CHENEY, Wash. -- The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team opened its final home stand of the 2016-17 season with a heartbreaking 64-63 loss to Southern Utah on Wednesday (March 1) night.
"Southern Utah deserves a ton of credit," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "They came out and played really well, and watching film on them, I thought they had been playing well all season, but just couldn't get over the hump. I knew they would be dangerous coming into this game."
Eastern found itself in a battle with the last place team in the Big Sky on Wednesday, as trailed the Thunderbirds by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter. The Eagles would battle back to pull within a point with 3:13 left to play, but never got the go-ahead bucket to fall.
Sophomore Violet Kapri Morrow came up big for the Eagles with 55 seconds remaining in the game with a steal to give EWU the ball back trailing by just a point. However, there would be game-winning heroics for Eastern on Wednesday, as they went 0-for-3 from the field on its final possession to suffer a one-point loss.
"We missed a lot of shots we should've made," Schuller added. "In a close game, you have to hit those easy shots. We had some tough breaks down the stretch. I thought we had some hard drives to the basket on our last possession, but that didn't end in a result that we'd hope it would."
Junior Delaney Hodgins scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field. The forward also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and collected a pair of steals on the night.
Redshirt senior Tisha Phillips returned to the double-digit scoring column on Wednesday after a three-game absence, with 10 points. The point guard also handed out a team-best six assists and tallied a game-high four steals.
The Eagles could not get into an offensive groove against the Thunderbirds, as they shot just 39.3 percent from the field, while Southern Utah posted a 41.5 shooting percentage.
Eastern remains in sole possession of fourth place in the Big Sky standings heading into Friday's regular season finale against Northern Arizona, thanks to a pair of losses by Idaho and Idaho State. If the Eagles win on Friday, they will clinch the No. 4 seed of the Big Sky Tournament.
"Friday is a playoff-type game," Schuller expressed. "We've got to get better on the glass, and in a hurry. NAU is a team that beat us at their place, so they will be coming in with a lot of confidence. I believe that when we execute and play to our strengths, we are a really good basketball team. We'll be ready to play on Friday."
Win-Loss Records: With tonight's loss, Eastern Washington falls to 16-12 on the year and 11-6 in Big Sky play. For Southern Utah, they improve to 6-22 and win just their second Big Sky contest in 17 tries this season.
What It Means: Despite tonight's loss, Eastern maintains a one-game lead for the fourth, and final, bye of next week's Big Sky Tournament, thanks to both Idaho and Idaho State falling in their games tonight. With a win over Northern Arizona, Eastern will claim the No. 4 seed in next week's Big Sky Tournament.
Turning Point: Tied at 52-52 with 7:08 left to play in the fourth, Southern Utah would open an 8-0 run to take a commanding 60-52 lead with 4:41 left to play. The Eagles would pull within a point three times down the stretch, but a 58.3 shooting percentage by the Thunderbirds in the frame prevented EWU from scoring the go-ahead bucket.
Key Stats: Eastern Washington forced 25 turnovers on Wednesday, that allowed to a 32-7 edge in points off turnovers. The Eagles had 17 steals on the night.
Southern Utah used a 46-25 edge on the boards to maintain the pace of the game on Wednesday. The Thunderbirds had two players collect 12-or-more rebounds and held a 10-5 advantage in second-chance points.
Top Performers: Junior Delaney Hodgins scored a game-high 19 points and pulled down a team-best seven caroms on Wednesday.
Redshirt senior Tisha Phillips handed out a team-high six assists to go along with 10 points against Southern Utah. The point guard also collected four steals.
Freshman Uriah Howard scored a team-high seven points and collected three steals.
Notables: With tonight's loss, Eastern is now 20-5 against Big Sky teams at Reese Court since the start of the 2014-15 season.
Despite tonight's loss, Eastern Washington still holds a 9-7 advantage over the Thunderbirds in the all-time series.
Junior Delaney Hodgins' 19-point performance marks her 78th career game with double-digits. It was also the 27th time she has scored in double figures this season and extends her double-digit scoring streak to 13 games.
With four 3-point field goals made tonight, Eastern Washington has now hit at least one 3-pointer in each of the last 329 games.
What's Next: The Eagles conclude the 2016-17 regular season this Friday, March 3, against Northern Arizona. Friday will be Senior Night at Reese Court, as the Eastern will honor redshirt senior Tisha Phillips and senior Ashli Payne prior to the start of the game. Tip-off is set for 6:05 p.m. PT.
For more information on the Eastern Washington women's basketball team, follow @EWUWBB on Twitter and Instagram, and be sure to like EWU Women's Basketball on Facebook.
