The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team hosted another non-conference opponent in Boise State tonight (Dec. 10) at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. The Eagles battled the Broncos, only trailing 34-33 at the half, but Boise State won the third quarter 24-14 and that would wind up being the difference. In all, the game saw 10 lead changes and seven ties, but resulted in a 72-63 loss for EWU.
 
Eastern falls to 2-5 (0-1 Big Sky) on the year while Boise State improves to 3-5.
 
Four true freshmen led the Eagles in scoring, combining for 50 of Eastern's 63 points. Jaleesa Lawrence led the way with a career-high 22 points plus seven rebounds, while Jaydia Martin added 15 and six rebounds. Alexis Pettis scored seven and Andie Zylak added six.
 
"I'm absolutely over moral victories. We have a lot of freshmen playing a lot of minutes and they're doing great for us. We need to have some more people step up, hit shots for us, and finish down the stretch," said head coach Joddie Gleason. "I thought that Boise State did a good job making plays down the stretch and in the third quarter to take the lead, and we didn't. We didn't have anybody answer or step up to try and stop their guards that were going off on us. We need to keep growing."
 
The first quarter was competitive, with four lead changes and a tie. The Eagles used a 6-0 run to take an early 6-3 lead, but the Broncos pulled ahead 14-8 after a 7-0 run of their own. Down 16-9, Lawrence made two free throw attempts and followed up with a three-pointer, helping the Eagle string together a 7-0 run to tie the contest 16-16. At the end of the first, Boise State held a slight 18-17 lead.
 
The second quarter was back-and-forth as well, with another four lead changes plus four ties. Both teams scored 16 points each, with Martin scoring nine of EWU's. She hit a three-pointer to get the second quarter scoring going, then followed with a layup to give the Eagles a 22-20 lead. Martin also made four free throws in a 6-0 stretch and the Eagles used a 7-0 run in all to lead 29-25. With 26 seconds left, the game moved into a 31-31 tie. Boise State completed a three-point play, but Lawrence hit a shot at the buzzer to make it a one point, 34-33, BSU lead at the half.
 
Boise State pulled ahead in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 24-14. Lawrence had nine points during the stretch. The Broncos gained their largest lead of the game 58-47 at the end of the third after shooting 58.8 percent from the field and holding the Eagles to 27.8 percent.
 
Eastern worked to erase the third quarter deficit, outscoring the Broncos 16-14 in the final frame. A three-pointer by Jordyn Boesel cut the deficit to five, 68-63, with 29 seconds left after the Eagles trailed by as a many as 13 in the fourth. From there, the Broncos made their final four free throw attempts en route to the 72-63 win.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Jaleesa Lawrence led the Eagles with a career-high 22 points, her first 20-plus performance of her young career. She also led the team with seven rebounds and two steals, plus added two assists. The true freshman was 7-of-16 from the field, 3-of-4 from three-point range and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
 
Jaydia Martin scored in double figures for the seventh-straight game, adding 15. She had both of EWU's blocks and was 5-of-18 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and made one three-pointer.
 
Alexis Pettis came off the bench and scored seven points while leading the way with four assists. Andie Zylak had six points, four rebounds and two assists.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Boise State out-scored EWU in the paint, 34-to-18 and won the rebounding battle 45-to-36. Eastern Washington committed 13 turnovers but forced 12.
 
At the free throw line, the Eagles were 18-of-25 (72%) while the Broncos were 16-for-25 (64%). EWU was also 5-of-12 from three-point range (42%) and 20-of-58 from the field (34%), while the Broncos were 4-of-17 (24%) and 26-of-64 (41%), respectively.
 
UP NEXT: It's off to the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., on Dec. 18-19. Eastern Washington takes on the hosts, Washington, on Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena. The next day, EWU plays another Mountain West opponent in Nevada with tip-off set for 2 p.m. Both games will be on the Washington Live Stream.
 
Eastern is back home to host local foe Gonzaga in another annual matchup at Reese Court on Dec. 21. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.