CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team continued their winning ways on Wednesday, Feb. 28 with a dominant 70-49 win over Southern Utah in Cedar City. Senior Delaney Hodgins posted a career-high 37 (15-22) points and moved to third on the Big Sky Conference's all-time scoring list with 2,059 career points. She is now 113 away from second place and 237 away from the record.
 
"I was pretty pleased with that second half. I thought we came out sluggish and didn't look like the team I know and love," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "Defensively, we really worked to be solid in the second half and it showed. What a special game for Delaney. You don't get to see kids in the zone very often, but we saw it today. I think she made a statement tonight."
 
Hodgins extended her double-digit scoring streak to 25 games while adding eight rebounds. Violet Kapri Morrow had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Mariah Cunningham led the team in boards with 10. In her first start since Dec. 18, Uriah Howard scored eight. As a team, the Eagles shot 50 percent from the field (30-60) and forced 16 turnovers.
 
Eastern Washington forced five turnovers in the first quarter, but got off to a slow start. After Southern Utah went on a 7-0 run in the second, EWU went 0-for-5 from field goal range. Turnovers hurt both teams in the first half, Eastern committed 11 while the Thunderbirds had 10. Despite Hodgins' 15 first-half points and EWU shooting 42 percent from the field, the Eagles trailed 25-29 at the half.
 
The Eagles opened on a 7-0 run in the third quarter, capped off by a Brittany Klaman three-pointer. After falling scoreless for nearly three minutes, they pulled back ahead by five points after a Howard layup. EWU was able to outscore the Thunderbirds 28-14 in the third.
 
Eastern Washington took off in the fourth quarter, outscoring SUU 17-6 while shooting over 50 percent. They used leads of 9-0 and 6-0 in the fourth and held the Thunderbirds without a field goal for over five minutes.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington picks up their third straight victory and now moves to 16-13 overall and 11-6 in the Big Sky. Southern Utah falls to 3-25 overall and 2-15 in conference play. EWU takes the season sweep after defeating the Thunderbirds earlier this season in Cheney on Jan. 20 by a score of 58-41. This is the Eagles second straight win over SUU as the series record moves to 11-7 all-time.
 
AROUND THE BIG SKY: Eastern is currently in third place in the conference standings with an 11-6 record. Northern Colorado holds the top spot at 14-3, followed by Idaho who sits at 12-5. Eastern Washington and Weber State are in a tie for third at 11-6, with EWU holding the tie breaker. Portland State and Idaho State are tied for fifth at 10-7. The top four teams receive a first-round bye at the conference tournament in Reno, Nev., on March 5-10. Eastern can clinch a first round bye with a win at Northern Arizona on Saturday.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern shot 50 percent on the night while locking down the Thunderbirds to just 30.9 percent. Both teams shot 50 percent from the free throw line. Eastern outrebounded SUU 39-35, but both teams had 16 turnovers and eight steals.
 
TOP PERFORMERS: Delaney Hodgins stole the show with a career-high 37 points for her third 30-plus point performance in four games. She knocked down five three pointers and went 15-for-22 from the field including 2-for-5 from the free throw line. Violet Kapri Morrow had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Mariah Cunningham led the team in boards with 10. In her first start since Dec. 18, Uriah Howard scored eight
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles wrap up the regular season on Friday, March 2 at Northern Arizona at 5:30 p.m. PT.