CHENEY, Wash. — The game may have looked over with under 30 seconds to go, but Eastern Washington women's basketball still had a run in them. Eastern defeated Denver 66-65 in the first matchup of the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge on Wednesday night.
The Eagles trailed by five with 21 seconds remaining, but erased the deficit with a pair of steals, along with clutch free throws and shooting. Ella Gallatin delivered the clutch two-point jumper with one second remaining to put Eastern in front and complete the comeback. EWU improves to 4-4 on the season, while the Pioneers fall to 3-5.
"You practice these end-of-game situations; you talk about them and watch films. We went out and executed them to the end of this game," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "We got those steals off the press, then we were able to call timeout or get downhill and finish at the bucket. You want to try and do that when you're trying to come back. We executed our end-of-game situation really well and made huge plays."
EWU had a solid game shooting, recording a 44.1 figure. They were 9-of-12(75%) from the free throw line. Eastern defense held DU to 17.9 percent shooting from three (5-of-28) and 37.3 overall for the game.
It was the sophomore forwards who carried the Eagles in the game, starting with Jaecy Eggers who scored a career-best 26 points, going 10-of-15(66.7%) from the floor. She was 3-of-4(75%) from three-point range. Kourtney Grossman notched a career-best rebounding game with 23, adding 15 points to earn the double-double.
"It was exciting and the guards did a good job of feeding us inside. When I got the opportunity to step out, they were still waiting for me inside. We wanted to keep the defense up when we got the offense going," Eggers explained. "I really appreciate the guards' effort to drive inside, early in the possession too and off cuts. I feel like they really had a good eye for my hands inside. "
"I think you have to know what your team needs and even if you have two fouls under circumstances, you have to be aggressive or there's no real reason to be out there," Grossman added. "It's staying consistent with my effort. I know that one of my roles on the team is to try and get as many rebounds as I can. Rebounding has been a big emphasis this year so I'm working to step into my role and do my best to help the team."
Eastern was clicking in the first quarter, as they went 12-of-17(70.6%) from the floor and 3-of-6(50%) from three-point range. Six different Eagles scored in the quarter, with Jaecy Eggers scoring seven and Ella Gallatin adding six. EWU's defense also made an early statement, holding Denver to 23.5 percent shooting. After one quarter, Eastern led 25-14.
EWU's hot shooting continued into the second quarter, as they expanded the lead to as much as 16. Grossman led the way with two layups and the Eagles went up 34-18 at the 5:25 point. The Pioneers were not done in the game as they launched a 12-0 run to close the quarter and erase Eastern's double-digit lead. EWU's shooting cooled off to a 28.6 mark overall for the quarter, while DU shot 31.6 percent. The Eagles lead was down to 34-30 at halftime.
The offensive continued to be sluggish for Eastern as the Pioneers took advantage early in the third quarter. DU took its first lead at 37-36 with 6:49 on the clock. Eggers made two free throws to take the lead back briefly but the Pioneers had their own two free throws to take the lead. Eggers would make back-to-back threes late in the quarter, but it was not enough for the Eagles to retake the lead. They trailed 52-48 after three, shooting 41.7 percent in the quarter.
Down in the fourth quarter, EWU pushed to tie the score, bringing the lead down to one at 7:04 following a made free throw by Eggers. The Pioneers then scored five-straight points to build back their advantage. The Eagles did not allow the deficit to grow any more than six in the quarter and were in a position to win with under a minute to play.
Elyn Bowers cut the lead to three with 46 seconds remaining, but DU converted a layup to lead 65-60. The clock showed 21 seconds remaining. Gallatin matched the layup and the lead was down to three at 17 seconds. On the inbound play, Caitie Gingras stole the ball and gave the Eagles another possession. Grossman was fouled going to hoop, but made both free throws to put the score at 65-64 and 13 seconds left. Eggers took advantage of another bad in-bounds play from the Pioneers and stole the ball, handing EWU a chance to win with nine seconds left in the game. It was Gallatin who got the call for the Eagles' final possession. She dribbled into the paint and pulled up for the jumper, draining the shot and giving Eastern the 66-65 win.
"It was an opportunity for Ella to get downhill. Jaecy came up and set a screen for her and [Ella] was able to get downhill. You have to put the ball in your seniors hands and turn it over to her. Ella made a great finishing move to secure that shot and the win. I'm super proud of her for that," Gleason said of Gallatin's final shot.
Eag Notes
- Kourtney Grossman posted her 3rd double-double of the season, while recording the fourth-most rebounds in a single game in Eastern history. Grossman now has 16 career double-doubles. It was Grossman's 28th career double digit scoring game and 8th this season, while being her 20th career double-digit rebounding game and 3rd of the season.
- Eastern dominated the boards, 48-30, scoring 42 points in the paint to the Pioneers 30. All Eagle players who recorded minutes in the game had at least 1 rebound in the game.
- Jaecy Eggers notched her second career 20-point game, while scoring in double figures for the 4th time this season - 19th of her career.
- Ella Gallatin scored in double figures for the 4th time this season, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-12(50%) shooting. It was Gallatin's 20th career game in double figures.
- EWU led for 23.24 minutes of the game, while DU led for 16:25. The game had 4 lead changes and 2 ties.
- Eastern improves to 2-1 against Denver in program history.
Up Next
Eastern Washington travels for round two of the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge on Saturday (Dec. 6), when they travel to Vermillion, S.D. The game tips off at 11 a.m. Pacific Time and 1 p.m. Central.
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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