CHENEY, Wash. — For the second time this season, Eastern Washington women's basketball took one of the top teams in the Big Sky to the brink. Eastern hosted Montana State at Reese Court on Monday night, falling 58-56 to the Bobcats. EWU's record now falls to 2-4 in conference and 6-12 overall. Montana St. remained perfect in the Big Sky with a 7-0 mark and 17-2 overall..
The Eagles trailed by 11 in the fourth quarter, but mounted a furious comeback to tie the game late. After Montana St. went up by two, Eastern had a chance to tie and force overtime as time expired, but could not convert the field goal.
EWU was plagued by turnovers, committing 32 in the game. They did force 22 from the Bobcats.
"It's a matter of handling [Montana State]'s press. It felt like we handled it well in the first quarter and we handled it well, without too many turnovers. The ones we had were not in the middle of the court that led to points. They create relentless pressure for 40 minutes," head coach Joddie Gleason explained. "Our team is relentless; they're gutsy, tough and competitive. I love the way they fought back and I really wanted for them to get the win down the stretch. They played for each other. We had 32 turnovers and I don't know how it was still a close game. It shows we are still going to battle at the defensive end. Even if we have a turnover, we're going to sprint back, work hard and rebound. It's just a matter of taking care of the ball."
Kourtney Grossman turned in another monster game, setting career-bests with 18 points and 19 rebounds.
"I think my teammates were setting me up and making the right pass," Grossman described. "It's not just me; it's everyone. That showed how much we all wanted the win as a team, and we do our best for the good of the team. We took a breath and had to make a choice to either get blown out or make it a game. We all came together and were positive; we took the game one possession at a time from there."
It was a fast start for Eastern against the Bobcats, with a 8-2 advantage. Kourtney Grossman scored five quick points. The Eagles extended its lead to as much as nine in the quarter, 14-5 on a jumper from Alexis Pettis. After MSU brought the lead down to five (14-9), EWU pushed the lead back up to nine, powered by a three from Ella Gallatin. Eastern led 18-11 after the first, shooting 37.5 in the quarter.
EWU went up by double digits on the Bobcats, 22-11, less than two minutes into the second quarter, getting a pull-up jumper from Rachel Harvey. MSU charged back into the game, going on a 10-0 run to reduce the Eagle lead to one. The run was over a nearly five-minute stretch of the quarter. The Bobcats then went up, 25-24 on a pair of free throws at the 1:27 mark. Grossman delivered with a late three and put Eastern back in front, 27-26 at halftime. The team shot 17.6 percent in the second.
The two teams traded scores to open the second half, as EWU kept its one-point lead. The Bobcats would then take control of the game, blitzing the Eagles with a 15-0 run over five-and-a-half minutes. MSU took a 43-29 lead with 3:30 on the clock. They would take a 49-36 into the fourth quarter. Eastern had a 21.4 shooting percentage in the quarter.
The Eagles opened the fourth aggressive, quickly cutting the lead down to single digits with layups from Grossman and Bella Hays. The Bobcats rebuilt the lead to 11 at 52-41 with 6:10 on the clock. EWU then rallied with an 11-0 run over four minutes to tie the game at 52 and 2:06 left in the game. Eastern had a timely three from Peyton Howard and Pettis converted the tying three. MSU quickly built a four-point advantage with under two-minutes to play. A second chance layup from Jaecy Eggers cut the Bobcat lead down to one with eight seconds remaining. MSU made one-of-two free throws on its next possession to lead by two. The Eagles had a look at the buzzer, but could not convert the layup to force overtime. The Bobcats survived with a 58-56 win.
Eastern shot 29.7 percent for the game and Montana St. was at 29.6.
Eag Notes
- Kourtney Grossman's 19 rebounds tied for 8th in Eastern Washington history for a single game. It's the most rebounds in a single game since Missy Chubb had 19 on Jan. 18, 1992 against Nevada.
- Eastern pulled down 54 rebounds, while the Bobcats had 32. EWU had 23 offensive rebounds and scored 14 points on second chance opportunities. The Eagles narrowly won the scoring in the paint, 26 to 24.
- As a team, the Eagles recorded 11 steals, their 8th game this season with 10-plus steals. Grossman led the team with 4 steals. Alexis Pettis and Peyton Howard each had 3 steals in the game.
- EWU led for 20:27 minutes in the game, while MSU held the lead for 18:26.
- There were five ties and three lead changes in the game.
- Montana State's Taylee Chirrick posted 12 points and 11 steals in the game.
Up Next
Eastern Washington returns to the road quickly after Monday's game, traveling to Northern Arizona on Thursday (Jan. 23) and Northern Colorado on Saturday (Jan. 25).
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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