The regular season is complete and now Eastern Washington women's basketball moves to the postseason in the 2022 Big Sky Tournament in Boise, Idaho. Eastern is the No. 9 seed in the tournament and will play Northern Colorado, the No. 8 seed, on Monday, March 7 in the opening round, with tip-off at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

Follow Along!
All tournament games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will be provided by the Big Sky Conference. Tickets can be purchased through the link here.

Tournament History
Eastern Washington will make its 28th appearances in the Big Sky Tournament. The Eagles have an overall record of 16-26 in the tournament and one title win in 1987, with four other appearances in the finals. Eastern was the No. 9 seed last season, falling in the first round to Portland State, 51-71. The Vikings have ended the Eagles' tournament the past three seasons.

Last Time Out
Eastern Washington faced Portland State for the second time this season, traveling to Portland, Ore. for the game. The Eagles upended the Vikings, 68-50 in the game to get the season sweep. Eastern had a good shooting night, finishing with a 43.1 percent mark from the floor and holding PSU to a 37-percent shooting line.
 
After trailing following the first quarter, the Eagles tied the game at 31 going to halftime. Eastern would control the second half, outscoring the Vikings 37-19 to drive the team to victory.
 
A dominant performance in the paint helped the Eagles get the win, outscoring PSU, 30-8 and grabbing 13 offensive rebounds for 15 second chance points. Eastern also forced 21 Viking turnovers and converted them into 20 points. The Eagles finished with 11 steals in the game.
 
Jaydia Martin notched her sixth 20-point game, finishing with a game-high, 22 points on 7-of-18(38.8%) shooting and 4-of-7(57.1%) from three-point range. Jacinta Buckley pulled down a game-high, eight rebounds and added 14 points on 6-of-13(46.1%) shooting. Jaleesa Lawrence scored 12 points on 5-of-9(55.5%) shooting and was 2-of-5(40%) from three to give Eastern three players in double figures.
 
A Look at the Eagles
Eastern Washington closed out its first regular season under head coach Joddie Gleason with a 9-20 overall record and 7-13 in the Big Sky. Eastern went 6-9 at home and 3-10 on the road, with a 0-1 record in neutral site games.
 
The Eagles are an effective team in defending shooters this season, ranking second in the conference, allowing opponents to shoot 38.3 from the floor. Against the three-point shot, Eastern is allowing a 31.6 percent shooting average.
 
Creating turnovers is another key element of the Eagles defensive success as the team ranks second in the conference with 16.03 forced per game.
 
Part of the success in creating turnovers comes from Eastern's ability to steal the ball, averaging 8.9 per game and recording a total of 259 total this season. Both stats rank third in the Big Sky. Jaydia Martin leads the team with 45 steals and Jacinta Buckley has 40 to her name. Jaleesa Lawrence is a close third with 39 total this season. Martin and Buckley rank seventh(1.55) and eighth(1.54) respectively in steals per game for the conference, while Lawrence ranks 14th(1.3).
 
The Eagles rank fourth in the Big Sky in scoring defense, allowing 64.5 points per game. On offense, Eastern averages 61.6 per game. 
 
Martin is the go-to offensive weapon for Eastern, scoring in double-figures in 26 of the team's 29 games this season. Martin's 15.2 points per game average is tied for fourth in the conference. The true freshman ranks first in the Big Sky with 69 made three-pointers on 219 attempts, also ranking 35th and 13th respectively in the nation. Overall, Martin is shooting 31.5 percent from three-point range to rank fourth in the Big Sky and averages 2.4 made three pointers per game to rank second. Martin has attempted 463 total shots this season to rank second in the conference and 20th in the NCAA.
 
Buckley's outstanding sophomore season is shown in her eight double-doubles, tying for second in the Big Sky. The Spokane, Wash. native is the third best rebounder in the conference with 8.5 per game and the ninth best scorer with 12.9 points per game. Buckley has 19 double-digit scoring games and eight games with double-digit rebounds. Buckley is shooting 41.0 percent from the floor and is 84.7 percent from the free-throw line.

A Look at the Bears
Northern Colorado registered a 13-15 record this season, going 9-11 in Big Sky matchups. UNC closed the season strong with a sweep of the Montana schools this past week in Greeley. The Bears first beat Montana, 72-64, on Thursday and then knocked off Montana State, 71-63 on Saturday.
 
UNC is the second-best defensive team in the Big Sky, allowing opponents to score 61.2 points per game. The Bears lead the conference with opponents shooting 28.3 percent from three-point range.
 
Hannah Simental holds the top free-throw percentage in the Big Sky with a 90.3 percent mark from the line. Simental is seventh in the conference with a 14.4 points per game average. She also leads the conference with a 41.3 three-point shooting percentage and averaging 2.4 made three-pointers a game
 
Kurstyn Harden is tied for second in the Big Sky with eight double-doubles, averaging 11.8 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game.
 
Series History
Eastern Washington trails the all-time series against Northern Colorado, 12-20. Eastern is 7-9 at home and 4-10 on the road against the Bears. The two teams have split their matchups in the Big Sky tournament, with the Eagles winning, 59-57, in the 2019 tournament semifinals. UNC won, 70-64, in the 2013 tournament semifinals.
 
The Eagles have a one game winning streak against Northern Colorado, beating the Bears less than two weeks ago in Cheney, 62-56. Jaydia Martin scored a career-best, 25 points in the win to help lead the Eagles to the win.