CHENEY, Wash. — Saturday afternoon was a track meet on Reese Court as Eastern Washington women's basketball rose to the occasion on offense. Eastern defeated Sacramento State, 89-80, in a high-octane contest. EWU evens up its Big Sky record at 2-2 and is 6-10 overall.
The game was close throughout the first half, but a 27-point third quarter allowed Eastern to separate from the Hornets.
"Sac. St. did a nice job of pushing tempo and we needed to make sure that we matched it, while defending them with urgency. We accomplished that in the first three quarters, but let them get loose too many times in the fourth quarter," said head coach Joddie Gleason. "We're trying to spread the ball around and make sure we have assists that set each other up. Winning the assist battle is a focus for us. We want inside-out threes rather than tougher challenged threes that you create individually. That helps us get easier shots; when our guards are in attack mode. Rachel [Harvey] and Peyton [Howard] do a nice job finding Ella [Gallatin], [Alexis Pettis] and Kourtney [Grossman] in transition. We're working at moving the ball, distributing it and making that extra pass."
Five Eagles scored in double figures in the game to deliver a balanced offensive attack. Ella Gallatin posted a career-best 23 points on 6-of-11(54.5%) and she was 4-of-7(57.2%) from three. Jaecy Eggers earned her own career-best with 20 points on 8-of-20(40.0%) shooting.
"I think my teammates are doing a great job. Peyton and Rachel do a great job of drawing defense and finding me for open looks. Everyone is a threat on the floor and I think that helps. No one can be doubled or be left open," Gallatin explained. "Turning our defense into offense is huge for us. When we have mismatches against them; we make sure to finish the play."
The Eagles and Hornets battled closely to start the game, tying a six after the first three-and-a-half minutes. Gallatin had her shots falling early with two threes and eight points total for the quarter. Peyton Howard was also scoring well and made two free throws to put the Eagles up 13-8 with 2:38 left on the clock. Sac. St. cut the lead down to 15-14 at the end of the quarter, with EWU up by one. Eastern shot 33.3 percent in the quarter and was 3-of-7(42.9%) from three.
The second quarter continued to be a tight matchup between the two teams. The Hornets tied the score at 17 in the first minute, but EWU responded quickly with another three from Gallatin. After the Eagles led by five, Sac. St. tied the game again at 22 and 5:39 on the clock. The teams tied again at 28 and 3:03 remaining in the half. Gallatin continued to score efficiently and put the Eagles up 32-28. Following a three from the Hornets, Rachel Harvey connected on the fast-break layup to close the half and Eastern led 34-31. EWU improved its shooting to 46.7 in the quarter.
EWU found some separation in the third quarter, shooting 50 percent from the floor. Eggers offense came alive in the quarter, scoring 12 points. She scored five-straight points to put the Eagles up double digits, 47-35, at the 5:07 mark. Eastern led by as much as 17 points in the quarter. At the end of the third, EWU held a 61-48 advantage over the Vikings.
The fourth quarter was an offensive shootout between the Eagles and Hornets, with the teams combined for 60 points. Eastern shot 42.9 percent and Sac. St. was hot with a 64.7 percentage. The Hornets made a late push and reduced the lead down to single digits, 81-73, with 1: 46 remaining in the game. Gallatin converted key free throws to keep the lead from further diminishing. EWU held its lead and won the game 89-80.
The Eagles finished with a 44.1 shooting percentage for the game. The Hornets shot 49.2 percent.
Eag Notes
- Eastern recorded its fourth game this season with 10 or more made threes. The team went 10-of-25(40.0%) from range.
- Ella Gallatin recorded her second 20 point game in the past four games. She has scored in double figures in four-straight games.
- Jaecy Eggers posted her first career 20-point game and added 2 steals and 3 rebounds.
- EWU grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and scored 18 points on second chance opportunities. Gallatin and Eggers each had 3 in the game.
- Kourtney Grossman recorded her fourth double-double, recording a game-high 11 rebounds and scoring 12 points. It was Grossman's 5th game in double digits for rebounds and 7th for points.
- Eastern forced 18 turnovers and scored 18 points off of those mistakes.
- Peyton Howard dropped 18 points and had 7 assists, matching her season-best. She added two blocks in the game as well.
- Rachel Harvey contributed to all elements, scoring 10 points, while ranking second on the team with 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
- Former Eagle Jaydia Martin led the Hornets with 23 points on 9-of-15(60.0%) shooting.
Up Next
Eastern Washington will have only one game on its schedule next week as they drive south to Moscow to play Idaho on Saturday (Jan. 18), with tipoff at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.
Single game tickets for women's basketball are now on sale. Reserve your seats at Reese Court 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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