounds to Eastern's 18, but only outscored the Eagles by one, 20-19, in second-chance points.
 
Quoting Coach Schuller
"I'm happy for our team. It's Hayley's senior year, and you know what we've gone through in the last year. I just love this team. I've cried twice in the locker room with them – once after a win and once after a loss. They are a lot of fun to coach and you love going to practice every day. You don't always feel that way about teams. But this team has so much heart and guts – for miles and miles. I think that showed today. They don't quit and they find ways to make plays. For Hayley, we want to keep playing and playing and playing, and she doesn't want it to end. So we are going to do everything in our power. Delaney wants to do everything she can to keep playing with her sister. It's just special – you don't get this every year as a coach. I love them and I'm really proud of them."
 
Game Notes
Hayley Hodgins moved into second all-time on the Big Sky's career made three-pointers list. She now has 240 career triples, 14 shy of tying the league's all-time mark. She also moved into sixth all-time in Big Sky history with 1,846 career points.
 
The Eagles have now advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the second consecutive season and the third time in their last four trips.
 
Up Next
Eastern will face the winner of tonight's match-up between No. 3 Idaho and sixth-seeded Weber State in a semifinal contest Thursday, Mar. 11, at 2:35 p.m. PST.