After only a week away, Eastern Washington women's basketball team is back at Reese Court for another home stand. The Eagles start with a game on Monday, Jan. 24 against Northern Arizona, with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. Pacific Time.

Last Time Out
Eastern Washington finished its two-game swing on the road this past weekend, coming up short against Northern Colorado, 62-54.
 
The Eagles struggled on offense, shooting 29.8 percent from the floor and 29.2 percent from three-point range. Eastern held the lead after one, with a 12-11 advantage. UNC pulled ahead in the second quarter, using a 50-percent shooting performance to outscore the Eagles by eight. Eastern went into half trailing 30-23.
 
Both teams were caught in the mud in the third quarter, combining for 17 points and shooting 30 percent or below. The Eagles pulled closer to the Bears after three, trailing only 37-33 with one quarter left to go. UNC, however, shot lights-out in the fourth, going 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-6 from three for 25 points. Eastern shot 37.5 percent, and could not keep pace with the Bears.
 
Jaleesa Lawrence was Eastern's high scorer with 13 points on 3-of-10 shooting(30%), adding three steals. Jaydia Martin and Jacinta Buckley each added 10 points in the game.
 
In the game, UNC foregrounded the Eagles, 43 to 32.

A Look at the Eagles
Eastern Washington is 4-13 and 2-6 in the Big Sky heading into the second half of the season. After winning two straight conference games at home, the Eagles have dropped the last conference games on the road.
 
Jaydia Martin is focal point of Eastern's offensive strategy, with the true freshman ranking second in the conference and 17th in the nation with 288 field-goals attempted. Martin is third in the Big Sky with 15.1 points per game and has a 31.6 shooting percentage. From three-point range, Martin is leading the conference in three-point field goals made(41), three-point field goals attempted(136), and three-point field goals per game (2.41). From three, Martin has a 30.1 shooting percentage.
 
Jacinta Buckley has developed into a key two-way player for the Eagles and a good scoring complement to Martin. Ranking second on the team and scoring(11.4) and fourth in the Big Sky in rebounds(8.3). This season, Buckley has recorded eight or more rebounds in nine of her 14 games played, with double figure rebounds in five. The sophomore has scored in double figures in nine games and is shooting 43 percent.
 
Eastern's defense is key for the team this season, ranking second in field-goal percentage defense, with a 37-percent stat line allowed. The Eagles are allowing opponents to shoot 32.3 percent from three, while creating 15.7 turnovers per game. The team has a plus 0.53 turnover margin to sit fourth in the Big Sky.
 
For the season, Eastern has tallied 45 blocked shots, with Martin leading the team with 13 and Milly Knowles adding 12. Knowles has recorded two or more blocks in four games, including two in two straight games. The redshirt-sophomore is second on the team with 5.6 rebounds per game and is tied for fifth with 5.9 points per game.

A Look at the Lumberjacks
Northern Arizona record sits at 7-8 and they are 4-3 in Big Sky, while being 5-3 at home. The Lumberjacks have lost the last two games, both coming on the road. NAU dropped games to Montana(60-66) and Montana State(73-88) this past weekend.
 
The Lumberjacks are one of the top shooting teams in the Big Sky, ranking first in field-goal percentage with a 44.5 percentage. The team is also first in the conference and eighth in the nation with three-point, field-goal percentage with a 38.8 percent average.
 
NAU's scoring comes from multiple spots, with three players averaging 10-plus points this season. Forward Khirarica Rasheed leads the team with 11.1 points per game, adding 10.5 points from both senior Lauren Orndoff and redshirt-junior Nina Radford. Rasheed also leads the team with 6.3 points per game and is shooting 51.5 percent from the floor.
 
This season, the Lumberjacks are averaging 72.7 points per game to rank second in the conference.

Series History
Eastern Washington leads the all-time series against Northern Arizona, 40-30, but has lost the last four meetings. The Eagles have a 25-11 record at Reese Court against the Lumberjacks and are 13-19 away from home, going 2-0 at neutral sites.
 
Last season, Eastern dropped both games in the season series to NAU, with a 60-89 defeat in the first game and a 55-69 score in the second.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will play its next four games at Reese Court and welcomes the Montana schools to Cheney next weekend the Eagles will play Montana State on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. and then Montana on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.

As a reminder, proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within the last 72 hours for fans ages 11 or older is required for entry to home games. Masks must be worn for fans ages five years old or older unless actively eating or drinking.