CHENEY, Wash. — The streak lives on for Eastern Washington women's basketball as they defeated Idaho State, 68-46 on Saturday afternoon. Eastern trailed by one at half, but outscored the Bengals, 38-15 in the second half to win their ninth consecutive game. The Eagles improve to 5-0 in the Big Sky and 15-3 overall.
"Idaho State is a really good defensive team. They're really physical and they rebound like crazy. It took us a while to get used to that again and make sure we're running our action past the first look," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "We were kind of settling for early shots in the first quarter, and they weren't falling, so then we kind of made that adjustment. In the second half, we were able to open things up a little bit by getting some turnovers, getting out in transition and scoring a little bit there."
Leading the way for EWU was Jamie Loera, scoring 19 points on 5-of-12(41.7%) shooting and 4-of-7(57.1%) from three-point range.
"When I play, I try to control the controllables. Like [Joddie] said, I just really love playing defense and I love playing with the team," Loera explained. "In the second quarter, we really attacked them on the on-ball screens. Coach pointed out to look at the roller, and Milly [Knowles] was there and we got two in a row to force a timeout. Those are just really fun moments to be able to capitalize on. Getting those offensive plays and seeing Milly go out there and do her thing. As Coach said, a lot of what Milly does goes unrecognized, but we all see it, internally, and we love playing with her. We put our confidence in her."
"[Jamie] is our go. She's on triple-double watch every single night I think, but isn't worried about that. She's more worried about just winning the game, and that's why she's such a great player," Gleason added." Jamie just does everything for us. Especially this week, in these two games, she always rebounds, defends, gets assists and steals; all that kind of stuff. Then we were kind of struggling, offensively, so she kind of took over to hit shots as well. It was just a huge game for her. Like you said, Milly, that was my player I point out in the locker room because she's kind of the unsung hero. She scored tonight, which people will recognize, but what maybe the bystander doesn't realize is how she just anchors our defense. She stops all of the dribble penetration by being that backline help in our defense. She is everywhere, and she's done an amazing job for us to really solidify it in the paint for us."
Idaho St. hit Eastern with a haymaker to start the game, jumping out to a 10-0 lead after four minutes. Alexis Pettis scored the team's first shot with a long jumper. Down the stretch of the quarter, Loera converted her free throws and helped cut down the Bengal lead. The Eagles trailed 18-13 after the first quarter, shooting just 22.2 percent.
EWU looked to retake the lead in the second, as the team continued to make free throws to get on the scoreboard. A made free throw at 4:31 from Loera gave Eastern its first lead of the game. The teams then traded points as Milly Knowles found space inside to score a pair of layups. The Bengals continued to score, as well, closing the half with two free throws for the 31-30 lead. The Eagles improved their shooting to 33.3 percent in the quarter.
The third quarter followed a similar path as the second through the first five minutes, with Idaho St. maintaining its lead. At the 4:53 mark, Jaleesa Lawrence connected from three and gave Eastern the lead. Loera followed up with her own three and Knowles went inside for two more to build a 44-37 advantage. The Eagles added more separation, leading 48-39 at the end of the quarter. EWU showed noticeable improvement with a 53.8 shooting percentage.
Now leading in the game, Eastern pulled away from the Bengals in the fourth quarter. The Eagles fired off a 63.6 shooting percentage to outscore Idaho State by 13 in the quarter. Loera scored six points while Lawrence and Aaliyah Alexander each delivered with five apiece. EWU held the Bengals to a 16.7 shooting percentage in the fourth and the team cruised to a 68-46 victory, shooting 40.4 percent for the game.
Eag Notes
- Jamie Loera nearly had a triple double, finishing with nine rebounds and eight assists, both game-highs.
- Eastern Washington adds to its record setting win streak after surpassing seven wins in a row last game.
- Milly Knowles set a new career-high with four blocks. It was the most blocks by an Eagle this season. Knowles also finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
- The Eagle bench outscored the Bengals, 24 to 11.
- Jaleesa Lawrence was key off the bench for EWU, scoring 15 points on 5-of-7(71.4) shooting and 3-of-4(75%) from behind the arc.
- On the glass, Eastern had a 43 to 33 rebounding advantage. Idaho St., however, outscored the Eagles in the paint, 28 to 26.
- EWU had 17 assists on 23 made field goals.
- The Bengals were held to 28.6 shooting for the game.
Up Next
Eastern Washington has two road games next week, starting with Northern Colorado on Jan. 25 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Eastern then plays Northern Arizona on Jan. 27 at 1 p.m.
Season tickets for EWU men's and women's basketball are now available and start as low as $100! Tickets for basketball and all EWU Athletics events are available at goeags.com/tickets or via the EWU Athletics Ticket Office at 509-359-6059.
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
