CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team hosted Montana State tonight (Feb. 11) at Reese Court where they fell by a score of 73-42.
 
"We have to be able to take care of the basketball, make shots and defend in transition, those are the big takeaways and I would add rebounding to that. To look at all of our missed shots and only see seven offensive rebounds - that shows that we're not putting much effort going to the glass," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "Montana State had us scouted well and we didn't adjust. We missed a lot of open shooters and turned down shots that we should've shot. Our execution has to be good and we have to play to each other's strengths, but we also have to share the ball more. Those are things we talk about a lot, but with a young team it's hard to expect that carryover so fast, but we need it fast."
 
Montana State built an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes of play. Grace Kirscher would make a three-pointer with an Aaliyah Alexander layup to follow, making it an 8-5 contest. From there, the Bobcats outscored the Eagles 19-1 for the remainder of the quarter to lead 27-6 after one.
 
Both teams were slow offensively in the second quarter, as they each only scored six point apiece, with the Eagles going 1-of-10 from the field and Bobcats making 3-of-19. Montana State had a stretch of 1-14 from the field, but Eastern Washington couldn't capitalize and trailed 33-12 at the half.
 
Trailing 46-16 with 3:36 left in the third, Eastern Washington started to find its groove. The Eagles went on a 10-0 run in less than a minute, making 5-of-5 from field goal range to make it a 46-26 contest. The run would stretch to 13-2 overall, and a Grace Kirscher three-pointer with seconds remaining made it a 50-32 game heading into the fourth quarter. Eastern Washington edged the Bobcats in scoring during the frame, 20-17 and shot 63.6 percent from the floor, making seven of its 11 attempts.
 
The Bobcats opened the fourth quarter on a 20-0. Eastern Washington was able to close the game on a 7-0 run thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Kallie Schaplow, but would drop the contest by a final score of 73-42.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington falls to 6-12 overall with a 5-8 mark in Big Sky Conference play while Montana State improves to 12-5 and 9-2.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Grace Kirscher led the Eagles in scoring with 12 points, including three three-pointers and also led the way with two steals. Maisie Burnham had seven points and led the team with six rebounds and four assists. Kennedy Dickie followed with four rebounds and six steals.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: Eastern Washington shot 26.5 percent (13-49) from the field, 28.6 percent from three-point range (8-28) and 57.1 percent from the free throw line (8-14).
 
The Eagles were out-rebounded 44-to-34 and committed 26 turnovers that the Bobcats turned into 26 points. EWU forced 15 turnovers and were outscored in the paint, 38-to-10.
 
Montana State was 29-of-71 (40.8%) from the field and made 10 of its 29 three-point attempts. They were 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington hosts Montana State again on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Reese Court. Tip-off is set for 6:05 p.m. Pacific time on Pluto TV Ch. 1053.