CHENEY, Wash. – With a combined 52 points, junior Delaney Hodgins and senior Ashli Payne delivered the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team its season-high in points in a dominant 99-85 victory over Weber State on Saturday (Jan. 14).

While the defense shined in Eastern's previous victory against Idaho State on Thursday (Jan. 12), it was the offense that rose to the occasion in a shootout that saw the team score over 20 points in every quarter. Delaney Hodgins and Ashli Payne were the offense's front runners in the scoring department, putting up 26 points each and shooting at a combined clip of 64.3 percent.

The game remained close until the 6:34 mark in the second quarter, with the score all knotted up at 25. From here, the Eagles marched onto a 15-0 run that lasted over two minutes and saw their lead burst out to 38-25 over the Wildcats.

With the momentum in its hands, EWU did nothing but increase its output at the start of the second half, getting out to a 6-0 run in just one minute of action. By the end of the third quarter, Eastern saw its biggest lead of the afternoon so far, up 74-52 over Weber State. The Eagles kept up at least a 14 point margin for the remaining period, and coasted to the 99-85 victory. EWU's season-high points of 99 were the exact amount as both teams' combined scores in Thursday's Idaho State contest.

"I think this is a tempo we are more comfortable playing at," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "I thought offensively, especially in the second half, Ashli and Delaney were playing with a lot of confidence and stepping up doing big things. That was good to see. I think a lot of the flow had to do with the opponent and how they want to play. I always say we are built to play however we need to play, and I think this weekend was a good indicator of that."

Win-Loss: Eastern Washington improves to 4-1 in Big Sky play and 9-7 on the season, while Weber State falls to 2-3 in the Big Sky and 8-8 on the season.

What It Means: The win today brings Eastern into third place in the Big Sky Conference standings, improves its record at home against Big Sky opponents to 19-2 since the 2014-15 season.

Key Stats: The difference maker in today's offensive-shootout was EWU's ability to make shots. The Eagles recorded a field goal percentage of 57.1 compared to WSU's 40.9 percent mark. The Eagles also attempted 41 free throws on the afternoon, making 26 of them. As a team, Weber State took 24 free throws, converting on 19 of them.

Turning Point: With a 10 point lead and the game still in reach for Weber State, Eastern sparked an offensive explosive to kick-off the second half. The team shot a blistering 15-of-17 from the field, and scoring a game-high 32 points in the quarter. Delaney Hodgins completely took over the third, scoring 16 of her 26 points within the 10 minute period and going a perfect 7-of-7 from the field.

Top Performers: Junior Delaney Hodgins picked up 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting along with five rebounds.

Senior Ashli Payne matched Hodgins' mark of 26 points for the team lead on an 8-of-13 clip. Payne also finished with a double-double, recording 11 rebounds. She converted 8-of-11 from the charity stripe as well.

Freshman Symone Starks played extended minutes, and posted 14 points, five rebounds, a team-leading 5 assists, and three steals. She was 3-of-4 from three-point range.

Sophomore Violet Kapri Morrow also went into double-digits, scoring 13 points on an efficient 5-of-6 shooting. She tallied four rebounds and two assists.

Notables: With tonight's win, Eastern Washington improves to 19-2 over its last 21 games at Reese Court against Big Sky foes. The only two losses have come against Sacramento State during that stretch.

Going 9-of-17 from behind the arc, Eastern Washington continued their 318-game streak with at least one 3-point field goal made.

EWU recorded a season-high 99 points on the afternoon.

The Eagles also received a season-high contribution of 28 points from their bench.

Ashli Payne recorded her second double-double of the season. Her first of the year was against Idaho on Dec. 31 with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

What's Next: The Eagles hit the road in their next matchup, playing Northern Arizona on Thursday (Jan. 19) starting at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

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.