CHENEY, Wash. — Records are meant to be broken,but Eastern Washington women's basketball is making their winning streak as difficult as possible for future teams to surpass. Eastern defeated Northern Colorado 68-62 tonight and extended its winning streak to 10 games. The Eagles improve to 6-0 in the Big Sky and are 16-3 overall this season.
"This was a nice win for us on the road tonight. We survived some first half foul trouble with
Bella Hays and Gabby Jung giving us good minutes off the bench," head coach
Joddie Gleason said. "We did a great job defensively in the third quarter holding them to 10 points.
Jaleesa Lawrence was key for us on offense when we needed it.
Jamie Loera played 50 minutes, held Hannah Simental to six points, broke their full court press and ran the show for us on offense. It was just an incredible game from her. Down the stretch,
Aaliyah Alexander was clutch for us again and sealed the game with some big plays. We knocked down our free throws to ice the game."
A versatile offense has been the staple of EWU this season and the team finished with three players scoring in double figures, led by Jaleesa Lawrence's 17. Fresh off her first Big Sky Player of the Week award, Jamie Loera scored 16 points, while Aaliyah Alexander added 13.
It was a close contest between the two top-ranked teams in the first quarter, as the Bears jumped out to a 7-4 lead. Eastern tied and then took the lead at 9-7, getting a three from Loera and Milly Knowles scoring inside. UNC went back in front, building a 14-11 advantage. EWU stayed close but could not retake the lead in the quarter. They trailed 21-17 after one quarter and shot 50.0 percent from the floor.
The game stayed tight into the second quarter, as neither team led by more than a possession. The Eagles and Bears matched each other score-for-score, with four ties in the quarter. The teams were knotted up at 30 with 1:49 left on the clock after two free throws from Loera. The Bears then delivered with a pair of threes to stay in front, but Loera closed the half with two more free throws to cut the lead down. Eastern trailed 36-34 at half with a 35.3 field goal percentage.
In the third quarter, the game settled into a defensive battle, with the two teams tied at 40 and 6:40 on the clock. Neither team scored again until the 3:57 point when Lawrence connected with a jumper and gave the Eagles the lead. The shot was part of a 6-0 run from Eastern that put them in the driver's seat. EWU then extended its lead to 53-46 at the end of the quarter. Jacinta Buckley poured in seven points to lead the comeback effort.
Holding the lead, the Eagles stayed aggressive, posting a 58.3 shooting percentage. UNC kept the quarter competitive, cutting the lead down to six at 61-55 and 5:15 remaining in the game. Alexander went into closer mode and scored five-straight points for EWU to rebuild its lead. Alexander came to life for Eastern in the fourth, scoring nine points. The Eagles had built a large enough lead and won the game, 68-62. The team shot 44.4 percent for the game.
Eag Notes
- Bella Hays was critical on the interior for the Eagles, pulling down a career-high eight rebounds and adding two blocks. She scored seven points as well.
- EWU out-rebounded the Bears, 39 to 32, with a 32 to 26 scoring advantage in the paint. The rebounding total included 16 offensive rebounds - four from Hays - that led to 20 second chance points.
- Jacinta Buckley nearly gave Eastern four double-digit scorers, finishing with nine points.
- The Eagles bench delivered with 24 points, carried by Jaleesa Lawrence's game high 17.
- UNC led for 17 minutes, opposed to 14 from Eastern. The Bears never led by more than four, while EWU's largest lead was 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Up Next
Eastern Washington stays on the road and will again face the number two team in the conference, playing Northern Arizona on Saturday (Jan. 27). Tipoff will be 1 p.m. Pacific Time.
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.
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