Eastern Washington women's basketball ended its regular season home schedule and celebrated senior day on Saturday afternoon. Eastern dropped its final home game to Sacramento State, 67-58. The Eagles fell behind by double digits after the first quarter and could not make up enough ground for the comeback during the rest of the game.

"Sac. St. came in and were on fire in the first quarter, and they executed with the correct read almost every time," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "You have to send a couple bodies inside with Natabou. Whenever we did, they found their three-point shot and hit it. I thought our team kept fighting and we mixed up our defense to keep them off balance. We did a good job of that later in the game, but that first quarter just set the tone."

Eastern and Sac. St. worked to establish their offense early in the game, as each time went into the paint. Milly Knowles scored the Eagles' first four points to give the team some early success. Sac. St. was shooting well, building a 12-6 lead at the media timeout. The Hornets continued to score, extending the lead out to 20-9 with 1:19 left in the quarter. Sac. St. was up 22-9 advantage at the end of the quarter. Eastern shot 33.3 percent from the floor, while the Hornets were shooting a lights-out, 66.7 percent.

The Eagles found some rhythm early in the second, as Knowles tallied another layup and Andie Zylak drained a two-point jumper. Jaleesa Lawrence would deliver with a layup. Knowles followed up again with a layup to cut the Sac. St. lead to seven. The Hornets then went up by double-digits before Bria Rice and Jaydia Martin each hit a three to keep Eastern in the game.  Sac. St. pushed the lead back out to 10, but Alexis Pettis connected from three late in the quarter. The Eagles went into halftime trailing, 32-37, after shooting an impressive 66.7 percent. The Hornets had a 41.7 line in the quarter.

Sac. St. scored the first six points of the third quarter to go up by double figures once again. A clear-out three from Martin brought the lead down. Jacinta Buckley followed Martin with another long three to cut the lead to 43-38 with 8:18 on the clock. At the media timeout, Sac. St. held a 48-40 lead with 4:58 on the clock. Eastern ripped off four quick points with a layup from Lawrence and a jumper from Buckley to pull back the Hornets lead to four. The Hornets responded with five straight points to get the lead to nine. Zylak would work her way into the paint for a basket and the Eagles trailed, 46-53 after three quarters. Eastern shot well in the quarter, with a 41.7 percentage to bring pull closer to the Hornets.  

In the fourth quarter, Martin connected with a jumper to keep Sac. St. in striking distance. Both teams traded baskets as Buckley continued to assert herself and convert at the net. With 4:32 left in the game, the Hornets had a 59-50 lead. Buckley continued to score, and Martin dropped in another three to keep pace with Sac. St. The Hornets were reliable at the free-throw line and continued to make their attempts to maintain the lead. Sac. St. went on to win the game 67-58 and shot 42.6 percent for the game. Eastern finished with a 39.3 shooting percentage.

Eastern Washington's record now sits at 6-12 in conference and 8-19 overall this season. Sacramento State improves to 14-13 overall and 10-8 in the Big Sky.

Senior Day
The game was senior day for five Eagle players who were playing their final game at Reese Court. The group included Megan Fossen, Tatiana Reese, Britt Van Buren, Bria Rice and Jordyn Boesel.

"It was a lot of emotions. We have five seniors: two grad transfers and three seniors that really helped us to set the culture here at Eastern. They always hold a special place in your heart, but especially when it's your first year here; they're our first team. They have done a great job embracing what we want to happen here both on and off the court."

Top Performances
Jacinta Buckley scored 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. It was Buckley's 18th double-digit scoring game this season. She added five rebounds and three steals in the game.

Jaydia Martin added 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-8(50%) from three points range. Martin grabbed five rebounds as well in the game.

Milly Knowles scored eight points on 4-of-5(80%) shooting and she had two rebounds.

Sacramento State had three players score in double figures, led by Isnelle Natabou's game-high, 21.

Key Statistics
Eastern forced 16 Sac. St. turnovers and managed to turn them into 20 points. The Eagles committed 11 turnovers of their own.

Eastern had 16 assists in the game with Jaleesa Lawrence and Andie Zylak each recording four.

On the fast break, Eastern held a 13-6 advantage.

The Hornets pulled down 12 offensive rebounds and scored 18 points on these second chance opportunities. Sac. St. had a 38 to 26 rebound advantage against the Eagles.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will head out on the road for its final games of the regular season before the Big Sky Tournament. The Eagles will play Northern Arizona on Wednesday, March 2 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time and then Portland State on Friday, March 4 at 6 p.m.