There was no need to shake off the rust for Eastern Washington women's basketball on Saturday (Dec. 10), as they defeated Tarleton State, 65-45. Eastern played its first game at Reese Court in nine days and gave the home crowd a commanding victory. The Eagles now improve to 5-2 on the season and the Texans sit at 5-3.

"It didn't feel like a 20-point win to us. It was a really intense game the whole time. We were locked in defensively," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "We prepare really well, and our assistant coaches do a great job getting our scouts lined up. Our players do an excellent job really locking-in at our practice on our defensive scouting. Holding this really good Tarleton team to 45 points is huge. They have some tough weapons, and we did a good job executing on defense. We've been focusing on is completing our rebounds. We stepped away from that the last game."

Jamie Loera was all over the court scoring 13 points on 5-of-13(38.4%) shooting. She added eight rebounds and three assists in the game as well. Aaliyah Alexander scored 14 points on 5-of-11(45.5%) shooting for her third double-digit scoring game of the season.

"I think staying aggressive is really important. When teams don't shoot well, we have to rebound. I think that we controlled the defensive boards really well. We held them to one shot on each possession for the most part," Loera said. "It's important that my coaches and teammates have faith in me. I want to be able to give back and give 110% every game. After the Irvine game, I wanted to bounce back for my team to get a really great win."

Eastern jumped ahead early with an 8-2 lead, as Aaliyah Alexander hit a three to fuel the early run. Tarleton St. did not let the game get out of control and they 5-2 stretch would put them back at the game, with the Eagles leading 10-7 at 4:54 left in the quarter. Eastern would build a 14-7 advantage off a fast break layup from Jaydia Martin. The Texans would answer right back with a three and the game remained competitive. The next four points went to the Eagles, with layups from Martin and Milly Knowles.

Eastern led 19-12 after the first quarter and shot a lights-out, 61.5 percent. Comparatively, Tarleton shot just 36.4 percent in the quarter.

Starting the second quarter, the Texans looked to get its offense moving. They started with a 5-2 stretch to cut into the Eastern lead, 21-17 at the seven-minute mark. The Eagles went on a 6-0 run to lead 27-18, getting a three from Jamie Loera and three free throws from Gabrielle Jung. The Texans then fired off four straight points. With 3:07 left in the quarter, Camille Jentzsch went to work in the paint to score a layup and Eastern led 30-22. Following a Tarleton St. free throw, the Eagles closed the half on a 6-0 run. Alexander showed her versatility with a jumper and a layup at the end of the second quarter for a 36-23 lead at half. 

Eastern cooled off, but still recorded a 40.0 shooting percentage in the quarter. The Texans struggled with a 27.3 percentage.

The two teams were scoreless for the first minute of the third quarter but scored a flurry of points in the next 40 seconds. Eastern came out with a 41-25 lead, behind a made three by Jaleesa Lawrence. The stretch turned into a 7-0 run for the Eagles as Jacinta Buckley added a layup in the paint. Tarleton cut the lead to 44-38 with 3:06 on the clock, but Alexander ended the run with a made three-pointer. Eastern was in front after three quarters, 47-38.

The Eagles were out-of-sync in the third, shooting just 30.8 percent, but they still held the Texans to a 25 percent mark.

Now in the fourth quarter, Eastern opened with five straight points that bridged with the third quarter, accounted for an 8-0 run. The Eagles led 52-28 with 8:03 left in the game. Following a pair of layups from Tarleton St., Eastern separated for good with an 11-0 run. Loera and Lawrence powered the run, getting help from Alexander as well. The Eagles would go on to win the game, 65-45, shooting 38.5 percent in the fourth and stifling the Texans to allow them only 15.4 percent shooting.

In the game, Eastern shot 42.6 percent and Tarleton St. was limited to a 25.5 percent overall.

Key Statistics
Eastern Washington dominated the paint, outscoring Tarleton, 34 to 18. The Eagles also had a 42 to 30 advantage in rebounding.

Eastern recorded 11 steals in the game. The team was led by Jamie Loera who finished with five to match her career-high at Eastern.

Jaleesa Lawrence recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Lawrence's rebound total cleared her previous best by three.

The Eagles matched its season-high with four blocks. Jacinta Buckley, Loera, Lawrence and Camille Jentzsch all had a block in the game.

Eastern had 15 assists in the game, with five different players recording at least two.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will be on the road for its next two games, starting against Seattle U on Tuesday, Dec. 13 with tipoff at 6 p.m. Pacific Time.