BOZEMAN, Mont. -- The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team hits the road for the first time in Big Sky Conference play this season, as they take on both Montana State and Montana this week. The Eagles open the trip with the Bobcats on Thursday (Jan. 5) for a 6:05 p.m. PT tip before challenging the Grizzlies on Saturday (Jan. 7) at 1:05 p.m. PT. Both games can be streamed live on WatchBigSky.com or on the Watch Big Sky App.

Eastern is coming off a 67-57 victory over the defending Big Sky champions, Idaho, at Reese Court last Saturday (Dec. 31) in its Big Sky season opener. The victory avenged a season-ending loss to the Vandals in last season's Big Sky Tournament, and put the Eagles back to an even .500 on the year at 6-6. The victory lifted Eastern's Rating Index Percentage (RPI) to 130.

EWU will look to maintain its perfect conference mark on the road this week against the pair of Treasure State schools inside the conference. Montana State, who claimed a share of the Big Sky regular season title a year ago, is 8-4 on the year and is 1-1 in the conference after a week of play. For the Grizzlies, they enter this week with a 3-10 mark overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Last Time Out
The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team's version of the Big Three helped the Eagles score a 67-57 victory over defending Big Sky Conference champ, Idaho, on Saturday (Dec. 31) to open up league play.

Seniors Ashli Payne and Tisha Phillips, along with junior Delaney Hodgins combined to score 47 of EWU's points to help the Eagles avenge a season-ending loss to the Vandals in last season's Big Sky Tournament. Payne led the way with a season-best 21 points, while Phillips chipped in 14 points and Hodgins tallied 12.

Big Sky Player of the Week
On Tuesday (Jan. 3), the Big Sky Conference announced that Eastern Washington University women's basketball senior Ashli Payne has been selected as Co-Big Sky Player of the Week.

This week's honor marks the first time Big Sky Player of the Week accolade for Payne. The forward picked up her first double-double of the season with a season-high 21 points to go along with a season-best 14 rebounds to help the Eagles pick up a 67-57 win against defending Big Sky Champion, Idaho, on Saturday at Reese Court in both team's Big Sky opener.

Taking Good Shots
The Eagles are currently shooting 42.9 percent from the field as a team, which is the second-highest success rate in the Big Sky. Eastern has shot above that average in six of its last nine games.

Senior Ashli Payne is fifth in the conference in field goal percentage at 48.9, while junior Delaney Hodgins is sixth with a 48.1 percent success rate.

Leading the Way
Junior Delaney Hodgins opens the second week of Big Sky play as the league's top scorer with her 18.6 point per game average. The forward is coming off a 12-point effort in the Big Sky-opening win against Idaho last Saturday, which extended her double-digit scoring streak to 29 games.

Letting it Fly
Eastern Washington is currently the top 3-point field goal percentage team in the conference. The Eagles are shooting 35.5 percent from behind the arc and have made at least four 3-point field goals in every game this season.

Eastern has an impressive streak going from behind the arc, as they've made at least one 3-point field goal in its last 314 games.

What a Year
Junior Delaney Hodgins has scored 10-or-more points in each of her last 29 games, which is the longest active double-digit scoring streak inside the Big Sky Conference. If Hodgins scored at least 10 points over the next two contests, then she will have tallied double-digit points in every game over the last calendar year. The last time Hodgins failed to score double-digit came on Jan. 9, 2016 at Idaho.

Double-Trouble
Senior Ashli Payne picked up her first double-double of the season with a 21-point, 14-rebound outing against Idaho last Saturday. It is the ninth career double-double for Payne, which breaks a tie with junior Delaney Hodgins for most career double-doubles on the active roster.

Ending Strong
Redshirt senior Tisha Phillips has been playing some of her best basketball in an Eagle uniform this season, as she is averaging a career-high 13.8 points per game through 12 games this season.

Phillips has posted double-digit points in all but two games this season, and she scored a season-high 20 points against Drake back on Dec. 22. She currently ranks 14th in the Big Sky in scoring.

Knowing Your Opponent: Montana State
The Bobcats come into Thursday's game off a 67-59 defeat at Idaho State to bring their seven-game winning streak to an end. Overall on the year Montana State is 8-4, while they are an even 1-1 in Big Sky play. MSU currently holds the top RPI in the Big Sky at 98.

Montana State is led by Preseason Big Sky Player of the Year Peyton Ferris, who boast a team-best 15.3 points per game.  As a team, the Bobcats average 69.9 points per game, which is the fifth-highest in the league. They are also shooting 41.1 percent from the floor.

The Bobcats are the top defensive team in the Big Sky to this point of the season, as they are holding teams to just 34.8 percent from the floor and just 59.9 points per game. Both marks are tops in the Big Sky in each category. MSU is even better at limiting 3-point field goals, with opponents hitting just 28.2 percent of their shots from behind the arc against them.

Knowing Your Opponent: Montana
Montana enters this week looking to end a four-game losing streak that has dropped its record to 3-10 overall on the year. The Grizzlies are coming off an 0-2 conference-opening week where they fell at Weber State (61-43) and at Idaho State (74-58). Only one of Montana's three wins have come against an NCAA Division I opponent – Incarnate Word – this season.

The Grizzlies have struggled to score the ball in 2016-17, as they are averaging just 51.1 points per game on a 32.2 field goal percentage. Both marks rank last in the Big Sky. Taylor Goligoski leads the team in scoring with her 12.4 points per game average.

On the defensive end, teams are scoring 63.5 point per game, which is the fourth-lowest total in the conference. Opponents are also hitting 42.7 percent against Montana this season. The Grizzlies have also collected the lowest amount of steals this season in the Big Sky, as they average 5.5 per game.

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.