After being off for over a week, Eastern Washington women's basketball returned to the court Saturday afternoon to play Big Sky foe, Southern Utah. The Eagles dropped the game to the Thunderbirds, 55-38. Eastern Washington's record is now 4-16 and 2-9 in conference. Southern Utah improves to 9-2 in conference and 13-7 overall. Eastern finished the game with a 23 percentage from the floor and Southern Utah shot 36 percent for the game.

"We defended at a very high-level and we are one of the top defensive teams in the conference," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "We're holding teams down in shooting percentage overall. This is a really good Southern Utah team that has a ton of weapons. They are heavy veteran and played in the league for a while. They do a nice job of finding the open teammates and we held them to 55 points. Our defense is doing a good job and we have to find a way to score a few more buckets."

Jacinta Buckley recorded her fifth double-double of the season, leading the team with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

"I actually really enjoyed the week off," Buckley said. "We were going for a long time, and it was much needed. We're going to get our mindsets ready, stay together and attack this road trip."

The Eagles were aggressive to start the game, racing out to a 13-2 lead, including an 8-0 stretch. Jaydia Martin fueled the run with five points, while Andie Zylak dished out two assists and scored a fast-break jumper. The Thunderbirds worked their way back into the game with a 7-0 burst to pull within four. At the end of the quarter, Eastern held a 13-9 lead over SUU after shooting 35.7 percent in the quarter. The Eagles were able to limit the Thunderbirds to a 21.1 shooting percentage.

SUU would extend its run, in the second quarter, to 11-0 and tie the game at 13 with 6:30 on the clock. Alexis Pettis stopped the run with a layup in fast-break and Buckley would keep the lead for the Eagles following another Thunderbird score. SUU would then push past Eastern with an 8-0 run to build a 23-17 advantage with a 1:30 left in the half. A pair of three throws from Gabrielle Jung helped pull back the Thunderbirds to trail 23-19 at halftime. Eastern was held to 14.3 percent shooting and SUU was 36.4 percent from the floor in the second.

Both teams were slow coming out of the halftime, with SUU scoring four straight points over a three-minute stretch to extend its lead to 27-19. Jordyn Boesel put the Eagles on the board in the second with a layup. SUU and Eastern went bucket-for-bucket down the stretch in the third, as Jaleesa Lawrence drained a three and Buckley added another basket in the paint. The Thunderbirds were able to pad their lead with free-throws at the end of the third and were up 38-28, with one quarter left.

The offensive struggles for Eastern continued in the fourth, as the team missed its first eight shots of the quarter. SUU did not fare much better, scoring five points over a five-minute period. Buckley drove into the paint to score the Eagles first layup of the quarter. Eastern managed to cut the lead down to 13 with 2:23 left in the game as Zylak scored four points for the Eagles.  Despite the effort, SUU went on to win the game, 55-38.

Top Performances
Jacinta Buckley's fifth double-double this season was the sophomore's 12th double-digit scoring game and sixth double-digit rebound game. Buckley added one block and one steal in the game.

Jaydia Martin scored seven points and had four rebounds, with a pair of steals.

Milly Knowles recorded a career-best, four steals Saturday afternoon. The redshirt-sophomore added two points and two rebounds.

Key Statistics
Eastern Washington tallied 12 steals against Southern Utah, with three players recording two or more.

The Eagles forced 19 Thunderbird turnovers and had 15 of their own. The two teams matched each other with nine points off turnovers.

Eastern had a 10-1 advantage in fast break scoring.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will be on the road next weekend, traveling first to Weber State on Thursday, Feb. 10, with tip-off at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. The Eagles will then head to Pocatello and play Idaho State on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 1 p.m.

Eastern will return to Reese Court on Monday, Feb. 14 to host Montana, with tip-off at 6 p.m.

Full concession services are back open at Reese Court for fans to enjoy. This includes the Eagle Club hospitality area. 
 
As a reminder, proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within the last 72 hours for fans ages 11 or older is required for entry to home games. Masks must be worn for fans ages five years old or older unless actively eating or drinking.