CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team hosted Montana at Reese Court on Thursday morning (Feb. 6) in front of nearly 3,000 elementary school students for Kid's Day. Despite Bella Craven's double-double (11 pts, 10 rebs) and two others in double figures, the Eagles lost to the Grizzlies 77-56.
 
"Montana is a really good basketball team and that showed today. They came out in the first quarter and really took it to us. We can't have the struggles offensively for periods of time like we did today," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "It was a phenomenal crowd and I am so appreciative of all of the people that made it happen from the school administrators, teachers and volunteers to all of the people from Eastern including admissions, our athletic department, event management, parking services and police. It was definitely a team effort and I really think it's a worthwhile experience for the kids. It's a lot of fun for our players to play in that environment and we thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for their efforts today."
 
Montana opened up the first quarter with a 6-0 run to lead 9-2. Kennedy Dickie matched the run with back-to-back three-pointers and another coast-to-coast layup for her eighth-straight point gave the Eagles a 10-9 lead. The lead was short lived, as the Grizzlies used a 12-2 to lead 28-12 at the end of the first. Eastern Washington shot 58.3 percent from the field, but committed six turnovers that led to 12 Montana points.
 
The Eagles were outscored 13-6 in the second quarter and trailed 41-24 at the half.
 
Neither team made a field goal until the 8:03 mark when Montana found a layup in the third quarter. Bella Cravens scored the first field goal for the Eagles at the 5:00 mark to make the score 45-28. The Eagles played catchup for the remainder of the quarter, but closed the quarter on a 7-1 run to trail 59-38 heading into the fourth.
 
The Eagles opened the fourth on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 59-43. Eastern Washington shot 50 percent from the field during the final frame while holding Montana to 41.7 percent. EWU also kept even with the Griz with 18-points each, but fell 77-56.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington moves to 2-18 overall and 1-10 in conference play. Montana improves to 12-9 and 7-5.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: The Eagles had three in double figures, led by Kennedy Dickie's 13 points. She also had eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
 
Bella Cravens earned her third double-double of the season and fourth of her career with a team-high 10 rebounds and 11 points. She also had two blocks.
 
Jenna Dick rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points while also adding four assists.
 
Jessica McDowell-White dished seven assists to lead the team.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington shot 36.5 (19-52) percent overall from the field during today's game, while shooting 31.8 percent from three-point range (7-22) and were 11-for-17 from the free throw line
 
Montana shot 43.9 percent (29-66) from the field and also made seven three-pointers while going 12-for-15 from the charity stripe.
 
The Eagles committed 16 turnovers that the Grizzlies turned in to 24 points. Montana had an edge in rebounds, 39 to 36.
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles head to Montana State to play their fourth game within a week on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. Pacific time in Bozeman, Mont., where EWU will look to avenge an 89-85 double overtime loss to the Bobcats at home on Jan. 18.