GAME NOTES

CHENEY, Wash. – A brand new season has arrived for the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team. The Eagles have earned the No. 10 seed and will take on the No. 7 Portland State Vikings in the first round of the 2019-20 Big Sky Conference Basketball Championships.
 
The matchup is set for this Monday, March 9 at approximately 4:30 p.m. Pacific time at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho. The game will tip 30 minutes after the end of No. 8 Northern Colorado and No. 9 Sacramento State which starts at 1:30 p.m. PT.
 
The game will also serve as a rematch of the 2019 Big Sky title game between the two foes. No. 6 Eastern Washington fell to No. 4 Portland State by a score of 61-59. The winner will go on to face No. 2 Idaho on March 10 at 4:30 p.m. PT.
 
The entire tournament runs from March 9-14, with the women's championship game taking place on March 13.
 
For more information regarding the 2019-20 championships, including a bracket, tickets and hotel information, visit BigSkyInBoise.com.
 
HOW TO WATCH: The game will be streamed for free on WatchBigSky.com and on Pluto TV Ch. 531. Live stats are available at BigSkyStats.com.
 
Follow @EWUWBB on Twitter for live, in-game updates and video highlights.
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington wrapped up the regular season with a 4-25 mark overall and a 3-17 record in Big Sky play. Most recently, the Eagles lost at Idaho State 77-49 before falling in an overtime thriller at Weber State. Six out of Eastern's last seven games have been decided by six points or less.
 
Grace Kirscher, who is fresh off of a career-high 31-point performance with seven three-pointers at Weber State, currently leads the team with 10.5 points per game.
 
Fellow sophomore Bella Cravens also averages double figures with 10.2 per game. Cravens leads the team with 8.6 rebounds per game which is first in the Big Sky and 89^th in the nation. She has totaled six double-doubles this season, and also ranks 64^th nationally with 1.7 blocks per game.
 
Jessica McDowell-White, who also scored a career-high 22 points with six three-pointers at Weber State, averages 8.9 points per game. She ranks 19^th across Division I with 5.4 points per game and 30^th with 151 total assists, both of which lead the Big Sky. Her 151 total assists is currently eighth in EWU single-season history.
 
The freshmen duo of Jenna Dick (9.5) and Kennedy Dickie (9.1) round out the balanced attack. Dick has made 66 three-pointers this season, which is not only a freshman record, but seventh in EWU single-season history. She ranks 15^th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, knocking down 43.7 percent of her shots from deep.
 
As a team, the Eagles average 58.2 points and 34.0 rebounds per game. They average 8.0 three-pointers per game which is 34^th in the nation, and have already cracked Eastern's top-ten for three-pointers in a single game five times, including a program record 17 against Montana State on Jan. 18.
 
A LOOK AT THE VIKINGS: Portland State enters the tournament with a 15-15 overall record and a 9-11 mark in conference play. The Vikings are currently on a three-game win streak, with road wins over Northern Arizona and Sacramento State to open the regular season.
 
The Vikings boast four players in double figures, led by Desirae Hansen (14.0), Kylie Jimenez (12.6), Tatiana Streun (12.0) and Jordan Stotler (10.0). Stotler also leads the conference with 3.3 blocks per game.
 
Portland State leads the conference in both free throw (78.8) and three-point (37.5) percentage. They have made 239 total three-pointers and average 8.2 per game, just edging Eastern Washington who has made 232 and averages 8.0 per game.
 
PSU averages 70.2 points and 36.5 rebounds per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Eagles will hope that history doesn't repeat itself, as the Vikings have knocked Eastern Washington out of the Big Sky Tournament two years in a row. After the No. 6 Vikings upset the No. 3 Eagles in the quarterfinals of the 2017-18 championships, EWU lost by a final score of 61-59 to PSU in the championships.
 
The No. 6 Eagles led for over 29 minutes of the contest and led by seven with 5:35 to go in the fourth, but the No. 4 Vikings went on a 9-0 run to take a lead with less than two minutes left. Jessica McDowell-White tied the game up with 20 seconds remaining before Desirae Hansen hit the game-winning shot with four seconds on the clock to send the Vikings to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Eastern Washington and Portland State split the season meetings this season. After the Eagles lost 75-58 on the road on Jan. 4, they bounced back with a 79-75 victory at home on Feb. 15.
 
The win snapped a 12-game losing streak overall and five-straight to the Vikings. Jenna Dick led the way with 19 points in the victory while Jessica McDowell-White and Bella Cravens each had double-doubles. Grace Kirscher rounded out the scoring with 16 points, and also put up 22 in the loss back in January. The Eagles shot 51.9 percent from the field with 12 three-pointers in the win, while also out-rebounding the Vikings 36-to-24.
 
Eastern Washington leads the all-time series 36-30. They are an even 2-2 against the Vikings in neutral venues, and 1-3 all-time in the Big Sky Tournament. Eastern Washington has won four out of the last 10.
 
BIG SKY TOURNAMENT HISTORY: This is the first time the Eagles have ever been the No. 10 seed, in fact they have never entered the tournament worse than a No. 6 seed. This is just the second time the Eagles have ever played in the first round, both coming in consecutive seasons. Against No. 7 seeds, Eastern is a perfect 2-0.
 
This is the 26th Big Sky Tournament appearance for Eastern Washington. The Eagles have advanced to the semifinals in seven of the last 10 tournaments. They are the only Big Sky team to move into the semifinal round in four of the last five seasons.
 
Last year, the Eagles earned the No. 6 seed. They topped No. 11 Weber State in the first round less than 48 hours after the Wildcats spoiled EWU's Senior Day by four points. The next night, EWU upset No. 3 Idaho State in overtime where they didn't lead until there was 1:33 left in the overtime period. In the semifinals against No. 2 Northern Colorado, Jessica McDowell-White and her infamous "off-the-back" out-of-bounds play that earned a spot on ESPN SportsCenter "Top-Ten" help the Eagles advance to the championship game. The magical tournament run was ended by Portland State on a last second shot in the title game.
 
Eastern Washington has won one Big Sky Tournament title in 1987 when the league was still known as the Mountain West Conference. The No. 2 Eagles beat No. 1 Montana to advance to the NCAA Tournament. EWU earned a No. 7 seed and played No. 10 Oregon on March 11 in Eugene and fell 75-56.
 
Head coach Wendy Schuller, who is the longest tenured Big Sky coach in her 19th season, has won a program-best 11 BSC Tournament games. Under Schuller, the Eagles are 11-15 in the tournament with eight semifinal appearances.