TOURNAMENT CENTRAL PAGE | TOURNAMENT BRACKET
RENO, Nev. – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team will embark on a search for its second bid to the NCAA Tournament in program history this week, as the No. 4-seeded Eagles open the 2017 Big Sky Tournament on Wednesday (March 8) against either No. 5 Idaho or No. 12 Southern Utah. Tip-off is set for 2:35 p.m. PT at the Reno Events Center.
The Eagles earned the No. 4 seed of the Big Sky Tournament after compiling a 12-6 mark through 18 conference regular season games to finish fourth in the standings. With the 12 wins this season, Eastern becomes the only Big Sky school to record at least 10 conference wins in each of the last six seasons.
EWU spilt a pair of meetings against both the Thunderbirds and Vandals in the regular season. The Eagles knocked off Idaho, 67-57, in the Big Sky regular season opener back on Dec. 31, but dropped a 78-51 decision in Moscow on Feb. 18. Eastern and Southern Utah spilt a pair of one-point decisions in the regular season, as EWU picked up a 67-66 win on Jan. 21 in Cedar City before falling to the Thunderbirds, 64-63, in Cheney last Wednesday (March 1).
This season will be the 23rd Big Sky Tournament appearance for Eastern Washington. The Eagles have advanced into the semifinals in five of the last seven Tournaments, while they are the only Big Sky team to move into the semifinal round in each to last two seasons.
Getting to the Big Dance
Eastern Washington captured its first, and to-date only, Big Sky Tournament title back in 1987 when the league was still known as the Mountain West Conference. The No. 2-seeded Eagles upset No. 1-seed Montana, 77-74, in Missoula to advance to the program's only NCAA Tournament.
The Eagles were a No. 7 seed in the then 40-team tournament and played No. 10-seeded Oregon in Eugene, Oregon on March 11. Despite being the higher seed, Eastern was knocked off by the host Ducks, 75-56.
Schuller Era in the Big Sky Tournament
Head coach Wendy Schuller, who is the Dean of the Big Sky with 16 seasons as head coach under her belt, has won a program-best seven Big Sky Tournament games in her tenure. In total, the Eagles are 7-12 under Schuller in the Big Sky Tournament with seven semifinal appearances.
All-Conference Honors
On Sunday, the Big Sky Conference announced its 2016-17 postseason awards and all-conference teams, and the Eagles had three players honored, led by junior Delaney Hodgins' All-Big Sky first team selection.
Hodgins led the Eagles in scoring at 17.6 points per game, and ended the year with the second-highest scoring average in the Big Sky after leading the league for nearly the entire season.
Redshirt senior Tisha Phillips earned an All-Big Sky second team selection after concluding the year at 14.1 points per game and finishing second in the conference in 3-point percentage at 43.3 percent.
Senior Ashli Payne earned All-Big Sky honorable mention honors, after posting 12.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
Hodgins, Payne and Phillips were the highest scoring trio in the Big Sky this season, as they group averaged 43.7 points per game this season.
Knowing Your Opponent: No. 5-seed Idaho
The Vandals finished one spot behind the Eagles in the Big Sky Standings by going 11-7 in conference games to secure the Big Sky Tournament's No. 5 seed. Idaho, the defending Big Sky Tournament champions, was 16-13 overall this season and split a pair of game against Eastern Washington this season.
All-Big Sky first team selection Mikayla Ferenz leads the Vandals offense with her 17.6 point per game. As a team, the Vandals average 71.9 points per game. Idaho features one of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in the Big Sky, as they made 299 three during the regular season. UI ended the year ranked fourth in the Big Sky in field goal percentage at 41.4 percent, while they posted a 34.3 percent success rate from behind the arc.
Knowing Your Opponent: No. 12-seed Southern Utah
The Thunderbirds ended the regular season at 2-16 in the Big Sky to earn the Tournament's No. 12 seed, while they were 7-22 overall this season. SSU ended the regular season on a high-note, as they won two of its final four regular season games after enduring a 14-game losing streak to open Big Sky play.
Darri Frandsen is the team's top scorer at 12.8 points per game. The sophomore was named the Big Sky's Top Reserve on Sunday, as she has only started in 12 of the team's 29 games this season. Southern Utah averages 66.4 points per game on a 39.2 shooting percentage.
For more information on the Eastern Washington women's basketball team, follow @EWUWBB on Twitter and Instagram or follow EWU Women's Basketball on Facebook.
