The non-conference schedule has concluded, and Eastern Washington women's basketball now shifts its focus to the Big Sky. Eastern will begin its conference schedule at home against Montana on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. The Eagles will then play Montana State on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.

Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats can be seen on GoEags.com. Tickets to the game can be purchased at Reese Court or online by clicking the link HERE.

Last Time Out
Eastern Washington closed out its non-conference schedule against Utah State at home on Dec. 20. Eastern had a dominating 84-54 win over the Aggies. Opening up the game, the Eagles had a 17-2 lead and were up 23-4 after the first quarter. Eastern continued to add to its lead, extending it to 43-18 by halftime. The Eagles pushed the lead to 30 points and cruised to the win. For the game, Eastern shot 47.8 percent from the floor, while limiting Utah St. to 26.9 percent. The team had a season-high, 25 assists and matched the season-high mark with 12 made three-pointers.

Aaliyah Alexander scored a career-high 21 points on 87.5 percent shooting from the floor. Jacinta Buckley would post a career-high 17 rebounds to lead the Eagles to 48-41 rebounding advantage in the game. Jaleesa Lawrence added 15 points on 66.7 percent shooting. Jamie Loera would score nine points and recorded her career-high at Eastern with nine assists.

A Look at the Eagles
Eastern went 7-3 in its non-conference slate, going 5-1 at home and 2-2 on the road. The team has won three-of-four games, only losing to No. 15 Oregon (38-88). The Eagles earned wins over Boise State (83-74) and Southern Utah (62-60) to highlight the team's success in non-conference. Going into conference play, Eastern has the best scoring margin in the Big Sky with a plus-9.3 figure. The Eagles are third in scoring offense (70.5) and fourth in defense (61.2), while ranking fourth in field-goal percentage (40.8%) and third in allowed field-goal percentage (37.9%).

A major element of Eastern's success is its ability to create turnovers. The team has a plus-6.2 turnover margin to lead the conference and rank 21^st in the NCAA. The Eagles force 18.3 turnovers per game and lead the Big Sky with 10.7 steals per game. Adding to the effort, Eastern spreads the ball around with 15.2 assists per game to lead the conference. With a 1.26 assist-to-turnover ratio, the Eagles lead the Big Sky and rank 20^th in the nation.

No surprise for Eastern as Jaydia Martin leads the team with 13.8 points per game, also ranking ninth in the conference. Martin finds herself on multiple leaderboards in the Big Sky, placing seventh in free throw percentage (80.8%) and three-point percentage (37.9%), while holding fifth in made three-point shots a game (2.5). The sophomore scored a season-high 23 points in the team's win over Seattle (66-60) and has scored double digits in eight of the team's 10 games.

Jamie Loera has joined Eastern and has delivered production across the board for the team. Loera is second on the team and 19^th in the Big Sky with 11.1 points per game, while ranking 15^th in the conference and second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game. The Moses Lake, Wash. native is tied for fourth in the conference in assists per game (4.2) and is tied for the conference lead in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0). Loera is also the Big Sky leader in steals with a 2.8 average per game, also ranking 28^th in the NCAA, recording 28 total.

In the paint, Jacinta Buckley leads the effort with 7.7 rebounds per game to lead the team and rank sixth in the conference. She is third on the team with 10.1 points per game. Buckley has tallied 11 blocks this season to lead the team and is tied for fourth in the Big Sky.

Scouting the Grizzlies
Montana enters conference competition with a 4-7 record, going 1-3 on the road, 3-2 at home and 0-2 in neutral games. The Grizzlies lost in their final non-conference game against Gonzaga (67-82) on the road. Prior to the Gonzaga game, Montana defeated South Dakota (76-60) and Montana Tech (87-56). Overall, the Grizzlies average 67.0 points per game and allow 68.7, while shooting 40 percent as a team and allowing opponents a 41.5 percent mark.

Fifth-year guard, Sammy Fatkin, is the key to the Montana offense, averaging 13.5 points per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the floor. Fatkin is also the team leader in rebounds with 5.6 per game. The Grizzlies have three other players averaging double figures in scoring with Libby Stump (10.9), Carmen Gfeller (10.8) and Gina Marxen (10.4).

Series History
In the 88 meetings between Eastern and Montana, the Eagles are 19-69 against the Grizzlies. Eastern is 13-26 against Montana at Reese Court, while going 6-41 on the road and 0-2 at neutral sites.. The Eagles split games against the Grizzlies last season, winning 64-57 at Reese, and falling, 50-68 on the road. Alexis Pettis scored 18 points in the team's win at home over the Grizzlies.

Scouting the Bobcats
Montana State went 7-5 in non-conference play, with a 4-1 record at home, 2-2 on the road and 1-2 in neutral site games. The defending Big Sky champions last played in the Maui Invitational, losing to No. 11 LSU (52-91) but followed up with a win over Nevada (64-43). The team had its final non-conference game against Cal Poly canceled. This season, the Bobcats average 68.1 points per game and allow opponents 63.0. MSU shoots 39.2 percent and allows opponents a 39.5 percentage from the floor.

Senior guard Darian White carries the load for the Bobcats and leads the team in points (11.2) and rebounds (5.4). The reigning Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year is shooting 37.0 percent from the floor and leading the team with 44 assists. White was a preseason Big Sky All-Conference selection. Senior forward Kola Bad Bear was also a preseason All-Conference selection and averages 7.8 points per game.

Series History
Eastern has a 36-47 record against Montana State in program history, going 18-23 at home, 15-23 on the road and 3-1 at neutral sites. Last season, the Eagles went 1-1 against the Bobcats. They fell at home (55-65) before pulling the road upset (76-69) two weeks later. Jaydia Martin scored 22 points in the team's road win.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will play its first two Big Sky road games against Portland State on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. and Sacramento State on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m.