Call it a comeback or an upset, whichever one works for Eastern Washington women's basketball as they knocked off Montana State, 76-69. The Eagles trailed by 11 after three, but erased the deficit in the fourth quarter, driven by Jaydia Martin's game-high 22 points. The Eagles improved to 5-10 in the Big Sky and 7-17.

"What a huge road win for the program against a very talented Bobcat team," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "This was a game of runs where Montana State started the game on a run, and we finished it with a huge fourth quarter. This team believes in each other and absolutely deserved to come out with the Win. It says a lot about the culture and buy-in from every single member on the team. We did an excellent job of drawing two defenders and finding the open teammate, which resulted in a 19-assist night. I can't pinpoint one individual; it was a complete team win."

Eastern was hit with a haymaker right out of the gate, as Montana St. opened the game with a 7-0 run. A jumper from Jacinta Buckley halted the run, but the Bobcats would continue to score. They extended the run to 13-2 over the first 5:30 minutes of the game. Jordyn Boesel and Alexis Pettis hit back-to-back three pointers to real the Bobcats back in. Pettis would match a late MSU score and Eastern trailed 20-13 after one quarter. The Eagles shot 4-of-14(28.6%) in the quarter, while the Bobcats were 8-of-17(47.1%) from the floor.

The Bobcats extended their lead to open the second quarter, building an 11-point advantage at 24-13. Eastern's three-point shooting kept them in the game, as Martin and Pettis both connected from behind the arc. Down 19-27 at 5:29, left in the half, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run, getting four points from Buckley and two from Milly Knowles. MSU would hold a 33-28 lead over Eastern at the half. Eastern shot 33.3 percent from the floor in the quarter and held the Bobcats to 23.1 percent shooting.

Out of the break, the Eagles had a 6-2 stretch to cut the MSU lead down to one. The Bobcats would build the lead back out and the teams settled into trading points. Knowles delivered with layups in the paint and Boesel hit another three. MSU then ripped off a 7-0 run to close the third quarter and put them up double-digits, 54-43. Eastern shot well in the quarter, going 7-of-16(43.8%), but the Bobcats were 8-of-14(57.1%) to out-score the Eagles.

Eastern erupted to start the fourth quarter with a 13-0 run to snatch the lead from the Bobcats. Martin was cooking, scoring eight points, while Pettis added five to fuel the run. MSU stopped the bleeding, but the Eagles had found their momentum. Martin and Buckley continued to score in the paint, while Andie Zylak and Jaleesa Lawrence connected from three to keep the Bobcats off-balance. With 48 seconds left in the game, MSU cut the lead to six with a three-pointer, but Eastern responded as Martin converted a pair of free-throws. A 5-1 stretch from the Bobcats cut the lead to four with 19 seconds on the clock. Unfazed, Buckley and Martin were both able to make their free-throws and secured a 76-69 upset win for the Eagles.

Eastern outscored Montana St. 33-15 in the fourth and Jaydia Martin scored 16 of her 22 points in the quarter.

Eastern had one of its best all-around shooting nights, finishing 44.6 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from three-point range. Coming into tonight, Montana St. had a chance to take the top spot in the conference after Idaho State lost earlier today. They fall to 11-4 in conference and 16-10 overall. 

Top Performances
Jaydia Martin recorded her fourth, 20-point game on 6-of-13(46.1%) shooting. The true freshman was 2-of-6(33%) from three-point range and 8-of-11(72.7%) from the free-throw line. She added four rebounds and a steal in the game.

Jacinta Buckley did everything for the Eagles tonight, scoring 14 points on 5-of-10(50%) shooting, grabbing seven rebounds and recording five assists. The sophomore added two steals in the game.

Alexis Pettis had her third straight double-digit scoring game, with 17 points on 6-of-12(50%) shooting and 3-of-4(75%) from behind the arc.

Milly Knowles made her impact felt, scoring eight points on 4-of-6(66%) shooting, while grabbing five rebounds as well.

Key Statistics
Eastern Washington had 19 assists in the game, led by Andie Zylak's seven. 

Eastern made 10 three-pointers on 24 attempts against the Bobcats, with five players hitting long shots, including four with two-or-more.

The team was 14-of-17(82.4%) from the free-throw line, with Jaydia Martin attempting the majority of the opportunities.

The Eagles scored 16 points off turnovers tonight, forcing 16 from the Bobcats. Eastern had 11 steals in the game.

The only lead change of the game occurred when Eastern jumped ahead in the fourth quarter, at the 7:10 mark.

Up Next
Eastern Washington travels to Moscow to play Idaho on Saturday, Feb. 19 and tip-off will be at 1 p.m. The game is the first of a double-header with the men's basketball team's matchup against the Vandals.