The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team wrapped up a two-game road swing at Grand Canyon tonight (Nov. 16) where they led for 28:27, but fell by a final score of 64-57 in Phoenix, Ariz., to drop to 0-3 on the season. Jacinta Buckley (18) and Jaydia Martin (12) led the Eagles in scoring.
 
Eastern Washington led 17-11 after the first and the game was tied 27-27 at the half. Entering the fourth quarter, EWU held a 48-40 lead but were held scoreless for the final 3:26 of the contest while the Lopes went on a 12-0 run to take the decision. In all, the game had six ties and two lead changes.
 
"This was a great college basketball game. I am so proud of the way this team showed up and played for each other tonight. This was our third game in six days and we were in control for 35 minutes on the road in a very rowdy environment. We showed a tremendous amount of Eagle grit tonight," said head coach Joddie Gleason. "We played true freshmen for 75 minutes tonight against an aggressive GCU full court trapping defense. They were poised and will benefit from this intense game come Big Sky play.

Grand Canyon opened up the game on a 7-0 run, but it didn't take Eastern Washington long to respond. The Eagles exploded on a 7-0 run of their own thanks to four points from Jacinta Buckley and a three-pointer from Jordyn Boesel to tie the game 7-7. Down 11-9, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run to close the first quarter and took a 17-11 lead into the second.
 
EWU shot 53.8 percent (7-13) from the field in the first quarter and held the Lopes to just 25 percent (4-16). The Eagles were led in scoring by Buckley who added 10 first quarter points.
 
Eastern Washington led by as many as seven points in the second quarter, 25-18, with 3:47 left in the half. Grand Canyon closed the half on a 9-2 run, and the teams entered the locker room locked at 27-27. In a half that saw five ties plus a lead change, the Eagles were 12-of-25 (48%) through two quarters and held the Lopes to 28 percent (11-39).
 
Jaydia Martin, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored 10 points in the third quarter. Five of them came in a 7-0 run that helped the Eagles pull ahead 37-29 in the third period. A layup by Milly Knowles with 5:42 then gave Eagles a 41-32 advantage for their largest lead of the game. The Lopes went on a 6-1 run and held the Eagles without a field goal for nearly three and a half minutes and cut EWU's lead to 42-40. However, the Eagles closed the third quarter on a 6-0 run thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Martin and Boesel to take a 48-40 lead into the fourth.
 
The Lopes tied the game for the fifth time in the fourth quarter, using a 6-0 run to knot the game 52-52. The Eagles were held scoreless for over three minutes until a layup by Knowles and a triple from Buckley helped EWU regain a 57-52 lead with 3:26 remaining. Grand Canyon then took its first lead since the first quarter with a 9-0 run, giving the Lopes a 61-57 lead with less than a minute to play. In all, the Lopes would close the game on a 12-0 run and kept the Eagles off of the board for the final 3:26 to win.
 
"We worked extremely hard on defense and once again forced 19 turnovers with solid rotations and awareness, but could not secure the rebound. We lost Dominique Phillips on several occasions after a GCU offensive rebound, freeing her up for critical three's," added Gleason. "I really wanted them to feel the reward of a win on the road tonight in the challenging environment - they deserved it. We will continue to grow and be better for it. This team is a lot of fun to coach and I'm so proud of their effort.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington falls to 0-3 overall while Grand Canyon improves to 2-0.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Jacinta Buckley scored a career-high 18 points, shooting 7-of-15 from the field with two three-pointers. She grabbed seven rebounds and also added a steal and a block.
 
Jaydia Martin scored in double figures for the third-straight game. She scored 12 points, all of which came in the second half, and was 4-of-11 from the field with two triples. She also had eight rebounds, and added four assists and two steals.
 
Jordyn Boesel scored a career-high eight points on 3-of-7 from the field with two trey's.
 
Bria Rice led the team in assists with five and Milly Knowles had six rebounds.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington was 23-of-53 from the field to shoot 43.4 percent, while holding Grand Canyon to 34.8 percent (23-65). The Lopes shot 46.7 percent from three-point range with seven triples, and the Eagles made six to shoot 29 percent. From the free throw line, EWU made 5-of-7 and the Lopes were 11-of-20.
 
Eastern Washington committed 23 turnovers that turned in to 22 GCU points, but forced 18 for 18 points.
 
The Eagles were out-rebounded 44-to-33, and 13 of their 23 field goals were assisted. Both sides were fairly even with points in the paint, as GCU scored 32 and the Eagles scored 30.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington heads back to Cheney, Wash., to close November at Reese Court. First, EWU hosts Evergreen on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. and then Multnomah on Saturday, Nov. 27, also at 2 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+. Tickets are available at GoEags.com/tickets, and as a reminder, proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours is required for entry for fans aged 11 or older.