The rally fell short for Eastern Washington women's basketball on New Year's Eve, as they lost to Montana State, 92-84 at Reese Court. The Bobcats built a fast double-digit lead in the first quarter and were able to fend off the Eagles charge in the second and third quarters. Eastern starts Big Sky competition 0-2 and is 7-5 overall this season. Montana St. improved to 1-1 in conference and 8-6 for the season.
"We did a great job in the second half of being physical, matching [Montana St] and rebounding with them. We came out and played a lot tougher in the second half," head coach
Joddie Gleason said. "In the second half, we were able to make some runs and make shots, while stringing together some defensive stops. This is what the Big Sky is going to be about and that was a great college basketball game. The two teams were competing and playing hard. You have to tip your hat to Montana State. They are the defending champions for a reason."
Jaydia Martin powered led the team with 22 points on 7-of-18(38.9%) shooting and was 3-of-9(33.3%) from behind the arc.
"I definitely think that, as a team, we came together in the second half," Martin said. "We knew we had to fight back, be physical and get rebounds. That was the only way we were going to make the game close. Bringing the team back is definitely one of the roles I have. My teammates are always supportive and help me score in those tough moments."
Montana St. locked down Eastern in the first quarter, holding the Eagles to a 15.4 shooting percentage. The Bobcats shot 45.0 percent on the way to 22-4 lead after the first 10 minutes. Eastern turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter.
The Eagles looked to forget the first quarter and found some rhythm on offense to begin the second, getting three-pointers from
Aaliyah Alexander and
Jamie Loera. MSU would push its lead to 20 points at the 7:04 mark in the quarter.
Jacinta Buckley went to work in the paint to get points and
Jaydia Martin would find space on the wing for her first three of the game. The lead had been cut to 30-18 with 4:44 left in the half. A layup from
Camille Jentzsch brought the lead down to 11 points at 34-23 with 2:33 on the clock. The Bobcats regrouped and found their scoring ability again to close the half. They led 43-28 at the break.
Eastern shot 50.0 percent in the second quarter and MSU was at 47.6 shooting.
Starting the third quarter, the Eagles began to chip away at the deficit again. They cut the lead down to 47-38 at the 6:35 mark on a made three from Loera. The Bobcats pushed the lead back to double digits after forcing two Eastern turnovers that turned into fast-break layups. The Eagles would right the ship and got back to running their offense, as Buckley scored inside, and
Alexis Pettis came off the bench to connect with a jump shot. As the game tightened up, the pace of the game increased. Eastern would trim the lead down to 57-55 with 30 seconds left on an Alexander layup. MSU led 59-55 at the end of three.
For the quarter, Eastern shot a staggering 75.0 percent from the floor, while the Bobcats had a 47.1 percentage.
After the teams traded baskets to start the fourth quarter, Martin would line up a three and tie the game at 61 with 7:57 left in the game. MSU would take the lead back, but Jentzsch provided the answer for Eastern to tie the game up again. Jentzsch then made a free throw for Eastern's first lead of the game at 7:20. The quarter continued to go back-and-forth, as neither team led by more than a possession at any point. This changed as the game went under three minutes. MSU would build out a lead to nine points at 88-79 and 37 seconds left in the game. The deficit was too much for the Eagles to overcome and the Bobcats won the game 92-84. The Eagles shot 50.0 percent in the final quarter and MSU shot lights-out at 75.0 percent.
Eastern finished with a 49.2 shooting percentage for the game. Montana St. had a 51.4 percentage in the game.
Key Statistics
Jaydia Martin posted her third career double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds. Martin also notched her second 20-point game of the season and eighth of her career.
Aaliyah Alexander scored 18 points on 6-of-11(54.5%) shooting and was 3-of-6(50%) from three point range. Alexander now has scored in double figures in three-straight games.
There were six ties and six lead changes in the game.
Jamie Loera got back into double digits for scoring, finishing with 14 points, along with six rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
Camille Jentzsch set a career-high with nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting day. She added three rebounds in the game.
Eastern had 20 assists on 31 made field goals.
Montana St. had a slight edge in bench scoring, 22 to 21.
Up Next
After the home stand, Eastern will get back on the road to play Portland State on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. The team then travels to play Sacramento State on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m.
