FORSSA, Finland. — A former star for Eastern Women's basketball has taken her skills overseas and is already having an impact.
Jacinta Buckley signed with the club Forssan Alku, based out of Forssa, Finland, beginning her professional playing career.
Forssan Alku is six games into their season and Buckley is currently leading the team with a 30.0 minutes played per game average.
The former Eagle is contributing the same way she did while in Cheney, leading the club with 8.7 rebounds per game and adding 11.8 points. Through six games, Buckley is shooting 48.0 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent from three-point range.
Forssan Alku advanced to the Finnish League semifinals the past two seasons, finishing fourth and fifth during league play respectively.
Buckley finished her collegiate career this past March, helping Eastern win the Big Sky regular season and tournament titles. She was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 15.3 points per game and 8.3 rebounds en route to the program's first Big Sky tournament title.
Buckley's career started at Eastern in the 2021-22 season after transferring from UNLV, joining head coach Joddie Gleason in her first season leading the team. During the first year, Buckley was named to the All-Big Sky third team and was an honorable mention in the following 2022-23 season. She also earned Big Sky All-Academic honor in 2024.
For her career, Buckley scored 880 points to rank 31st on the program's all-time scoring list as well. She pulled down 572 total rebounds, for a 7.3 per game average that ranks ninth on the all-time list. Buckley started 66 games in her Eastern career, with 78 total games played.
In her final season as an Eagle, Buckley averaged 9.9 points and 6.0 rebounds, a key part of the team's record breaking 29 wins and NCAA Tournament berth.
Forssan Alku has 12 more scheduled games from now until the end of January. Their next game will be on Nov. 16 against Kouvot.
Season tickets for women's basketball are now on sale. Reserve your seats at Reese Court for the 2024-25 seasons by clicking on the link here, emailing tickets@ewu.edu or calling the ticket office at 509-359-6059.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
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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