The beginning of conference play did not go the way Eastern Washington women's basketball wanted it to, as they fell to Montana, 81-70 on Thursday night (Dec. 29). The Eagles could not disrupt the Grizzlies shooters in the game and found themselves with a deficit they could not overcome. Eastern begins Big Sky competition 0-1 and is now 7-4 this season. Montana starts 1-0 in conference and is 5-7 overall.

"Montana deserved to win. They came in and executed their game plan better than we did. We did not defend the way we wanted to in the first half," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "We got away from our plan and it was frustrating. I think there was a lack of urgency that you need to win a Big Sky game; the teams are too good. We did not come out with the urgency that we had in previous games. We will figure out why that was and come out with more next game."

The team had four in double figures for scoring, led by Jacinta Buckley's 15 and Jaleesa Lawrence scored 14. Jaydia Martin and Aaliyah Alexander each scored 10 in the game. 

"[Montana] was getting downhill more than us, with getting more fouls being the main issue. They were executing their plan and whichever team that does that better, tends to win the game," Lawrence said. "My teammates push me during practice. Coming in and being confident in myself; I know the players I compete against in practice and that helps me improve each day."

The Grizzlies opened with effective scoring in the paint, getting out to an early 8-4 lead after the first three minutes of the game. At the media timeout, Eastern had cut the lead to 10-12, with Milly Knowles putting up four points in the paint. Montana had its inside game working as they continued get layups. They would extend the lead to 23-14 with 2:06 left in the quarter. Alexis Pettis hit a long three to bring the lead down to six. The Grizzlies would get a late jumper to extend the lead and go into the break with a 25-17 advantage.

In the quarter, Eastern shot 42.1 percent from the floor. Montana built its lead with 61.1 percent shooting.

The story was similar to begin the second quarter, as the Grizzlies continued to score effectively. They extended the lead out to 33-17 at the 7:44 mark, as part of a 12-0 run. Jaydia Martin broke the streak with a three from the top of the circle with 6:02 left in the half. With under four minutes on the clock, Montana had built a 38-20 advantage and was limiting the Eagles' shooting ability. Eastern clawed back into the game with back-to-back threes from Jaleesa Lawrence and Jacinta Buckley. The stretch helped spark the Eagles, as they closed the quarter and the half on a 7-1 run and Montana's lead was reduced to 45-33. Aaliyah Alexander led the run with three points.

Eastern shot 37.5 percent in the quarter while the Grizzlies had a 63.6 percentage.

Alexander continued her hot shooting into the third quarter, scoring four points and further cutting into the lead at 49-39 with 8:03 on the clock. Montana ran its offense and maintained its lead over Eastern. After a layup from Lawrence, Pettis connected from three again to cut the lead to single digits at 56-47 with 4:56 on the clock. The Grizzlies would respond with their own three and the lead was back to double digits. The teams went back-and-forth with shots to keep the game competitive. Martin found her range and brought the lead down to 10 at 62-52. At the end of the third, Eastern trailed 54-64.

The Eagles had a 45.0 shooting percentage and Montana was held to 33.3 percent from the floor.

Eastern pushed to make a run in the fourth quarter, but both teams struggled on offense. After Jamie Loera made two free throws to bring the score to 68-56 Grizzlies at 7:49, neither team scored for the next two-and-a-half minutes. Montana would get one-of-two free throws, but Buckley would get Eastern a hard-fought layup in the paint. The Grizzlies then organized a 9-2 stretch to build separation from the Eagles. A free throw from Martin and a layup from Lawrence would stem the momentum, but it was not enough to get Eastern back in the game. Montana won the game, 81-70 after shooting 33.3 percent in the final quarter. The Eagles had a 30.8 percent mark from the floor in the fourth.

For the game, Eastern shot 39.4 percent, while Montana had a 47.5 percentage to get the victory. The Eagles were 21.1 percent from three-point range and the Grizzlies shot 41.2 percent from behind the arc.

Key Statistics
The Eagles forced 12 Grizzly turnovers and scored 10 points on those mistakes. Eastern had six steals in the game and Montana had three.

Jaydia Martin had her ninth game this season scoring in double figures and her 35^th of her career. Jacinta Buckley now has six games this season and 25 for her career scoring in double figures. Aaliyah Alexander and Jacinta Buckley had their fifth and sixth games this season in double digits respectively.

The Eagles were 14-of-17(82.4%) from the free throw line.

The Grizzlies scored 11 points off of eight offensive rebounds.

Montana shot over 60 percent in the first half to get their 12-point lead. Eastern outscored the Grizzlies 37-36 in the second half.

Up Next
Eastern Washington has a quick turnaround, as they host Montana State at Reese Court on Saturday, Dec. 31 with tipoff at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.