CHENEY, Wash. – Hot second-half shooting lifted the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team to a 20-point victory over Utah Valley on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 25). The Eagles topped the Wolverines by a score of 61-41 for their second victory of the season.
 
EWU shot 57.14% (16-28) in the second half, including a 30.0% clip from three-point range and 100% from the free throw line. The Eagles were able to limit the Wolverines to just 31.8% from field goal range on the night. Delaney Hodgins led the team with 24 points and was one rebound short of her third double-double of the season. She was followed by Symone Starks who had a season-high 15 points, just one point shy of her career-high. Uriah Howard led the team with 11 boards and added nine points.
 
"There were certain things that we knew Utah Valley was going to bring to the table. I thought we did a good job of getting nice shots. In the first half, we struggled to knock them down but we were getting great chances," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "I was pleased that we kept our focus defensively and were working hard. That put us in a position that when we finally started making shots, we were able to go on a run."
 
At the half, the Eagles led 24-19, but both sides got off to slow starts. EWU only shot 28% from the field, while UVU shot at a 30% clip. Eastern Washington was able to hold the Wolverines scoreless for the final three minutes of the second quarter, but were just 1-7 from the field themselves.
 
The third quarter began with Delaney Hodgins hitting back-to-back floaters as the Eagles went on an 8-0 run over 2:45 and were able to hold the Wolverines scoreless for over five minutes. The Eagles finished the quarter with a 13-2 run on 5-6 of shooting to lead 39-28 heading into the final 10 minutes of play. In the third quarter, the Eagles' defense held the Wolverines to just 25% from the field.
 
"The game was a grind in the first half, we really needed to do something to amp it up and play a little bit faster," added Schuller. "We needed to make them uncomfortable and get them out of running their offense, and that was what we tried to do."
 
Eastern Washington used a 10-0 run over two minutes and were a perfect 6-6 of field goal range early in the fourth quarter. After holding UVU without any points for over three minutes, the Eagles finished with a 14-2 run over the later part of the fourth quarter to pick up the 61-41 victory.
 
THIRD TO 1,500: With her first basket in the first quarter, Delaney Hodgins became just the third player in Eastern Washington history to surpass 1,500 career points. She now has 1,523 career points to rank third all-time on EWU's all-time career scoring list. The Preseason Big Sky MVP is just 211 points away from moving into sole possession of second place and is 343 away from breaking her older sister Haley Hodgins' all-time record of 1,865 points.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington improves to 2-3 on the year, while Utah Valley drops to 0-5. EWU remains unbeaten against Utah Valley and are now 6-0 all-time against the Wolverines.
 
TOP PERFORMERS: Delaney Hodgins led the way with her third 20-point performance of the season, tallying 24 points to lead all scorers. Symone Starks added a season-high 15 points, just one shy of her career-high, and led the team with six assists. Uriah Howard had a career-high 11 rebounds and nine points for her first career double-figure rebounding game. Hodgins also led the team with three blocks and had nine rebounds.
 
TURNING POINT: After only shooting 28% in the first half, the Eagles shot lights out in the final two quarters at a 57.4% clip. In the third quarter, EWU was able to use a 13-2 run and held the Wolverines without points for over five minutes to pull ahead for good.
 
KEY STATISTICS: The Eagles forced 17 turnovers and totaled a season-low of only 12 turnovers themselves and were able to score 23 points off of the turnovers they forced. The Eagles also shot a perfect 100% from the free line, going 4-4 behind Delaney Hodgins and Alissa Sealby. In total, EWU shot at a 41.7% clip and limited Utah Valley to 31.8%. Eastern also outrebounded UVU 39-26.
 
SCHULLER SAYS: On Delaney Hodgins: "Delaney took great shots. She rebounded for us and found ways to get in the lane and get some baskets. She struggled shooting early, so I hope we got her feeling good again. She's a great scorer."
 
On Delaney Surpassing 1,500 points: "It's a testament to her and how hard she works. She's a great player and has owned her craft. You don't score like that if you don't play a lot, and she has been a real honor to coach."
 
On facing Gonzaga: "They are a good team and we have to do a lot of things that we are just trying to get better at. Each game, we go back and look at the defensive end and look at what we can do better offensively and I know that there are a lot of things we need to work on no matter who we're playing. We're in the middle of a process trying to get ready for Big Sky play, it will be a lot of fun to play the Zags."
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles now turn their sights to local rival Gonzaga on Thursday (Nov. 30). Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Spokane.