BOX SCORE

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – In a tightly contested game that saw four ties and five lead changes, the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team fell on the road to Cal Poly this morning (Nov. 28) by a final score of 59-55.
 
Senior Violet Kapri Morrow led the Eagles with a season-high 26 points, just two shy from a career-best. Morrow was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line and shot 44.4 percent from the field on 8-for-18 shooting. Uriah Howard was the other Eagle in double figures, adding 10 points after going 2-for-5 from behind the arc and 4-for-5 from the line.
 
"This was a frustrating loss. I thought our team played hard and tough but it's extremely difficult to win basketball games when you shoot under thirty percent from the field," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "Kapri got back to where I think she left off last season which was good to see, but overall we have to be better offensively."
 
In a tightly contested first quarter, Violet Kapri Morrow and Brittany Klaman hit three pointers as the Eagles trailed 10-8 early. After another basket from Morrow tied the game at 10 a piece, Grace Kirscher tied it up once more as both teams ended the first quarter tied 12-12.
 
Uriah Howard came off the bench in the second quarter and hit a three-pointer to give Eastern a 15-14 lead. After a quick 6-0 spurt from the Mustangs, Morrow went on a 6-0 run of her own to give Eastern a 21-20 lead later in the quarter. However, Cal Poly responded with seven-straight points to take the 27-21 advantage at the half.
 
The Mustangs built their lead to 10 points in the third quarter until an old-fashioned three-point play from Morrow cut the deficit back down to single digits. Another layup from Morrow made the score 37-30 in the third. Cal Poly outscored Eastern 14-to-9 in the third quarter and led 41-30 after three quarters of play.
 
The fourth quarter was tightly contested, and although the Eagles played catchup the whole time, they never backed down against the Mustangs. A Jessica McDowell-White three-pointer cut the deficit to five points, 42-37 in Cal Poly's favor. The Mustangs used a 4-0 spurt to extend their lead to seven points. Alissa Sealby would hit a key three-pointer to give Eastern momentum and put them back within two points, trailing 48-46.
 
Morrow and Uriah Howard would both take to the free throw line with less than five minutes remaining and combined for four points to put EWU back within distance, 52-20. With 45 seconds remaining, Howard hit a corner three-pointer and Eastern Washington called timeout trailing 56-53. From there, a foul was called against EWU and the Mustangs were able to extend their lead to 59-53. Howard took another three-point try with three seconds on the clock and was fouled on the missed basket. The junior would hit 2-of-3 from the line, but Eastern fell just short, 59-55.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington falls to 1-4 during the non-conference slate. Cal Poly snapped a six-game losing streak to improve to 2-6 on the season. Today marked the sixth all-time meeting between the two squads, with the Mustangs owning the all-time record 4-2.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Violet Kapri Morrow led the way with 26 points, a season-high and her fifth-straight game in double figures. She also added five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Uriah Howard followed with 10 points and led the team with six rebounds and three assists. Alissa Sealby led Eastern with a career-best four blocks and Grace Kirscher had three steals to lead the Eagles.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern shot a season-low 28.1 percent from the field on 16-of-57 shooting. They also struggled from behind the arc, shooting 21.4 percent (6-28) but were 17-of-20 from the free throw line.
 
Cal Poly shot 41.7 percent from the field (20-48) and were 3-for-11 behind the arc and 16-for-21 from the line. Eastern had 18 turnovers but forced 19 against the Mustangs. Both teams were even with 37 rebounds each and Cal Poly had 14 assists to EWU's 11.
 
KAPRI'S QUEST FOR 1,000: Senior Violet Kapri Morrow is on the road to joining one of the most exclusive clubs in college basketball, the 1,000-point club. With 26 points today, Morrow now has 889 career points, needing just 111 more to become the 18^th player in Eastern Washington women's basketball history to eclipse 1,000 points.
 
With her performance, Morrow now moves into 24^th on Eastern's all-time scoring list. Prior to today's game, she was 28^th all time and passed Kyla Evans, (2008-11), Tisha Phillips (2013-17) and Felice Moore (2003-06). She now just needs 47 more points to pass Tatjana Sparavalo (2008-11) for 23^rd all-time with 236 points.
 
NEXT UP: The Eagles return to Reese Court on Sunday, Dec. 2 to host Fresno State for a 1:05 p.m. tip. This is the last chance to catch Eastern in Cheney until Jan. 7, as they will finish up the remainder of the non-conference season and the first three games of Big Sky play on the road after Sunday.