SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Eastern Washington women's basketball finished its west coast road trip on Saturday against Sacramento State. Eastern dropped the second leg of the trip to the Hornets, 61-54. EWU's record in conference falls to 3-4 and 10-10 overall, while Sac. St. improves its record to 4-3 and 10-10.
"We are happy to get a road split, but disappointed that we were not able to get a win today," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "Our defense rotations and stops kept us in the game, but giving up 15 offensive rebounds gave them too many extra possessions."
The pace of the game was slower, as the Eagles had 52 field goal attempts and the Hornets had 54. Eastern shot 40.4 percent for the game and Sac. St. shot at a 38.9 clip.
Ella Gallatin led EWU with 17 points on 5-of-16(31.3%) shooting and Elyn Bowers finished with 14, going 6-of-15(40.0%) from the floor.
"We continue to work on being more effective on offense when teams play physical basketball. We made some improvement in that area in the second half," Gleason added. "Ella Gallatin was a calming force for us and had a good weekend. Paris Kirk played well off the bench this weekend as well."
To start the game, EWU had the advantage, with Ella Gallatin finding her jump shot and four points. With the Eagles leading 11-7 at the 6:21 mark, Sac. St. used an 11-2 run to end the quarter and take the lead. Eastern shot 42.9 percent in the quarter and Gallatin had six points.
The Hornets kept EWU at a distance to begin the second quarter, maintaining their five-point advantage. Elyn Bowers cut the lead down to three at 22-19 with 6:04 on the clock. Sac. St. then extended out its lead to seven, 26-19, and 4:15 remaining. The Hornets' lead grew to as much as 10 in the quarter and they led 31-22 at halftime. The Eagles were held to 30.8 shooting in the quarter.
Sac. St.'s lead fluctuated between double and single digits to begin the second half. After trailing by as many as 13, Eastern reduced the lead to six at 5:22. Kourtney Grossman scored on two layups inside to help cut the lead down. Gallatin connected with a late jumper and the Eagles trailed, 41-36 going into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Eastern looked to try and tie the game up and Grossman made an early layup to bring the score down to a possession. The quarter stayed tight as the Hornets could not rebuild their lead to double digits. Gallatin scored six points in the quarter and Bowers followed with five. The team shot 41.7 percent in the fourth. The Hornet lead was down to two with under just over a minute to go, following free throws from Gallatin. Sac. St. managed to convert its free throws down the stretch and close out the Eagles in the game.
Eag Notes
- Kourtney Grossman tallied 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season. It was her 18th game scoring in double figures and 15th in double digit rebounds.
- Eastern was out-rebounded in the game, 34 to 31, but had a 34-to-26 scoring advantage in the paint. Along with Grossman, Paris Kirk had 6 rebounds and Elyn Bowers had 5.
- Ella Gallatin scored in double figures for the 16th game this season and 32nd of her career.
- The Eagles forced 17 turnovers and scored 16 points off of them. They committed 19 turnovers but the Hornets scored only 8 points.
- Bowers posted double-digit points for the 17th game as a freshman.
- Gallatin posted a game-high 5 assists. Bowers added 3.
Up Next
Eastern Washington has a road and home game next week, as they travel to play Northern Arizona on Thursday (Jan. 29), tipping off at 3 p.m. EWU then returns home to host Northern Colorado on Saturday (Jan. 31) for a 2 p.m. tip off.
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.
FOLLOW THE EAGLES
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
