BOISE, Idaho — Everything was left on the court for Eastern Washington women's basketball on Saturday, but the 2024-25 season came to a close for the team. Eastern dropped its game against No. 8 Sacramento State, 71-67, in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament. EWU finishes the season with an 11-20 record, going 7-11 in the Big Sky.
After leading at halftime, the Hornets surged in the third quarter to take the lead. The teams tied multiple times in the fourth quarter, but Sacramento St. was able to emerge with the win.
"I'm so proud of our team's effort and representing Eastern Washington. We had really good looks, but I think they just didn't fall for whatever reason. We weren't running anything different, but we just missed some easy ones inside, along with outside and free throws," head coach Joddie Gleason explained. "We have both seniors and grade students, while adding a bunch of freshmen that showed tremendous growth throughout the year. We had six injuries in the lineup so the freshmen were sort of thrown to the wolves. They were playing a tone of minutes early, but embraced the moment. They continued to grow everyday and now, by the conference tournament, they have a lot of experience and represented us well. I love the way they handled playing at this level right out of high school."
EWU had four players score in double figures, led by 14 from Kourtney Grossman, while Peyton Howard added 13.
Both teams were slow to get their offense in rhythm to start the game, with the score 4-2 Hornets after the first two minutes. Eastern then found their rhythm, blitzing Sac. St. with a 16-0 run, led by six points from Ella Gallatin and five from Howard. EWU led 16-4 at the media break with 3:56 left in the quarter. Sac. St. responded with a 9-2 stretch to cut the lead down to 18-13. The Eagles stopped the run with a pair of layups from Rachel Harvey and Emily McElmurry. At the break, EWU led 22-15, shooting a strong 50 percent.
Eastern stayed aggressive in the second quarter, extending the lead to 10 points at 27-17, with 8:08 on the clock. Alexis Pettis dropped five points to drive the offensive effort. The teams traded points as the Eagles maintained their advantage. The Hornets used another 9-2 run to rescue the Eastern lead, bringing the score to 34-28 at the 2:49 point. Gallatin quickly responded for the Eagles with a three. EWU managed to match Sac. St.'s scores and held a 42-32 lead at halftime. Eastern shot 46.4 from the floor in the game.
Opening the third quarter, Sac. St. began to whittle down the EWU lead, reducing it to 46-41 at 6:26. With four minutes on the clock, the Hornets took the lead, 48-47 and extended it to 50-47 on their next possession. Pettis ended the run with a driving layup. After Sac. St. scored with under a minute to play, Gallatin delivered her own driving layup and the lead was down to 52-51 at the end of the quarter. Eastern shot 33.3 percent in the third.
The fourth quarter was a battle between the Eagles and Hornets, with five ties and four lead changes. The teams initially tied at 52, then 54 and later 56. Grossman carried the load for Eastern in the quarter, scoring six points. With two minutes remaining in the game, Pettis hit a pull-up jumper to put EWU on top, 62-61. The Hornets retook the lead quickly on their next possession. Grossman then delivered with a three to put the Eagles up. 65-63 and 1:20 on the clock. Sac. St. tied the game on its next possession. Next up for Eastern was Howard, who drove to paint and scored the layup for the 67-65 advantage. The Hornets responded with two free throws and the score was even again. Following an Eagle turnover, Sac. St. scored on a jumper to take the lead. EWU could not connect to tie the game and the Hornets went on to win, 71-69.
Overall in the game, Eastern had a 39.0 shooting percentage. Sacramento St. won behind a 47.4 percentage.
Eag Notes
- Kourtney Grossman recorded her 14th double double of the season after pulling down 12 rebounds. She ends her freshman season with 20 double digit scoring games and 17 double digit rebounding games. Grossman also tied her career-best with 5 steals.
- Peyton Howard notched her 24th game in double figures in her final collegiate game. Alexis Pettis scored 12 points in her final game, giving her 14 double digits scoring games this season and 25 for her career. Ella Gallatin scored 11 points, giving her 15 games in double figures.
- The game had 7 ties and 7 lead changes in total.
- EWU forced 19 turnovers while committing 16.
- Sacramento St. won the rebounding battle slightly, 36 to 32. The Hornets also had a 36-to-32 scoring advantage inside.
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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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