CHENEY, Wash. — Home court advantage is paying off for Eastern Washington women's basketball as the team earned its second consecutive win. Eastern defeated Portland State, 63-39, behind a dominating rebounding performance. EWU improves to 8-2 in conference and 18-5 overall this season.
"We focused on our quarter goals for defense. Our players did an excellent job of executing our scout plan and forcing Portland State into a low total of 39 points. We are happy about that and did a nice job with preparation," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "One of our goals was to crash the offensive glass. In zone defenses, you lose players a lot. I think it starts with Jaleesa Lawrence who is tough to keep off the glass. Milly Knowles also stepped up and secured a lot of weak side rebounds. It was a whole group effort of making it a priority and something we focus on a lot. I was happy with the way they crashed those boards."
The Eagles out-rebounded the Vikings, 48-27, led by Jamie Loera's eight. Jaydia Martin and Jaleesa Lawrence led the scoring effort with 14 points each.
"It feels great, we talk about taking every game one step at a time and that's what we did tonight. It's been a long week, but we all pulled through and did what we needed to do to win at the end of the day," Martin explained. "It feels good, I've been a little off lately, but it feels good to watch the ball go through the net. Everybody wants to work hard and at the end of the day, everybody is there to support each other. We're not sitting there thinking about how much we personally are scoring or doing individually. We are all thinking how we are going to improve ourselves to get a win in this game and help each other out. Rebounding is what we did tonight for each other."
"Jaydia is doing a great job by stepping up and making plays. She's been working hard and I'm glad she's starting to feel comfortable," Gleason added about Martin's game tonight.
Eastern established an early lead on the Vikings, going up 8-4 at the 5:43 points. Lawrence connected from three to help build the lead. The Eagles were effective with their jump shots, shooting 42.9 percent in the quarter and four different players scoring. EWU led 15-7 after the first quarter, getting five points from both Milly Knowles and Martin.
Into the second quarter, Eastern continued to score well from outside. Martin fired in seven points to continue extending the Eagle lead. EWU shot 40.9 percent in the quarter and outscored the Vikings, 20-14. They held PSU to a 38.5 shooting percentage. Eastern led 35-21 going into halftime.
Out of the half, the Eagles extended their lead over the Vikings, as Martin was again effective from outside. Lawrence found her shooting groove in the quarter, scoring six points to compliment Martin. As a team, EWU maintained a good shooting percentage, shooting 42.9 percent. At the end of the quarter, Eastern had a 50-31 advantage.
The team was in cruise control in the fourth quarter, out-sourcing the Vikings 15-10 with a 37.5 shooting percentage. Ella Gallatin and Bella Hays came off the bench, scoring four points each to close out PSU. The Eagles won the game 63-39 shooting 40.9 percent for the game.
In addition to the win, Knowles played in her 133 game for Eastern Washington tonight, breaking the program record held by Becky Fate Clark (1978-81).
Gleason spoke about Knowles' impact on the team, "Milly is a huge contributor to the success of our team. She doesn't always show up in the overall stat line, but she helps us get the wins. Her longevity, ability to stay on the court and health is a tribute to all her preparation. She says it's because she's old and has been here a long time, but that doesn't happen for everybody. It's a rare accomplishment that Milly should be proud of and something that the whole staff is proud of her for achieving."
Eag Notes
- The Eagles out-scored Portland State 25 to three in second chance points. In the paint, EWU had a 26 to 14 scoring advantage.
- Jaydia Martin had her seventh double-digit scoring game of the season against the Vikings.
- Eastern recorded 16 assists on 27 made field goals. Jamie Loera led the team with seven.
- Jaleesa Lawrence scored in double figures for the eighth time this season and second consecutive game.
- Aaliyah Alexander notched her 19 game this season in double figures.
Up Next
Eastern Washington gets to spend the next week at home and will host Idaho on Saturday (Feb. 10), with tipoff at 2 p.m. The game will be a part of a double-header with men's basketball against the Vandals, with their game scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.
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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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