CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team traveled to Southern Utah to take on the Thunderbirds this afternoon (Jan. 25) where they lost 71-50.
 
Bella Cravens led the team with 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in the loss.
 
"I was extremely disappointed in our effort today. Especially coming out in the second half, I didn't think our effort level on either end was where it needed to be for us to have success," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "Southern Utah is a good basketball team and executed in and out and outhustled us. I have to do a better job of having us in a place where we can come out in the second half and play hard."
 
Both teams saw significant scoring lulls in the low-scoring first quarter. Eastern fell behind 8-4 before Bella Cravens' sixth-point of the first quarter tied it 8-8. After Southern Utah pulled back ahead 11-8, the Eagles held the Thunderbirds scoreless for the final four minutes to take a 12-11 lead after one quarter.
 
Alexyss Newman opened the scoring in the second quarter and gave Eastern a 14-11 lead. Later on, Eastern Washington was held scoreless for over four minutes while the Thunderbirds used an 11-0 run to pull ahead 25-15. Grace Kirscher finally snapped the scoring lull with two free throws and Jessica McDowell-White made a three-pointer for a quick 5-0 run to put the Eagles back within five points, 25-20. Both teams would exchange points to close the half and it was Southern Utah who led 29-24 heading into the break.
 
Southern Utah opened the third quarter on a 15-2 run and never looked back, outscoring the Eagles 26-12 during the frame to lead 55-36 with one quarter remaining.
 
The Thunderbirds edged the Eagles 16-14 in the fourth quarter as Jenna Dick exploded for seven of her nine points during the final frame. Despite holding the Thunderbirds without a field goal for over 3:15 of play, the Eagles dropped the contest 71-50.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: The Eagles fall to 2-14 overall and 1-6 in Big Sky Conference play. Southern Utah, who's undefeated home record is still intact, improves to 9-7 and 3-4.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Bella Cravens led the team with 13 points on 6-for-10 from the field and also led the team with nine rebounds and four blocks.
 
Jenna Dick (3-7) followed with nine points while Leya DePriest (2-6 and 3-4 from the free throw line) added seven.
 
Kennedy Dickie had seven rebounds and three assists to lead the team while Grace Kirscher had two steals.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington shot 35.8 percent (19-53) from the field, was 3-14 from three-point range (21.4) and 9-for-14 from the free throw line (64.3).
 
Southern Utah shot 45.8 (27-59) from the field, 41.2 from three-point range (7-10) and 62.5 percent from the free throw line (10-16).
 
Eastern Washington out-rebounded the Thunderbirds, 33-to-31 and had four blocks to SUU's none. Southern Utah held a slight edge in the paint, 30 points to 26.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington wraps up the month of January on Monday at Northern Colorado with a special 11 a.m. Pacific time tip. It will be the first meeting since the Eagles knocked the Bears out of the semifinals at the 2019 Big Sky Conference tournament.