CHENEY, Wash. -- A big home stretch awaits the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team this week, as they host both teams tied atop the Big Sky Conference standings in North Dakota and Northern Colorado. The Eagles kickoff the week on Thursday (Feb. 9) with a contest against Fighting Hawks at 6:05 p.m. PT, then take on the Bears on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 2:05 p.m. PT.
The Big Sky Tournament seeding will start to take shape after this week for EWU, as the Eagles have an opportunity to gain ground on a pair of teams they currently trailing by two games in the conference standings. Both Northern Colorado and North Dakota are tied for first place in the Big Sky with a 10-1 mark through 11 conference games, while Eastern Washington sits in fourth place just two games back from first at 8-3 in league play. Montana State, who owns a season sweep of the EWU, also sits in between Eastern and first place, as they're in third with a 9-2 conference record.
The Eagles are flying high into Reese Court this week after coming off their first Big Sky road sweep of the season by picking up wins at Sacramento State (72-65) and Portland State (68-62). Eastern has been rolling off the wins of late, as they've picked up a victory in seven of their past nine games.
How to Watch
Both games will stream for free live on WatchBigSky.com and the Watch Big Sky App.
Last Time Out
The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team completed a two-game Big Sky road sweep after defeating Portland State, 68-62, on Friday (Feb. 4).
The Big Three of seniors Ashli Payne and Tisha Phillips, and junior Delaney Hodgins led the way to the Friday afternoon victory with a combined 50 points. Phillips led the trio with 19 points, followed by 18 points from Hodgins and 13 from Payne.
Defending the Home Court
Despite being handed a loss to Montana State in their last home game, Eastern Washington is 19-3 over its last 22 games at Reese Court against Big Sky teams. The Bobcats joined Sacramento State as the only two conference teams to pick up a win in Cheney since the start of the 2014-15 season.
Dynamic Duo
Eastern Washington currently sports the highest-scoring duo in the Big Sky Conference, as junior Delaney Hodgins and redshirt senior Tisha Phillips are averaging a combined 32.7 points per game. Hodgins leads the conference in scoring at 17.9 points per game, while Phillips ranks ninth with her 14.8 ppg average.
The Eagles are only one of two teams to have a pair of players rank inside the Top 10 in scoring in the Big Sky. They are joined by Portland State, who has Sidney Rielly (4th; 16.7 ppg) and Ashley Bolston (7th; 15.5 ppg) inside the Top 10.
Spark Off the Bench
Freshman Symone Starks has been a spark plug for the Eagles off the bench, as she is averaging a team-best 5.4 points per game. The guard has also displayed hard-noised defense throughout the season, as she leads the team in steals with 49. She currently ranks third in the Big Sky in steals per game at 2.3 steals per contest.
Deadly from Deep
Redshirt senior Tisha Phillips has been on fire of late from behind the arc, as she is shooting 63.2 percent (14-of-22) from three-point land over her last four games. That performance has helped lift her to the second-best 3-point field goal percentage in the Big Sky at 44.2 percent. So far this season, the Lapwai, Idaho native has made 34 shots from behind the arc.
New Streak Started
Back on Jan. 12, junior Delaney Hodgins had her 31-game double-digit scoring streak come to an end with a seven-point outing against Idaho State. Since then, she has had seven-straight double-figure outings, which included a 26-point outing in her next game after the breaking the streak against Weber State.
Hodgins, who leads the conference in scoring, has averaged 18.6 points per game during her new double-digit scoring streak and has eclipsed the 20-point plateau three times.
Knowing Your Opponent: North Dakota
The Fighting Hawks enter the week tied atop the Big Sky Conference standings with Northern Colorado at 10-1. UND bring a six-game winning streak into Reese Court, which includes a 57-51 victory over the Bears this past Saturday. Currently, North Dakota sports an RPI of 138 and are 15-7 overall on the year.
Makailah Dyer leads the Hawks in scoring with her 14.6 points per game average, which is the 10th-best scoring average in the Big Sky. Teammate Lexi Klabo also ranks inside the Top 20 in scoring in the conference, as she puts up 12.2 points per contest. As a team, North Dakota ranks second in the Big Sky in scoring at 72.5 points per game. They are hitting 39.9 percent from the field, which is sixth-best in the conference.
Defensively, UND leads the league in blocks with 5.8 swats per game. Samantha Roscoe and Klabo both rank inside the top five in the Big Sky in blocks, as Roscoe ranks second in the league with 1.8 rejections per game, while Klabo rejects 1.5 shots per contest. That rim projection has led to a teams to shoot just 38.7 percent against them, while they are giving up 68.9 points per game.
Knowing Your Opponent: Northern Colorado
Like North Dakota, the Bears are tied for first place in the Big Sky at 10-1. UNC had their 11-game winning streak come to an end last Saturday at home against North Dakota, which dropped their overall record to 18-4. Prior to Saturday's loss, Northern Colorado was receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25.
UNC averages 70.9 points per game, while its 43.2 field goal percentage is second-best in the Big Sky. The Bears have been accurate from the charity stripe all season, as they sport a league-leading 78.3 free throw percentage. Savannah Smith leads the team in scoring with her 16.4 points per game, which is the fifth-highest scoring average in the league. Northern Colorado is also the top 3-point shooting team in terms of 3-point field goal percentage, as they are hitting 35.3 percent from behind the arc.
Defensively, the Bears are giving up 61.3 points per game, which is the second-fewest allowed in the conference. Teams are shooting 37.2 percentage against Northern Colorado, while they are forcing 15.2 turnovers per game this season.
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.
