PORTLAND, Ore. – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team (2-6, 1-2) ended 2020 on a high note tonight (Dec. 31) with a 73-71 victory at Portland State (1-3, 0-1).
 
The game saw 10 ties and eight lead changes and the Eagles only led for 10:48 of the matchup and trailed 55-49 with a quarter to go. The game came down to the final possession, but Portland State missed its final attempt and Eastern ended the year in the win column.
 
For the second-straight game, Maisie Burnham led the Eagles in scoring with 16 points. A trio of Eagles in Jenna Dick, Kennedy Dickie and Aaliyah Alexander all added 11 points. Alexander also had seven assists.
 
"I thought it was a great team win," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "A lot of players stepped up and made big plays in crucial situations and it's good for us to know we can win a close game. Now, it's important for us to get some rest and make some adjustments to get ready for Saturday."
 
Eastern Washington shot 35 percent from the field to open the game and while the Vikings scored four three-pointers early on, they shot only 25 percent and were held without a field goal for the final 5:37 of the first quarter. Milly Knowles tied the game 14-14 with just over a minute to play, but two PSU free throws gave them a slight 16-14 advantage after one.
 
Portland State used a 5-0 run to pull ahead 24-18 in the second quarter, but it was all Eastern Washington from there as the Eagles outscored the Vikings 19-4 in the final 3:16 of the half to lead 37-30 heading into the locker room. Jenna Dick found her groove, making three three-pointers in less than two minutes including one at the buzzer. Eastern Washington shot 50 percent from the field (8-16) in the frame to outscore PSU 23-14 in the second quarter.
 
The Vikings used a 9-0 run in the third quarter to outscore the Eagles 25-12 and held a 55-49 lead with a quarter to go.
 
Down 67-64, Burnham made a driving layup to make it a one-point game with 3:06 to play, which would end up being PSU's final lead of the game. The game was tied 68-68 with 2:21 left on the clock when Dickie sunk a three-pointer to put the Eagles ahead, 71-68. After the Vikings came back within one point, Dickie found Alexander down court for the fast-break layup to make it a 73-70 game. Portland State made it to the free throw line and made 1 of 2 but missed its final game-winning attempt, as the Eagles held on for the 73-71 victory.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington improves to 2-6 overall with a 1-2 mark in Big Sky Conference play. Playing in just its third game this season, Portland State falls to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in conference action.
 
The win marks Eastern's first in Portland since Feb. 4, 2017 as the Vikings had won seven out of the last 10 meetings prior to tonight, including knocking EWU out of the Big Sky tournament last season in the first round.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: For the second-straight game, Maisie Burnham led the Eagles in scoring with 16 points to tie a career-high while adding six rebounds.
 
A trio of Eagles in Jenna Dick, Kennedy Dickie and Aaliyah Alexander each scored 11 points. It marked Dickie's sixth-straight game in double figures as she also grabbed five rebounds.
 
Alexander dished out seven assists and had two steals. Freshman Nuria Cunill led the Eagles with seven rebounds, while Grace Kirscher added eight points.
 
After missing the first 15 months of her career due to multiple knee injuries and procedures, redshirt-freshman Gabrielle Jung made her long-awaited Eagle debut. She saw three minutes off the of bench and scored two points and added a rebound.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington was 28-62 from the field to shoot 45.2 percent on the night, while the Vikings were 22-56 to shoot 39.3 percent. The Eagles were also 7-19 from three-point range while PSU was 10-26. At the free throw line, EWU went 10-18 and the Vikings made 17 of 22.
 
Twenty-one of Eastern's 28 field goals were assisted. Although they were edged in the rebounding battle, 37 to 35, they outscored Portland State in the paint, 30 to 20. They also had a season-low 10 turnovers and forced 16.
 
The game itself was tied 10 times with eight lead changes and EWU led for 10:48 while the Vikings had the lead for 25:33.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington looks to begin 2021 the same way they ended 2020, with a win over Portland State. The Eagles are back in action to face the Vikings in Portland on Saturday, Jan. 2, for a 12 p.m. tip-off.