CHENEY, Wash. — The calendar has changed to February and Eastern Washington athletics looks to keep the effort going. Men's basketball is back at Reese Court, riding a much-needed road win on Saturday. Women's basketball goes west for two games. Track and field gets to stay close to home for another competition at the Podium. Women's tennis travels to Spokane for a neutral match. Women's golf begins its spring schedule in California.
Men's Basketball – vs Sacramento State (Thursday, February 6 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time), vs Portland State (Saturday, February 8 at 2 p.m. Pacific Time)
Eastern Washington looks to build on its momentum this weekend as they face Sacramento on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m., followed by Portland State on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. The Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak this past weekend, securing a dominant 72-49 victory over Weber State. However, they split their weekend, falling to Idaho State 78-70 on Thursday.
Andrew Cook has been a standout performer for Eastern Washington in the Big Sky Conference. He leads the league in free throw percentage, shooting an impressive 88.4%. Additionally, Cook ranks third in steals, averaging 1.72 per game, and fourth in field goal percentage with a stellar 53.9% shooting mark. His teammate, Nic McClain, has also made an impact, ranking second in steals with 2.29 per game and fourth in assists, averaging 4.06 per contest.
In their loss to Idaho State, Eastern Washington's Tyrell Williams put on a career-best performance, scoring 35 points to lead the Eagles. Despite a close first half, Williams kept Eastern in the game, but the Bengals' hot shooting and timely three-pointers ultimately sealed the win. Marquardt contributed 12 points, while Hartmann led the team in rebounds with six.
Eastern Washington bounced back in impressive fashion with a commanding 72-49 victory over Weber State. After a slow start, the Eagles took a slim 27-24 lead into halftime. A 9-1 run to start the second half pushed the lead to double digits, and the Eagles never looked back, cruising to a comfortable win and snapping their losing streak.
Eastern's bench played a pivotal role in the win, contributing 40 points. Cook was the star of the game, leading the team with 27 points. The Eagles also excelled from the free-throw line, shooting a remarkable 91.7% as a team, and finished the game shooting 45% from the field.
Women's Basketball – at Sacramento State (Thursday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 pm Pacific Time), at Portland State (Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m.)
EWU is headed out of town this week for two games on the west coast, facing Sacramento State and Portland State, both for the second time this season. The games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Eastern defeated both the Vikings (78-49) and
Hornets (89-80) in Cheney earlier this season.
This past week, the Eagles split games on their homestand, defeating Idaho State, 78-71 in overtime. Eastern came back against the Bengals after trailing by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter.
Ella Gallatin scored at the buzzer in regulation to force overtime. The team scored 16 points in the extra period to complete the comeback as
Peyton Howard led Eastern with 17 points. The game was also Kid's Day, with over 2000 local elementary and middle school children in attendance. In the second game of the week against Weber State,
EWU fell, 62-48 to the Wildcats. Gallatin led the team with 13 points and
Kourtney Grossman had her seventh-straight game with a double double, 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Eastern is now 3-7 in the Big Sky and 7-15 overall.
Grossman continues to be the two-way force for the team, leading the conference with 10.3 rebounds per game. She is 18th in the league with 10.1 points per game, also second on the team. She has 10 double doubles this season with nine in her last 11 games. Grossman is averaging 13.7 rebounds and 12.9 points in Big Sky games.
Howard remains the team's top scorer with 13.5 points per game on 38.4 shooting. She has 18 games this season scoring in double figures and ranks sixth on the conference leaderboard.
The Eagles remain one of the top rebounding teams in the conference, averaging 40.9 per game to rank third. They lead the Big Sky with 13.1 offensive rebounds per game - 288 total. Grossman has 50 offensive rebounds this season, tying for fifth in the league. EWU carries a plus-4.1 rebounding margin this season.
Track and Field – Inland Northwest Invitational at The Podium hosted by Whitworth University (Saturday, February 1, All Day)
The Eastern squad returns to The Podium for the fourth time this season, competing in the Riverfront Invitationals and Multis from February 6-8, hosted by Spokane Sports. This past weekend at the Inland Northwest Invitational, the Eagles set the stage with nine personal bests and several top finishes.
Dyvhine and Dyvhon Fonoti were standout performers in the weight throw. Dyvhon captured third place with a personal record of 17.15m, while Dyvhine secured second place with a best mark of 17.69m. Kimberly Smith (Tuti) soared to victory in the long jump, leaping 5.73m, and Zoe Dunn earned second in the women's triple jump with a distance of 11.10m. Suzi Woodall tied for second in the pole vault, clearing 3.81m. On the men's side, Jason Nwaka claimed first place in the shot put with a personal best of 16.70m, while Nic Cunningham finished second in the men's triple jump with a mark of 13.41m. Daniel Gaik impressed in the 400m, winning with a time of 47.66, and Kristian Phennicie dominated the 200m, taking first in 21.57.
Eastern also had strong performances across multiple distance events. Diana Fernandez won the 400m with a time of 57.05, and Sara Sanders finished fifth in the women's mile in 5:04.65. In the 3000m, Jasmin Muneton led the way for the Eagles with a winning time of 10:03.70, while Nattie Ruzauskas and Jenni Bissell finished third and fourth, respectively. In the men's mile, Noah Holden placed seventh in 4:21.31, and Owen Higgins claimed second in the 800m with a time of 1:51.63. Enoch Okoh took fifth in the 200m, running a 21.95, and Nathan Kuhnau earned a personal best in the 400m, finishing third in 49.61.
Women's Tennis – vs. Air Force (Friday, Feb. 7 at 12:00 pm Pacific Time)
This week the Eagles will continue their road trip, but will not have to go far from home. On Friday, Eastern will host Air Force for a neutral match in Spokane. The two will face each other for the 11th time. The match will start at noon.
The Eagles and the Falcons last met in 2012 in a neutral site match in Seattle. The Falcons would come out with the 6-1 victory, and have won nine matches in a row over the Eagles.
Last week, EWU faced off against the BYU Cougars in Moscow. The Cougars would leave Idaho with a 7-0 victory over the Eagles. Junior Leandra Nizetic leads the Eagles this season with a 2-2 singles dual-match record. In doubles, the pairing of seniors Isabella Foshee and Kenzington Mann lead the way with a 1-0 doubles dual-match record.
Women's Golf – at Soboba Spring Classic (Friday through Sunday (Feb. 7-9), All Day)
Eastern returns to competition for the first time in 2025, traveling to San Jacinto, Calif. For the Soboba Spring Classic, hosted by UC Riverside. The tournament will run for three days, with one round per day.
The Eagles competed in four events during the fall season, hosting two. EWU finished strong at the Portland State Fall Invite, placing fourth among the 10-team field.
Gabriella Ilardi placed third in Portland, shooting 215 (-1). True freshman
Berkley Ledesma shot a 228 (+12) to finish 18th on the individual leaderboard.
The Big Sky conference released its preseason coaches poll two weeks ago, with the Eagles slated 8th. Eastern was ninth at the 2024 Big Sky Championships.
Head coach Brenda Howe is in her 16th season leading EWU, and has three returners in Ilardi, Kami Twining and Brooke Mahler. She added three freshmen to the roster in addition to Ledesma, with Spencer Cerenzia, Natalie Kent and Esha Reddy.
Football – February Signing Day Show (Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. Pacific Time)
Eastern Washington football hosts the National Signing Day Show on Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Hear live from Head coach Aaron Best and the rest of the EWU coaching staff as they discuss the full 2025 recruiting class. The show is broadcast live on SWX and streamed on SWXLocalSports.com, with hosts Larry Weir and Austin Getz. It will also rebroadcast on SWX at 9 p.m.
EWU added 23 new Eagles in December for the first section of the '25 class and looks to further build the roster for the upcoming season.
Single game tickets for men's and women's basketball are now on sale. Reserve your seats at Reese Court for the 2024-25 seasons by clicking on the link here, emailing tickets@ewu.edu or calling the ticket office at 509-359-6059.
Season ticket renewals for the 2025 football season will begin at the end of January. The deadline to renew season ticket and tailgate packages is February 28th. New package sales will begin in March. For questions, contact the EWU Ticket Office at 509-359-6059 or at tickets@ewu.edu.
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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