FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team puts its three-game winning streak on the line this week with a pair of Big Sky Conference road games at Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. The Eagles open their trek on Thursday (Jan. 19) with a 5:30 p.m. PT tip against at the Lumberjacks before taking on the Thunderbirds on Saturday (Jan. 21) at 3:05 p.m. PT.
Eastern has been flying high so far in Big Sky play, as they are just one of three teams in the conference with one-or-less loss. The Eagles are currently in third place in the league at 4-1 after picking up three-straight league wins against Montana, Idaho State and Weber State. EWU is 9-7 overall and sports the third-best RPI in the Big Sky at 118.
Northern Arizona and Southern Utah have a combined one win in league play, as the Lumberjacks are 1-4 and the Thunderbirds are 0-5. Both teams enter this week looking to end a pair of elongated losing streaks, as NAU has dropped its last four, while SUU has suffered a loss in five-consecutive games.
Where to Watch
Both games will be streamed live on WatchBigSky.com and on the Watch Big Sky App.
Thursday's contest against Northern Arizona will also be broadcast on tape delay on Fox Sports Arizona, starting at 7:30 p.m. PT. Fox Sports Arizona is available on Channel 415 on DISH and on Channel 686 on Direct TV.
Last Time Out
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 Tale of Two Games
Eastern Washington demonstrated that they have the grit to win a defensive battle, while also having the offensive fire power to put points on the board in its two games last week at Reese Court.
Last Thursday against Idaho State, EWU used its defense to overcome a 29.1 shooting percentage, as the Eagles forced the Bengals into 26 turnovers, while holding ISU to a 29.3 field goal percentage itself, in a 58-41 win at Reese. The 58 points were the lowest scored by EWU this season in a victory.
Two days later, the Eagles put up a season-high 99 points and shot 57.1 percent from the field in a 99-85 win over Weber State.
Double Down
Senior Ashli Payne picked up her second double-double of the season last Saturday with a 26-point, 11-rebound effort against Weber State. She also earned up a double-double in the conference opener against Idaho with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Saturday's double-double was the 10th of Payne's career, while the 26 points scored against the Wildcats is a new career high for the senior.
 Leading the Pack
Junior Delaney Hodgins leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring at 18.3 points per game. Hodgins has scored a total of 292 points so far this season, while she is just one of four players in the league to make over 100 field goals this season. She is coming off a 26-point performance against Weber State, which game one game after having her 31-game double-digit scoring streak come to an end.
A Spark from Starks
Freshman Symone Starks has been a key piece to the Eastern Washington bench this season, as the Lone Tree, Colorado native is registering a team-best 6.1 points per game off the bench and leads the Eagles in steals at 2.5 per game.
The freshman is coming off a 14-point outing in Saturday's win against Weber State. Her performance against the Wildcats helped Eastern score a season-best 28 points off the bench. Starks is also third in the conference in steals, as she has collected 38 in 15 games played.
 Knowing Your Opponent: Northern Arizona
The Lumberjacks come into the fourth week of Big Sky play at 1-4 after five league contests. NAU is 5-11 overall this season and has dropped seven of its last eight games, including four-straight coming into Thursday's contest against Eastern Washington. The lone win during that stretch came at Southern Utah in overtime back on Dec. 31. Northern Arizona enters this week with an RPI of 287.
Oliva Lucero leads the Lumberjacks in scoring with her 14.3 points per game average, which is also the 11th-highest in the Big Sky. Rene Coggins also averages double-digits at 12.1 points per game. As a team, NAU is averaging 69.9 points per game on a 39.4 shooting percentage.
Defensively, Northern Arizona is giving up 68.2 points per game. Opponents are shooting 40.4 percent from the field against the Lumberjacks, and force teams into 14.2 turnovers per game.
Knowing Your Opponent: Southern Utah
The Thunderbirds are just one of two winless teams in the Big Sky this season at 0-5. Southern Utah started the season 3-0, but has since dropped 11 of its last 13 contests, including each of its last five contests, to stand at 5-11 overall. SUU has an RPI of 245.
Southern Utah has had trouble scoring the ball this season, as its 64.4 points per game average is third-lowest in the Big Sky. The Thunderbirds are shooting 38.5 percent from the floor this season as a team. Darri Frandsen leads the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game, while Jamie Smith is putting up 10.8 points per game.
Teams are scoring on average 71.6 points per games, which is the third-highest total in the Big Sky. Southern Utah has made shooting tough for its opponent however, as teams are shooting just 39.2 percent against them, which is the fourth-best mark in the conference.
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.
