CHENEY, Wash. — A statement win and a record-breaking performance all wrapped into one night for Eastern Washington women's basketball. Eastern knocked off Northern Arizona, 67-42, on Thursday night to take sole possession of first place in the Big Sky. With the victory, the Eagles set a program record with its 22nd win of the season (22-5) and are 12-2 in the conference.
"We have not really talked about [the record]; it is more about this single game," head coach Joddie Gleason. "I give all the credit to our players and staff who have executed and worked so hard this year. This team works extremely hard on the court; you see it on game day, but it is every day. It is every day in the weight room and every day in practice. It is all about their collective effort of defending extremely well. Defense is not always glamorous and that is the thing we have been able to hang our hat on. I am proud of them and that is something you will always be able to cherish. We are not done and we want to make sure we are ready for the next game as well. An unsung hero for us is Milly Knowles. She is our center who is amazing in the back line. She does not necessarily get a lot of recognition or accolades, but she really should. She defends good post players extremely well and prevents the ball from going in if they do get it. She is very mobile and active, but is also rotating on dribble penetration and getting rebounds."
The Eagles had three players score in double figures, led by Jamie Loera's 15. Jaleesa Lawrence added 13 and Aaliyah Alexander scored 10.
"We adjusted our defensive strategy and locked in this week on what we wanted to do," Loera explained "Our coaches came up with a game plan and our team does a really good job executing. We enjoy executing the game plan too. When we get stops on defense it really energizes us for our offense. Something we are focusing on right now is throwing the first punch and being the first team to score. It has been important to us because we have had to climb our way back into games this season. Setting that tone early set us up for the rest of the game. Our defensive stops we had in the first couple minutes showed how ready we were."
Eastern set the tone of the game early, opening a 6-0 lead on the 'Jacks. After NAU scored four-straight, the Eagles put up another 6-0 burst, getting threes from Ellie Boni and Alexis Pettis. EWU extended its lead to eight and led 16-8 at the end of the quarter. The team shot 38.9 percent in the first.
The second quarter started slow between the two teams, combining for one made free throw through the first two minutes. The pace picked up as Boni hit a jumper and extended the Eastern lead to 18-11. The 'Jacks pulled the lead back down to 20-16 with 5:44 left in the half. Another long scoring drought followed, with Loera scoring on a layup at the 2-minute mark. EWU closed the half strong with a second-chance layup from Bella Hays. Eastern led 26-18 at the break, shooting only 23.5 percent in the second quarter.
The Eagles found their rhythm from three to start the quarter, with Alexander and Loera hitting deep shots. Eastern continued to build its lead in the quarter, shooting 53.8 and 3-of-4 from three-point range. At the free-throw line, EWU was also productive, going 9-of-10 from the line. The Eagles built their lead to double digits at the end of three for a 52-34 advantage.
Eastern kept the pressure up in the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 23 at 7:44 on the clock, by way of a Jaleesa Lawrence layup. As a team, EWU outscored NAU 15-8 in the fourth quarter, getting seven points from Lawrence. Eastern shot 38.5 percent from the floor and closed out the 'Jacks, 67-42. The team had a 37.7 shooting percentage for the game.
Eag Notes
- Along with breaking the single-season win total, head coach Joddie Gleason recorded her 50th career win at Eastern on Thursday night.
- Eastern had a 52-42 advantage on the boards and a 30 to 14 scoring advantage in the paint. The Eagles were led by Jaydia Martin who pulled down 10 rebounds, her first double-digit rebounding game this season and fourth career. She added nine points in game as well
- Jamie Loera had her 19 double-digit scoring games of the season, while Aaliyah Alexander notched her 23rd. Jaleesa Lawrence has 11 games this season scoring in double figures.
- EWU forced 12 turnovers against NAU and turned them into 15 points.
- Loera and Alexander each had eight rebounds, while Milly Knowles finished with seven. Loera led the team with five assists.
- Lawrence matched her career-high with two blocks.
- Eastern's bench had a 16-7 scoring advantage.
Up Next
Eastern Washington hosts Northern Colorado on Saturday (Feb. 24) at Reese Court with a 2 p.m. Pacific Time tipoff.
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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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