CHENEY, Wash. — Different venue, same result for Eastern Washington women's basketball as the team hosted Corban University in the team's home opener. Eastern led wire-to-wire for a 72-47 win over the Warriors. EWU improves to 3-0 on the season.
The Eagles dominated the paint against Corban, securing 53 rebounds for a plus-19 rebound margin.
"Defense and rebounding is something we have always stressed. But rebounding in something we really focused on during the offseason, into the preseason and now the regular season," head coach Joddie Gleason explained. "It's something we thought we needed to improve from last year and will allow us to elevate our game. Championship basketball tends to go through those who can rebound. We know how important it is and we stress it every day in practice."
Jamie Loera echoed her coach's emphasis on rebounding, "We wanted to be aggressive in this game. Normally my job is to get back on defense, but I wanted to stay aggressive and get rebounds to help the team. We did a really good job on rebounds tonight and it was great to contribute to that."
Four Eagles scored in double figures, led by 13 points from Aaliyah Alexander and Jaydia Martin. Jacinta Buckley and Jamie Loera both had 10 points.
"Our first group did a nice job of establishing the pace and executing our game plan," Gleason added. "They jumped on them in the first and second quarter to extend the lead by defending with urgency and turning defense into offense."
"We do a good job of celebrating the win and then getting back to work the next practice. We're learning from each game and we seek those learning opportunities," Loera explained. "I think we do a good job on locking-in on scouts and implementing the game plan."
Leading off the game, Loera drove into the paint for two quick layups and the early lead. The Warriors were up to the challenge, staying close to the Eagles at 11-9. In her first minutes of playing time, Martin scored a tough layup inside, followed by a step-back three after blocking a Corban shot. Eastern continued to find space in the paint and built a 20-11 lead after the first quarter. EWU shot 50.0 percent, while the Warriors were at 35.7 percent.
Beginning the second quarter, the Eagles began to separate from Corban with a 13-0 run. Buckley got inside for a pair of layups while Loera knocked down a three. The team led 33-14 with 5:33 left in the half. Bella Hays got inside for two layups and Alexander connected with another three in the quarter. Eastern pushed its lead to 44-23 at the half behind 55.0 shooting in the quarter. The Warriors were held to 33.3 percent shooting.
The Eagles stayed productive in the third quarter, outscoring the Warriors 22-7. The team shot 40 percent from the floor to extend the EWU lead. Alexander was a key scorer for Eastern, scoring seven points. After three, Eastern led 66-30, while holding Corban to 17.6 percent from the floor in the quarter.
The fourth quarter was a slog for Eastern, as the team shot only 11.8 percent from the floor. Corban finished with a 35.0 percent and outscored the Eagles, 17-6. Despite the struggles in the quarter, EWU won the game 72-47.
Eag Notes
- Eastern Washington has started 3-0 for the second consecutive season, tying the second-best start in program history.
- The Eagles posted a 40.0 shooting percentage while Corban had a 30.3 shooting line.
- Eastern 54 to 35 rebound advantage led to a 42 to 18 scoring advantage in the paint. The team also had a 16 to 5 advantage on second chance points. EWU was led by Gabrielle Jung, who matched her career-high with eight rebounds. Eastern had five players with at least five rebounds.
- EWU's bench outscored the Warriors, 31 to 20.
- Jaydia Martin returned to the court for the first time since Jan. 18 against Weber State. Martin Played 14 minutes, adding two rebounds and one block to her 13 points.
- Aaliyah Alexander has now been Eastern's top scorer or tied for the team lead in the first three games of the season.
- Redshirt-freshman Bella Hays made her Eagle debut, filling up the stat sheet with 6 points, 6 rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
- Cori Wilcox, also a redshirt-freshman, played her first minutes for Eastern, pulling down five rebounds in five minutes played.
Up Next
Eastern Washington returns to the road next week, starting with a game against UC Irvine on Monday, Nov. 20 with tipoff at 6 p.m. Pacific Time.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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