GAME NOTES

CHENEY, Wash. – It's an all too familiar draw for the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team. For the fourth-straight season, the Eagles will face the Portland State Vikings in the postseason, with the first-round of the 2021 Big Sky Conference Basketball Championships set for Monday, March 8 at 1 p.m. Pacific time at the Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. The game will be streamed for free on Pluto TV Ch. 1050.
 
Eastern Washington drew the No. 9 seed after finishing the regular season with an overall record of 6-16 and a 5-12 conference record. Portland State finished ahead of EWU in the conference standings with an 11-12 overall mark and a 7-11 record in Big Sky action.
 
Although PSU has knocked the Eagles out of the Big Sky tournament for the past three years, including the championship game during the 2018-19 season, Eastern Washington has the edge heading into Monday as they swept the Vikings in the regular season on the road.
 
The winner of Monday's game will advance to the Big Sky Quarterfinal on Tuesday, March 9 against No. 1 Idaho State who just clinched the regular season title with an 86-51 win over the Eagles last night (March 5) in Pocatello, Idaho.
 
BIG SKY TOURNAMENT HISTORY: This is the 27^th overall appearance for the Eagles in the Big Sky Tournament. They have made the finals five times with a 1-4 record, winning its only championship in 1987.
 
In the first round, the Eagles are 1-1 all-time. They beat Weber State in the opening round on March 11, 2019, but fell to Portland State during last season's first round. This is the first time in program history that Eastern has drawn a No. 9 seed and they have also never played a No. 8 seed in the postseason.
 
Against Portland State at the Big Sky Tournament, they are 1-4 overall. Eastern Washington will look to end a three-game losing streak to the Vikings at the tournament. In 2018, EWU drew the No. 3 seed and were upset by the No. 6 Vikings in the quarterfinals by a score of 82-73. The next season, No. 6 Eastern Washington and No. 4 Portland State met in the finals where the Eagles lost 61-59 on a last-second shot by Desirae Hansen. Last year, No. 10 Eastern Washington and No. 7 Portland State tangled in the opening round, with the Eagles falling 83-70.
 
Head coach Wendy Schuller is 11-16 all-time at the Big Sky Championships and the Eagles are 3-2 all-time when the tournament takes place in Boise.  
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington closed the regular season at Idaho State yesterday evening (March 5) where they lost 86-51 to the regular season champions. The Eagles were led by freshman Maisie Burnham with 18 points. They enter the tournament on a seven-game losing streak, with the last win coming over Sacramento State on Jan. 30 on the road.
 
Burnham paces the Eagles with 14.3 points per game, a mark that is seventh overall in the conference. In Big Sky only games, Burnham ranks fifth with 15.5 points per game. Should her overall average hold, it will set a new EWU freshman record. She is also a candidate for Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year, which will be announced on Sunday afternoon. The Spangle, Wash., native is second on the team in rebounds (5.5/game) and leads the way in field goal percentage (43.3% 104-240), free throws (78.4%, 80-102), and steals (1.7/game). She has scored in double figures in 16 out of the last 17 contests, including three games with 20-or-more points.
 
Sophomore Kennedy Dickie adds 11.3 points per contest and pulls down 5.6 rebounds per game. Dickie adds 1.8 three-pointers per game with 33 makes on the year.
 
Fellow sophomore Jenna Dick leads the team with 39 total triples, adding 1.9 per contest and 8.4 points per game. As a team, the Eagles make 7.0 three-pointers per game which is 82^nd in the nation. They have made 155 total which ranks 61^st, and they also rank in the top-100 in total attempts (475, 74^th) and percentage (32.6%, 93^rd).
 
Junior Grace Kirscher averages 10.0 points and 1.9 assists per game.
 
The Eagles are steady at the free throw line, ranking in the top-20 nationally in percentage as they drain 76.7 (253-330) percent of their shots. They average 11.5 free throws per game and four Eagles shoot over 75 percent from the line. Overall, Eastern Washington averages 62.9 points per game on 39.9 percent from the field. Its opponents average 71.8 points per game while shooting 42 percent.
 
A LOOK AT THE VIKINGS: Portland State had a bumpy start to the season, with six of its first seven games canceled due to COVID-19 related issues. The Vikings ended the season at Southern Utah, losing 58-51 on March 3 before mounting a comeback to win 60-57 on March 5. In game two, the Vikings trailed by 10 with 2:54 remaining before they went on a 14-1 run to end the season with a win.
 
Overall, the Vikings finished the regular season 11-12 overall and 7-11 in Big Sky play. Only one Viking averages double figures in Desirae Hansen with 12.5 points per game and she also grabs 6.0 rebounds per contest. A trio of Vikings average over 9.0 points per game.
 
Kylie Jimenez is third with the conference with 4.2 assists per game and second in steals with 2.5. Jada Lewis is a strong three-point shooter, making 42.9 percent of her attempts to rank fourth in the BSC with 47 makes on the year.
 
As a team, the Vikings average 64.4 points per game on 38.0 percent accuracy while allowing their opponents to score 65.6.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Washington and Portland State met early in the season in Portland, Ore. The Eagles walked away with two road wins, beating the Vikings 73-71 on Dec. 31 and 73-67 on Jan. 2.
 
Game one saw 10 ties and eight lead changes and the Eagles only led for 10:48 of the matchup and trailed 55-49 with a quarter to go. The game came down to the final possession, but Portland State missed its final attempt and Eastern ended the year in the win column. Burnham had 16 points in that contest, while Dick and Dickie each had 11.
 
In game two, the Eagles held a 39-23 lead at the half that was trimmed to 52-50 at the end of the third quarter. Eastern Washington used a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to earn the win, marking the first season sweep over the Vikings since 2015.
 
EWU took advantage of its opportunities at the free throw line, making 31 of its 40 attempts. The 31 made free throws is the sixth-most in single-game program history, while 40 attempts is tied for seventh.
 
Four players scored in double figures for Eastern Washington, led by Burnham who had a then career-high 21 points. Dickie followed with the second double-double of her career with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Kirscher contributed with 13 points and seven assists.
 
Overall, Eastern Washington leads the all-time series with the Vikings 38-31. The Eagles have won two-straight, three out of the last four and four out of the last 10 meetings.
 
BIG SKY TOURNAMENT INFO: All games will be broadcast for free on Pluto TV Ch. 1050. For a complete bracket and all things Big Sky Tournament, click HERE.