Road wins are tough to come by in the Big Sky, but Eastern Washington women's basketball earned a 57-53 win at Northern Colorado on Saturday (Feb. 18). Eastern never trailed in the game and used resilient defense, along with balanced scoring to end its three-game losing streak. The Eagles are now 8-7 in the Big Sky and 15-10 overall. The Bears fall to 4-12 in conference and 11-16 overall.

"This road win was a team effort and showed so much grit and toughness," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "We defended with urgency and finished off possessions with rebounds. When we rebound, teams have a tough time scoring on us. For the weekend, we held both teams to a combined 31 field goal percentage, which was the emphasis for us."

Eastern had three players score in double figures, led by Jamie Loera's game-high 14. Aaliyah Alexander was right behind with 13 and Jaleesa Lawrence contributed 11.

"Jamie Loera carried us today with 14 points and eight assists, while holding UNC's go-to player, Hannah Simental, to nine points. It was just a gutsy performance by her," Gleason added. "Camille Jentzsch continued to defend and rebound for us and protect the paint. She was key to the win. Every single person made a key play for us tonight at some point whether it was a bucket, board or defensive stop. I'm so proud of our effort. Go Eags!"

Early on in the game, Eastern had the advantage with a 7-4 lead at the 4:28 mark in the quarter. The Eagles got scores from Aaliyah Alexander, Gabrielle Jung and Alexis Pettis during the first five minutes of the game. The lead only grew for Eastern as they went on a 9-1 run to take an 11-point lead on the Bears. Jaleesa Lawrence accounted for five points to drive the run. Eastern would expand its lead to 18-9 at the end of the quarter to 18-9.

Eastern shot a strong 57.1 percent from the floor, while holding UNC to 25.0 percent.

Moving to the second quarter, Eastern continued to score well. Jamie Loera went inside for a layup and drew contact for a pair of free throws. UNC jumped back into the game with a 7-0 and the Eastern lead was cut to 23-18 with 4:27 on the clock. Jacinta Buckley stopped the run with layup. The Eagles would close the half well, putting together a 5-0 stretch for a 30-20 lead.

In the quarter, Eastern's shooting cooled off to 33.3 percent, matched by the Bears with the same percentage.

Beginning the third, UNC again made a push to get back in the game. They began with a 7-2 stretch to cut the Eagles' lead down to five at the 5:41 point in the quarter. Needing a score, Jung lined up a three off a pass from Loera to increase the team's lead. Alexander then found her shot to bring the score to 37-27. Following a Bears made three, Camille Jentzsch stepped outside of the paint for the jumper. Alexander would tack on two free throws to give Eastern a 41-32 lead after three quarters.

The Eagles recorded a 30.8 shooting percentage in the third, with UNC shooting 31.1 percent.

Now in the fourth, Eastern looked to close out the Bears as Lawrence started with a driving layup. The quarter was competitive as the teams were trading scores. The Eagles led 51-41 with 5:06 left in the game. The game was scoreless for nearly two-and-a-half minutes, with UNC finally converting a pair of free throws. The Bears managed to close the gap to 51-47 with 1:18 on the clock. Loera would come up clutch in fourth, getting two layups with under a minute to play. UNC was not going away and converted its free throws trying to complete the comeback. Eastern held its advantage and won the game, 57-53. Eastern shot 42.9 percent in the fourth, allowing UNC a 41.7 percentage.

Eastern Washington finished the game with a 41.5 overall shooting percentage and UNC was held to 32.7 percent.

Key Statistics
The Eagles had a season-high seven blocks in the game today. Jamie Loera notched a career-high with three and Camille Jentzsch also set a career-high with two.

Jentzsch pulled down a career-best seven rebounds to lead the team and match the game-high.

Jamie Loera recorded her 16^th game this season scoring in double figures. Aaliyah Alexander recorded her 15^th and 26^th career game in double figures. Jaleesa Lawrence notched her 13^th this season and 22^nd of her career.

Eastern scored 26 points in the paint, edging the Bears by two.

The Eagles tallied 13 assists on 22 made field goals. Loera had a game-high eight in the win.

Eastern's bench had a 15 to 12 scoring advantage.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will play its final two home games of the season next week, beginning with Weber State on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. The Eagles will then host Idaho State on Saturday, Feb. 25 for the team's home regular season finale.