CHENEY, Wash. — The comeback seemed in reach for the Eastern Washington women's basketball on Thursday night, but fell short of completion. Eastern dropped the game to Southern Utah, 74-68, despite erasing a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter. EWU falls to 1-2 on the season, while Southern Utah improves to 3-0.
The Thunderbirds led for 39 minutes in the game, but were on their heels late in the fourth. The Eagles cut the lead to 62-60 with six minutes remaining in the game. SUU stopped the comeback effort with a 10-0 run and secured the road victory. Eastern did deliver a 41-34 scoring advantage in the second half.
"We were not able to keep [Southern Utah] from attacking off the bounce, in the first half especially. It felt like we were consistently in rotation mode with help defense. That led them to having open players on the perimeter. They crashed the glass like crazy and wanted those more than we did in the first half," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "I thought we made good adjustments in the second half and we had more stops. But they were still able to crash the boards. In the second half, we ran some different sets to get Jaecy [Eggers] and Kourtney [Grossman] going; some sets we hadn't used yet and surprise them."
Jaecy Eggers dropped a career-best 21 points in the game, while pulling down eight rebounds. Freshman Elyn Bowers continued her strong start to the season with 18 points on 6-of-10(60%) shooting, including 4-of-5(80%).
"I feel like at half, we executed the plays that got the ball inside. I really appreciate the guards getting the lob inside, while also calling the double so I could kick it out to them. They did a good job getting the ball inside for me," Eggers explained. "We wanted to be more physical and get the And-1 or get to the line in the second half. We wanted to make one more pass to try and get better shots."
For the game, EWU was held to 29.6 percent shooting, while Southern Utah posted a 43.1 percent stat line.
The offense was running fast in the first quarter, as both teams found room, especially from three-point range. Southern Utah shot 4-of-7(57.1%) from behind the arc, while Eastern shot 3-of-7(42.9%). The Thunderbirds were on fire shooting overall, posting a 62.5 percent mark from the floor. They went in front of EWU, 24-18 after the first. The Eagles scoring was led by Jaecy Eggers in the quarter with six points.
In the second quarter, the offensive rhythm faded with both teams shooting under 30 percent. SUU did damage at the free throw line with five made attempts. They outscored EWU, 16-9 in the quarter and extended their lead to 13 at 40-27. EWU was held to 23.5 percent shooting in the second.
Moving to the third, Eastern increased their aggressiveness and found offense at the free throw line. The Eagles went 6-of-6 from the strike as Eggers, Kourtney Grossman and Caitie Gingras all converted two attempts. The Thunderbirds still had a strong offensive quarter, shooting 47.4 percent from the floor. Both teams scored 19 points in the quarter and EWU trailed 59-46 after three.
Eastern looked to spark a rally early in the fourth quarter, and Eggers started with a made three pointer, followed quickly by one from Elyn Bowers. The lead was quickly down to single digits. After the Thunderbirds made three free throws, the Eagles started their rally. EWU went on an 8-0 run, all coming at the free throw line. Eggers converted four free throws, with Grossman and Bowers each contributing two. SUU refocused with the lead down to a possession, countering with its own 8-0 run to rebuild a 10-point lead and 1:57 left in the game. The Eagles tried to build another rally but did not have enough time to complete the comeback.
Eag Notes
- Jaecy Eggers scored in double figures for the 16th time in her career, topping her previous career-best of 20 points scored last season against Sacramento State.
- Kourtney Grossman notched her first double-double of the season, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She now has 14 double-doubles in her career. Grossman scored in double-digits for the 23rd time in her career and had double-digit rebounds for the 18th time.
- After committing 19 turnovers against Arizona State, Eastern reduced its number to 6 against Southern Utah. EWU forced 16 turnovers from the Thunderbirds and scored 17 points on those opportunities.
- Elyn Bowers has now started her career with double-digit scoring in every game (3).
- Caitie Gingras scored 10 points for her first double-digit scoring game as an Eagle. She was 2-of-5(40.0%) from the floor and 4-of-4 at the free throw line.
- Southern Utah held a 50 to 37 advantage in rebounding. Despite the deficit, EWU did record 14 offensive rebounds.
Up Next
Eastern Washington stays at home through the weekend and hosts Cal Poly on Monday (Nov. 17) at 5 p.m. The game will be a double header with men's basketball, who plays Eastern Oregon at 7:30 p.m.
Women's basketball season tickets are now on sale! Claim your seats at Reese Court for the 2025-26 season by visiting goeags.com/tickets to purchase online.
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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