CEDAR CITY, Utah — The first statement of the 2023-24 season has been made by Eastern Washington women's basketball in a clutch road win. The Eagles defeated Southern Utah, 86-77 on Wednesday night, the team's second-straight win over the Thunderbirds.
Aaliyah Alexander poured in a game-high 27 points that earned the redshirt-sophomore a new career-high. Playing off Alexander, Jaleesa Lawrence scored 23 points in the game.
"This was a total team win with contributions up and down the line, but I need to shout out a few people. Aaliyah [Alexander] put us on her shoulders in the second half, scoring 20 and grabbing huge boards," head coach
Joddie Gleason explained. "Andie [Zylak] hit a huge shot, which helped switch the momentum. Gabby [Jung] gave us some quality minutes, defending and rebounding when we needed her in the fourth. Milly [Knowles] is our anchor on the interior and was huge for us inside. Jaleesa [Lawrence] got in some early foul trouble and didn't play the second quarter, but still put up huge numbers. Jamie [Loera] was solid defending, distributing the ball and running the show for us. Go Eags!"
Starting out, it was Lawrence's game, scoring 10 of the team's first 12 points. The Eagles had a 12-5 lead over the Thunderbirds at the 5:10 mark. Eastern was effective at driving into the paint and scoring three layups down the stretch. After the first quarter, EWU led SUU, 22-16. Eastern had a 47.6 shooting percentage, while the Thunderbirds shot 42.9.
After a quick 4-0 run from SUU started the second quarter, Jacinta Buckley responded with five-straight points to keep the lead intact. Eastern extended its lead to as much as 12 in the quarter, with Milly Knowles providing the scoring in the paint. The Thunderbirds went on a 5-0 run, but a late jumper from Jamie Loera gave EWU a 41-32 lead at halftime. The Eagles shot 41.2 percent from the floor with SUU at 30.8 percent.
The third quarter was a different story for EWU, as SUU surged ahead of the Eagles. In the quarter, the Thunderbirds shot an overwhelming 80 percent from the floor and outscored Eastern 27-14. Going to the final quarter, the Eagles now trailed 59-55 after shooting 35.7 percent in the third.
Unfazed, Eastern stayed calm in the fourth quarter and ran their offense. Alexander hit a three, followed by a quick layup in transition by Lawrence to cut the lead down to one. The team's then traded baskets and the Thunderbird lead remained one possession. Following a Knowles-layup, Lawrence put Eastern ahead with another transition layup off a SUU turnover. The sequence was the beginning of a 14-2 stretch for the Eagles that put them in firm control of the game. Leading by 83-75 with under a minute to play, Lawrence provided the dagger with a corner three.
Eastern won the game, 86-77, posting a 55.0 shooting percentage in the fourth quarter. The Eagles forced six turnovers in the fourth that allowed them to outscore the Thunderbirds, 31-18.
"This is a great win on the road in a tough environment. We showed resilience and toughness in the fourth after a struggle in the third," Gleason added. "We changed our defensive assignments and strategy mid-game. Our players did a nice job of communicating and executing the plan. There are so many unknowns during these early games and our squad responded when we made changes."
Eag Notes
- The Eagles finished with a 45.8 shooting percentage for the game, while SUU had a 44.6 stat line.
- Aaliyah Alexander surpassed her previous career-high of 23 points, which scored in the Big Sky Tournament against Montana this past March. Alexander was 9-of-17(52.9%) from the floor. She also notched her third career double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds, one shy of her career high.
- Jaleesa Lawrence's 23 points matched her career-high. She was 9-of-12 (75.0%) overall from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range.
- The win over Southern Utah was EWU's first in Cedar City since Feb. 28, 2018, a 70-49 victory.
- Eastern had a 42 to 32 rebounding advantage, leading to a 46 to 34 scoring advantage in the paint. EWU had 17 offensive rebounds and the team scored 17 points off those second chance opportunities. It was the most offensive rebounds for the Eagles since they recorded 18 against Oregon State last season.
- EWU scored 17 points off of 13 SUU turnovers. The team had 14 assists in the game, with Jamie Loera and Jacinta Buckley each dishing out four.
- Loera and Milly Knowles each scored in double figures, with 15 and 10 points respectively.
Up Next
Eastern Washington has a quick turnaround with a Friday game against Utah State in Logan, Utah. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 4 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.
FOLLOW THE EAGLES
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
