After a one-game stop at home on Monday, Eastern Washington women's basketball gets back on the road for a pair of games this weekend. The Eagles start with Montana State on Thursday, Feb. 17, with tip-off at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. Eastern then travels to Moscow to play Idaho on Saturday, Feb. 19 with tip-off at 1 p.m. The game will be the first of a double-header with men's basketball's matchup against the Vandals to follow the women's game.

Last Time Out
Eastern Washington faced Montana at Reese Court in the teams' second meeting of the season. The Eagles were able to even the season series with a 63-57 win, as the team never trailed in the game.
 
Three Eagles scored in double digits, led by Alexis Pettis with 18 points on 8-of-16(50%) shooting. Jacinta Buckley added 17 points on 6-of-17(35.2%) shooting and Jaydia Martin contributed 10 on 4-of-13(30.7%) shooting. 
 
Buckley grabbed 12 offensive rebounds in the game for her seventh double-double of the season, while also recording five steals for a new career-high.
 
Eastern led wire-to-wire in the game, holding the Lady Griz to nine points in the first two quarters, and had a 32-18 lead at halftime. Montana made a push in the third quarter, but the Eagles were able to respond and maintain the lead. The Lady Griz again pushed the Eagles in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to four with seven seconds left on the clock. Buckley made a pair of free-throws after a Montana foul to secure the win for Eastern. 
 
The Eagles finished with a 38.8 shooting percentage and the Lady Griz put up a 39.7 shooting mark. Eastern forced 17 Montana turnovers, scoring 13 points off them in the game. As a team, the Eagles had 13 steals, led by Buckley's five and Jaleesa Lawrence added four.

A Look at the Eagles
Eastern Washington enters a new week with an improved outlook, going 2-1 this past weekend. The Eagles improved their record to 4-10 in the Big Sky and 6-17 overall. Eastern won its first road game of the season against Weber State(74-61). Head coach Joddie Gleason also earned her first win over Montana(63-57) on Monday night.
 
At the defensive end of the court, the Eagles continue to show their strength, ranking second in the Big Sky with a 34.9 percent field goal percentage allowed. The team is also fourth in scoring defense, allowing opponents 63.9 points per game.
 
Another element of Eastern's defense is creating turnovers, forcing 16.22 a game, and good for second in the Big Sky. Additionally, the Eagles have the third best turnover margin in the conference, with a 1.26 figure. Eastern has excelled at stealing the ball, tallying 9.0 a game and 208 total this season to rank second and third respectively.
 
Jacinta Buckley powers the Eagles at both ends of the court, ranking third in the conference in rebounds(8.9) and 12th in scoring(12.7). Buckley was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after averaging 19.0 points and 11.7 rebounds per game in the team's past three matchups. The sophomore now has seven double-doubles this season and set a career-high with 25 points against Weber State this past Thursday.
 
Jaydia Martin leads Eastern in scoring, with 14.1 points per game, putting her at fifth best in the Big Sky. Martin leads the conference and is 14th in the nation with 178 three-point field-goal attempts. The true freshman's 51 made three-pointers also leads the conference and she averages 2.22 per game to sit third. Overall, Martin has 372 total field-goal attempts, ranking second in the Big Sky and 24th in the nation. Martin was 2-of-9(22%) against Montana.
 
Andie Zylak continues to run the Eagle offense, averaging 3.4 assists per game, seventh-best average in the conference. Zylak posted six assists in the team's win against Montana and is adding 5.7 points per game.

A Look at the Bobcats
Montana State is 11-3 in the Big Sky this season, with a 16-9 overall record. This past week, the Bobcats dropped a road game to Southern Utah, 60-70 on Thursday night. MSU rebounded on Saturday afternoon, with an 83-77 win over Northern Arizona.
 
Darian White carries the load for the Bobcats, with 16.2 points per game that also ranks second in the Big Sky. White is fourth in the conference with 4.3 assists per game and is third with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. White is shooting 35.8 percent from the floor and also leads the conference with 2.6 steals per game.
 
Kola Bad Bear leads the team in rebounds with 5.3 a game. Bad Bear is second on the team with 10.3 points per game and she adds nine blocks for the season.
 
As a team, MSU is the best free-throw shooting team in the conference, shooting 79.3 from the line with 375 total made shots, also leading the Big Sky. White has made 113 free-throws, while shooting 77.4 percent from the line.

Series History
Eastern Washington trails Montana St. in the all-time series, 35-47, with the last six games going to the Bobcats. The Eagles are 18-23 at Reese Court and 14-23 on the road, while being 3-1 at neutral sites.
 
In late January, MSU topped the Eagles, 65-55 in Cheney. Jaydia Martin led the team with 14 points and Jaleesa Lawrence scored 13 points.

A Look at the Vandals
Idaho holds a 5-7 record in conference matchups this season as part of a 6-15 overall record. The Vandals fell to in-state rival, Idaho State, 103-63 on the road. Idaho would then defeat Weber State, 82-73 to conclude the team's road trip.

Beyonce Bea and Louise Forsyth tag-team the scoring for the Vandals, averaging 12.8 points per game. Bea also leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game and 25 blocks.

Idaho is a top three-point shooting team in the conference, with 9.2 a game and 193 made total. The Vandals are shooting 31.4 from beyond the arc. Tiana Johnson has made 48 three pointers and is shooting 39.7.

Series History
In the all-time series between Eastern and Idaho, the Vandals lead overall, 42-32, and are currently on an eight-game win streak against the Eagles. Eastern is 19-17 at home against the Vandals, going 9-23 on road and 4-2 at neutral sites.

The Eagles dropped their first game against Idaho earlier this season, 42-63. Jacinta Buckley scored 14 points for Eastern and had 12 rebounds in the game.

Up Next
Eastern will return home to host Northern Colorado on Thursday, Feb. 24, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. The Eagles will then host Sacramento State for the team's final home game and senior night on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m.