CHENEY, Wash. — The game came down to the final second, but Eastern Washington women's basketball was not able to earn the win. Eastern fell to Montana State, 62-61, on Thursday night at Reese Court. The Eagles fall to 6-2 in the Big Sky and 16-5 overall.
"[Montana State] does a really nice job defensively and forces you to get out of your action that you want to run. We need to do a better job as a coaching staff to help Aaliyah [Alexander] and Jamie [Loera] out. I think they're having to do too much for us and we need to figure out ways to get other people involved," head coach Joddie Gleason said." Missing Jacinta Buckley tonight is huge and while it's not on the stats all the time, she's one of our key defenders and rebounders. I think that was an integral part of tonight, but everyone has injuries. Montana State has injuries so we need the next person to step up. I don't think they changed anything, they're just long and athletic. That's what they try to do is disrupt and whenever I took Jamie out of the game, it resulted in a turnover. I'm trying to make her not have to play 40 minutes every night. We have to figure that out as a coaching staff and do better."
Jamie Loera led the team with 15 points and Aaliyah Alexander had 14.
"I would say continue with our mindset," Loera explained. "We have to watch some film and do a better job of rebounding and making stops on defense. Tonight probably wasn't our best defensive effort but we are more than capable of adjusting. There is a next game mentality that we are good at; by focusing on what's next, making a couple adjustments and not looking back."
There was limited separation between the teams in the first quarter, as they combined for seven lead changes and four ties. Alexis Pettis led the team in the quarter with five points on 2-of-3(66.7%) shooting. A layup with 52 seconds left from Bella Hays handed the Eagles the lead at 14-13. The score held until the end of the quarter, with Eastern shooting 37.5 percent.
The second quarter started similar, with neither team building a significant lead. Trailing 18-17 at 7:37, EWU went on a 7-0 run to finally build some separation. Alexander contributed five points during the run. The Eagles went up by as much as 10 on a three from Loera at 31-21 and 3:30 remaining. MSU pulled the score back to single digits, but Eastern maintained its advantage. EWU led 32-27 at halftime, shooting 50.0 percent in the second quarter.
Neither team backed down in the third quarter, as MSU remained in striking distance of the Eagles. Eastern went up seven at 36-29 and at the 8:08 point on a driving layup by Jaydia Martin. The Bobcats cut the lead down to 44-42 with 3:45 on the clock. EWU had the response, getting a layup from Milly Knowles. A late three from the Bobcats the lead down to one, 46-45, at the break. Eastern had a 46.2 shooting percentage in the quarter.
MSU had stuck around in the game and would tie the score at 49 early in the fourth quarter. Alexander converted two free throws and Loera connected with a layup to rebuild an Eagle lead. Eastern led 59-55 with 2:56 left in the game on a made jumper from Alexander. The Bobcats then tied the game at 59 with 1:34 remaining. MSU then hit a corner three to go up against the Eagles. A driving layup from Loera cut the lead down to one and 45 seconds on the clock. EWU's defense forced a shot clock violation and had a chance to take the game with four seconds left. Eastern's shot was off and the Bobcats held on for the 62-61 win. The Eagles finished with a 42.4 shooting percentage.
Eag Notes
- Eastern out-rebounded Montana St. 36-31, getting nine offensive rebounds.
- Milly Knowles had a game-high eight rebounds.
- Jamie Loera led the team with three assists and two steals. She scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game and her 14th this season.
- Aaliyah Alexander now has scored in double figures in 17 games this season.
- Alexis Pettis came off the bench and scored nine points.
Up Next
Eastern Washington is back at Reese Court on Saturday to play Montana, with tipoff at 2 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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