GAME NOTES

CHENEY, Wash. – For the 11^th-straight season, the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team will battle with the Boise State Broncos. This year's matchup is set for Thursday, Dec. 10, at the Extramile Arena in Boise, Idaho. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. Pacific time.
 
The game will be broadcasted on the Mountain West Network. Streaming and live stats links can be found by visiting the EWU women's basketball schedule page HERE.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Washington got its season underway last Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 5-6) at Reese Court with a pair of Big Sky Conference games against Northern Arizona, dropping both matchups.
 
Freshman Aaliyah Alexander led the team in scoring in both contests, putting up 18 and 16 points, respectively. Alexander earned the start in both games and averaged 34.4 minutes and 17 points per game to go with 5.5 rebounds per contest. She also recorded six total assists, five steals and a block while shooting 48.8 percent from the field (13-27).
 
The Eagles won the rebounding battle in both contests.
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: The Eagles are still in search of the win column after starting the season 0-2. Thursday's game marks both the road and non-conference openers.
 
Offensively, EWU is led by freshman Aaliyah Alexander who has scored in double figures in both contests this season, averaging 17.0 points per game on 48.1 percent accuracy from the field. She currently leads the team with 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
 
Alexyss Newman is the other Eagle to average double figures with 11.0 points per game. The sophomore has started both contests this year and averages 5.5 rebounds per game.
 
Jenna Dick and Kennedy Dickie each average 8.0 points per game, while Dickie also leads the team in rebounding with 8.0 per contest.
 
As a team, Eastern Washington is averaging 57.5 points and 40.0 rebounds per game. They are the current conference leaders in free throw percentage, sinking 81.3 percent of their shots from the charity stripe (26-32).
 
A LOOK AT THE BRONCOS: Boise State is off to a 2-0 start this season after defeating both the College of Idaho and Weber State last week. Four Broncos average double figures, led by Jade Loville with 19.0 points per game. Mallory McGwire averages a double-double with 11.0 points and rebounds per contest.
 
The Broncos have won four-straight Mountain West Championship titles. Just like the Eagles, they are a young squad with only three upperclassmen. BSU averages 87.0 points per game and allows its opponents to average just 50.5 to rank ninth nationally in field goal percentage defense.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Washington and Boise State used to be members of the same conference and played two to three times annually for 17-straight years from 1983 to 1998 and again from 2001 to 2003. After a seven-year hiatus, the rivalry was renewed in 2010 and the two teams have met every season since then.
 
Eastern Washington trails the all-time series 16-29 and are 2-8 overall since 2010. The Eagles are looking for their first win over the Broncos since Dec. 20, 2013 when the Eagles won 81-66 at Reese Court. EWU picked up consecutive wins in 2012 and 2013, but have since lost six-straight.
 
The battles have been close, as four out of the last five meetings have been decided by five points or less. Last year the Eagles hosted the Broncos at Reese Court where they had an 11-point lead with 6:35 remaining, but BSU's Braydey Hodgins made a game-winning layup. Grace Kirscher had 20 points in the loss, while Jenna Dick and Kennedy Dickie each scored 15.
 
Speaking of Braydey Hodgins, this will be the first matchup since 2013 that a member of the Hodgins family is not on the court. Braydey Hodgins is the younger sister of former Eagle standouts and all-time leading scorers Hayley Hodgins (2013-16) and Delaney Hodgins (2015-18). Hayley and Delaney both played for the Eagles on the same team for two years and Delaney and Braydey faced off against each other during the 2016-17 and the 2017-18 seasons.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington returns home to host Grand Canyon at Reese Court on Monday, Dec. 14. Tip-off is set for noon, and the game will be live on Pluto TV Ch. 1053.