CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington women's basketball team hits the road for the first time in 2018 to take on Portland State and Sacramento State for the second week of Big Sky Conference play. The Eagles, who are coming off a come-from-behind victory over North Dakota, take on the Vikings on Thursday (Jan. 4) at 8 p.m. before heading to Sacramento for a 2 p.m. tip on Jan. 6. Both games can be watched on Pluto TV or WatchBigSky.com.
 
EWU opened the 2017-18 conference slate with two tightly contested matchups against Northern Colorado and North Dakota, as each game was decided by five points or fewer. The Eagles dropped their opener to the Bears 70-65, but overcame an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to top the Fighting Hawks 74-70. UND was a top-100 RPI team at the time and was picked to finish second in both preseason Big Sky polls.
 
Delaney Hodgins led the way the 27 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season in the win. Twenty of her points came in the second half with eight of them coming in the final two minutes. Over the weekend, Hodgins averaged 22.5 points and 10 rebounds per contest. Symone Starks (14) and Mariah Cunningham (11) also scored in double figures.
 
A LOOK AT YOUR EAGLES: The Eagles are 6-8 overall and are 1-1 in conference play. Eastern's defense has been pestering this season as they rank in the top-100 across Division I in blocks (38^th, 69), blocks per game (43^rd, 4.9), steals (25^th, 155) and steals per game (34^th, 11.1) as well as forced turnovers (89^th, 18.43). As a team, they've had over five blocks in eight games this season and have compiled steals into the double digits in all but four contests.
 
The Eagles are averaging 60.9 points per game and 34.6 rebounds per game. They are shooting 72.1 percent from the free throw line which in 98th nationally.
 
Preseason Big Sky MVP Delaney Hodgins is leading the way for the Eagles with 19.6 points per contest and 7.8 rebounds. Her 103 field goals made is 24th in the nation, and first in the Big Sky, and her points per game is 45th. The senior also has 26 blocked shots on the year which is 46th nationally. Her 274 points this season is 35^th in the nation.
 
Violet Kapri Morrow is the other Eagle averaging double figures with 10.5. Sophomore Symone Starks is currently on a four-game double digit scoring streak and ranks 14th in the nation, and first in the BSC, in steals (47) and steals per game (3.36).
 
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: Portland State is 7-5 overall and are 1-0 in Big Sky play while boasting a 4-0 record at home this season. They are coming off of a 74-73 win, their fourth straight victory, over Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon after trailing by four with 18 seconds left. Ashley Bolston hit the game-tying and the game-winning free throws with 0.8 seconds left.
 
As a team, they lead the Big Sky and rank 53rd in the nation with 75.5 points per game. They also rank second in the league in free throw percentage (75.5) and three-point field goal percentage (36.7). Sidney Rielly ranks second in the Big Sky in points per game with 20.2, just ahead of Delaney Hodgins. Kiana Brown (12.1) and Kyle Jimenez (10.8) also score in double figures.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Washington leads the all-time series, 34-24, but trail on the road at Portland State 12-16. Last season, EWU faced the Vikings on the road and won 68-62. They have won two straight over PSU, including seven of the last 10. Portland State will make the return trip to Cheney on Feb. 3.
 
SCOUTING THE HORNETS: Sacramento State is 2-10 on the year and are 0-1 in conference play after the loss to Portland State. The Hornets are currently on a four-game losing streak and play host to Idaho on Thursday before welcoming the Eagles to town. They have only played at home once this season where they picked up a win over Antelope Valley.
 
The Hornets average 71.7 points per game and 39 rebounds per game. As a team, they make 8.8 three-pointers per game which is 32nd in the nation. Sacramento State has three players in double figures in Hannah Friend (18.6), Maranne Johnson (16.6) and Dana DeGraffenreid (10.9).
 
SERIES HISTORY: EWU leads the all-time series 32-16 and are 15-8 all-time in Sacramento. Last season, Eastern picked up a 72-65 road win over the Hornets and have won two straight, including seven of the last 10. Sacramento State heads to Cheney on Feb. 1.
 
SOARING TO THE TOP: After scoring 27 points against UND, Delaney Hodgins now has 1,702 career points to rank third all-time on EWU's all-time career scoring list. The Preseason Big Sky MVP is now just 32 points out of second place and just 164 away from breaking the all-time record of 1,865 set by her older sister Hayley Hodgins (2013-16).
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington returns home for a matchup against Big Sky foe Idaho on Friday, Jan. 12 at 5 p.m. as a part of a doubleheader with the men's team.