Eastern Washington women's basketball traveled just down the road to Moscow, ID to take on the Vandals, dropping the game, 79-72. Eastern had the lead at halftime, but a surge from Idaho in the third quarter gave the Vandals the win.
 
"We need to credit Idaho for executing their game plan and securing the win," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "They are well coached and were prepared to attack our weaknesses and exploit them. It seemed like they capitalized whenever we had a lapse. Idaho is a great three-point shooting team and got freed up too many times in the second half. Our offense got it going once again, which was nice to see. But you have to defend and rebound to win in this conference." 

Jacinta Buckley and Jaydia Martin carried the Eagles early in the first quarter, as the duo combined for nine points. The two continued to score for Eastern, holding a 12-11 lead at the media timeout and 4:57 left in the quarter. Both teams would trade baskets and were tied at 15 with 2:15 on the clock. Alexis Pettis would connect with a mid-range jumper and Buckley put in another layup for a 19-15 Eagle lead at the end of the quarter. Eastern shot 6-of-18(33%) from the floor and Idaho was 5-of-19(26.3%).

The Eagles increased their lead to 24-17 early in the second quarter, getting a layup from Milly Knowles and a three pointer from Jaleesa Lawrence. The Vandals would then race ahead in the game with by way of an 8-0 run. Lawrence would deliver the Eastern response, scoring five points to get the lead back at 30-26 with 3:13 left in the half. Idaho would pull even at 30 before a three-point strike from Bria Rice kept the lead for the Eagles. Eastern would then head to the half with a 35-32 advantage over the Vandals. Eastern shot 33.3 percent in the quarter, while Idaho recorded a 40.0 percent line.

The third quarter started with the same back-and-forth battle that had closed out the first half. The Vandals then used a 6-2 stretch to get in front of Eastern. Idaho would extend the run to 11-2 and held a 44-37 over the Eagles. Buckley ended the run with a layup to bring the team closer. Eastern was effective in scoring but could never cut lead to more than three in the quarter. Pettis closed out the third with a jumper to close the gap to 53-48 Idaho. The Eagles were held to 30 percent shooting, while the Vandals were 47.4 percent from the floor.

Idaho continued to keep Eastern at a distance, scoring well and stretching the lead to 63-52 at the 8:05 mark. Martin and Lawrence each drove into the paint for a layup to cut the lead back to single digits. The Eagles were able to score down the stretch, but Idaho matched them basket-for-basket. Despite Eastern's scoring, Idaho went on to win the game 79-72. The Eagles shot 44.4 percent in the final frame and Idaho used a 42.9 percent line to secure the win.

For the game, Eastern shot 35.2 percent and 25 percent from three-point range. Idaho had a 38.8 percent mark for the game. The Eagles record fell to 7-18 overall and 5-11 in the Big Sky.

Top Performances
Jacinta Buckley recorded her eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Buckley was 5-of-12(41.6) from the floor and added two blocks in the game.

Jaydia Martin scored 17 points on 6-of-17(35.2%) shooting and was 3-of-8(37.5%) from three-point range. Martin added five rebounds and two assists.

Jaleesa Lawrence also scored 17 points on 5-of-11(45.4%) shooting and 2-of-5(40%) from three-point range. Lawrence finished with five rebounds.

Andie Zylak recorded 10 rebounds, scored two points, and had four assists.

Alexis Pettis scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game with 14 points this afternoon. Pettis was 5-of-14(35.7%) from the floor and had two assists in the game.

Key Statistics
Eastern Washington and Idaho matched each other with 28 points in the paint. The Vandals had a 50-40 rebounding edge.

Eastern shot 88.2 percent from the free-throw line. Jaleesa Lawrence was 5-of-6(83.3%), while Alexis Pettis was 4-of-4.

The Eagles outscored Idaho, 11-7 in fast break.

There were 12 lead changes and three ties in the game.

Up Next
Eastern Washington returns to Cheney next week for two games. The Eagles play Northern Colorado on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and Sacramento State on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m.

The game against Sac. St. will be senior day for Tatiana Reese, Britt Van Buren, Megan Fossen, Bria Rice and Jordyn Boesel.