MISSOULA, Mont. – The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team traveled to Missoula, Mont., tonight (Feb. 18) for a clash with the Grizzlies. The Eagles battled, but eventually fell 65-53.
 
Maisie Burnham (14 points) and Kennedy Dickie (10 points) led the Eagles in scoring while Grace Kirscher pulled down six rebounds to go with two blocks. Both teams shot under 40 percent for the night with 21 field goals apiece, but the difference came at the free throw line where Montana was 19-of-23 and the Eagles were just 6-of-8.
 
"It was a tough, physical, game today. I thought our effort was good overall, but we fouled way too much and have to be more disciplined defensively," said head coach Wendy Schuller. "The bigger issues were on the offensive end where we didn't do a very good job of knocking down shots. Hopefully we'll be better on our own home floor on Saturday."
 
The first quarter was competitive with six ties and two lead changes. Dickie gave the Eagles a 15-14 lead with a three-pointer before Montana immediately answered with a three of its own to retake the 17-15 lead. Kirscher tied the game again with a jumper, but the Griz made two free throws with seconds remaining to lead 19-17 at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles shot 47 percent from the field in the first behind seven points from Dickie.
 
Montana tried to pull away with its largest lead of five points, 24-19, to start the second quarter. The lead extended to 26-21 before a triple from Gabrielle Jung put the Eagles back within two points. Burnham then made a three-pointer to give Eastern Washington a 27-26 advantage, but Montana used a 9-2 run to lead 35-29 at the half.
 
Both teams struggled offensively in the third quarter, as Eastern was only edged in scoring 12-to-11 despite shooting just 23.1 percent (3-13) during the third quarter compared to Montana's 28.6 percent (4-14). Eastern Washington ended the quarter on a 4-0 run, but it was the Grizzlies who held a 47-40 lead heading into the final ten minutes of play after once leading by 11 late in the third period.
 
Eastern Washington fell behind 59-46 for its largest deficit of the night when it found a 5-0 run behind an Aaliyah Alexander layup and a Dickie three-pointer to cut the deficit to 59-51 with 2:27 remaining in the contest. Ultimately, the Eagles were edged in scoring during the final quarter, 18-13, as the Griz pulled away for the 65-53 victory.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington falls to 6-14 overall with a 5-10 mark in Big Sky Conference action while the Grizzlies improve to 11-7 and 8-5.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Maisie Burnham led the team with 14 points and three steals while also grabbing five rebounds.
 
Kennedy Dickie followed with 10 points and Aaliyah Alexander had nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Gabrielle Jung scored seven points off the bench, making 3-of-5 from the field.
 
Grace Kirscher led the team with six rebounds and two blocks.
 
All eight players who recorded minutes in the game scored.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: The game saw six total ties and four lead changes as Montana held the advantage for 33:26 of the contest.
 
Eastern Washington did not record a free throw attempt in the first half, and finished the game 6-of-8. Montana was 19-of-23 from the charity stripe.
 
Overall, EWU shot 36.2 percent (21-58) on the evening to Montana's 37.5 percent (21-56). From three-point range, the Eagles were 5-of-22 and the Griz were 4-of-15.
 
The Eagles were out-rebounded 41 to 33. EWU had 14 turnovers and the Griz recorded 13.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington and Montana travel back to Cheney, Wash., for another match-up on Saturday, Feb. 20. Tip-off for the final game of the season at Reese Court is set for 12:05 p.m. Pacific time on Pluto TV Ch. 1053.