CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team defeated The College of Idaho today (Dec. 17), protecting Reese Court with a 59-46 victory.
 
The Eagles had three score in double figures, led by Kennedy Dickie with 19 points and nine rebounds while Jenna Dick scored 17 points on 7-for-11 from the field. A pair of freshmen in Aaliyah Alexander, who added 10 points, and Maisie Burnham who scored nine to go with 10 rebounds, rounded out the scoring.
 
"I didn't like our slow start. The College of Idaho deserves a lot of credit, they had a long bus ride and turned around for an early game today and really played their tails off and took it to us that first quarter. I thought we played like we had our feet in the mud a little bit, so we have to be better about having a fast start," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "I did like how our defensive energy picked up, especially in the second quarter. We started to understand that if we got stops, it would lead to offense for us. I saw some good things defensively and there were steps taken for us. I loved the energy off of the bench for us, they gave us a big boost. It was also nice to see Kennedy Dickie get herself going, I liked her second half quite a bit."
 
The College of Idaho used a 14-0 run to lead 14-3 at the end of the first.
 
It did not take long for the Eagles to bounce back, outscoring the Yotes 20-6 in the second quarter, limiting them to just 27.3 percent from the field. Aaliyah Alexander snapped the drought with a 5-0 run of her own to cut the lead. Down 18-13, the Eagles exploded on a 10-0 run to overcome the Yotes and take a 23-20 lead into the half. EWU shot 53.3 percent from the field (8-15) with four three-pointers during the frame.
 
The Eagles looked to put away the Yotes for good in the third quarter. With the score tied 29-29, EWU used a 9-3 run to pull ahead 38-32 and never trailed again as they narrowly outscored the Yotes, 15-13, to own a 38-33 lea into the fourth quarter.
 
It was all Eastern Washington in the fourth quarter, exploding on a 17-0 run to build their largest lead of the game, 57-36. Five Eagles scored during the run, led by Dickie who scored seven of her game-high 19 points during the spurt. The Yotes were still able to find momentum, going on an 8-0 run to cut the score, but Eastern Washington held on for their first victory of the season, winning 59-46.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington improves to 1-4 overall while the Yotes fall to 1-5. It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs, as The College of Idaho competes out of the Cascade Collegiate Conference at the NAIA level. Both sides had a little under 48-hours to prepare, as the game came about to fill a last-minute vacancy in The College of Idaho's schedule.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Kennedy Dickie scored in double figures for the third-straight game, scoring a season-high 19 points. She pulled down nine rebounds and also added an assist and a block to go with three three-pointers.
 
Jenna Dick scored 17 points for the second-consecutive game. She was 7-for-11 from the field and 3-for-7 from behind the arc. Dick also pulled down four rebounds, had two steals and a block.
 
For the fourth time this season, freshman Aaliyah Alexander scored in double figures, adding 10 points. She also led the Eagles with four steals.
 
Maisie Burnham was a point shy of a double-double, leading the Eagles with 10 rebounds and two blocks.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington shot 38.3 (23-60) percent from the field, 29.6 percent behind the arc (8-27) and were a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line.
 
EWU out-rebounded their opponent for the fourth time this season, pulling down 40 boards to C of I's 33. The Eagles also outscored the Yotes in the paint, 26-20.
 
Turnovers troubled the Eagles again, as they committed 22. However, they forced 27 with 12 steals and turned them in to 15 points.
 
The Yotes shot 34 percent (18-53) from the field and were 8-24 (33.3%) from behind the arc.
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles are back at home this Saturday, Dec. 19, when they host Seattle University at 2:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast for free on Pluto TV Ch. 1053 with live stats available on EWUStats.com. The contest marks the final non-conference matchup for the Eagles at home this season.
 
MORE FROM COACH SCHULLER:
 
On the Performance and Effort of her Young Team: "It is what it is. You can't lament over the fact that we're young. At the end, we had a really young team on the floor. We gave up a run to end the game, but I wanted them to play through it and figure it out a little bit. I got a few more grays during the last two minutes – growing pains. But, a good experience for our players and I am just really blessed that we even got a game in today. I appreciate all of the efforts of our athletic department, facilities, and the conference office for getting us officials that flew in for the game."