CHENEY, Wash.— The game was in control from the opening tip-off, as Eastern Washington women's basketball dominated the day. Eastern defeated Walla Walla 101-21 at Reese Court, tying for the fourth-most points in program history. EWU improves to 2-2, while Walla Walla drops to 0-4.
"I thought that our players really did a great job of executing our game plan. We had some very specific goals that we wanted to achieve defensively. That's an area where we felt like we needed to improve based on last week's games," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "I thought that our players did a nice job of coming in and knowing the scout, being disciplined, and the type of things that you have to do defensively. That was the biggest key for me."
Eastern held the Wolves to 16.3 percent shooting and 5.3 percent on three-point field goals.
The Eagles scored the first 13 points of the game and did not look back. Elyn Bowers led with five points and Emily McElmurry had four. EWU led 25-7 after the first quarter. They led 51-13 at halftime.
Bowers finished with 15 points for the game, and McElmurry scored 12.
"It's going really well, and I think it all comes down to our team basketball," Bowers explained. "I think, especially this game, shows that we share the ball. It's good just to get out there with everybody, get everybody reps, and get everybody involved."
The second half was a continuation for Eastern, with the team shooting 54.8 percent and scoring 50 points. Eastern outscored the Wolves 50 to 8 in the second half.
Ball movement was another key for the Eagles as they recorded 20 assists, with nine different players recording an assist. Deets Parrish led the team with four assists, adding nine points. "We ended up with 20 assists. So that was a offensive point of emphasis, was just getting, making the extra pass," Gleason added.
Freshman Jada Davis poured in a game-high 17 points on 7-of-12(58.3%) shooting. Martina Gelabert Blanco made her Eastern debut, scoring 16 points, the second-most on the team.
For the game, the Eagles shot 55.7 percent and were 31 percent from behind the arc.
Gleason talked about the importance of retaining her impact players from last season: "It's huge. Everybody talks about transfers, but I think the best recruiting is retaining your players. And in this case, keeping four starters and then adding to the roster is just huge for us. We have seven people that could start on any given night, with Caitie [Gingras] and Maddie [Gibbs]usually coming in off the bench. It's just huge to have that retention."
Bowers echoed her coaches' thoughts, "You don't really see a lot of cores sticking together anymore, but all the stuff going on. It's really important for us to have returners, have chemistry, and it shows on the court."
Eag Notes
- Eastern Washington's 101 points tied for the fourth-most in program history for a single game. It is the most points since the team scored 102 against Multnomah in the 2021 season. The 80-point margin of victory is the most in program history. It was the 8th time in EWU history that the team has eclipsed 100 points and the 3rd game under Gleason.
- Jada Davis scored her first career points this afternoon to lead all scorers.
- Eastern's bench scored 67 points, while Walla Walla's finished with 8.
- Elyn Bowers scored in double figures for the 32nd game of her career and third this season.
- Emily McElmurry scored in double figures for the third game this season and has 8 games in double figures for her career.
- Eastern had a sizable rebounding advantage, 48 to 23. They scored 54 points in the paint to the Wolves' 8.
- Caitie Gingras tallied a career-best 5 steals, 3 more than her previous best.
- Madeline Gibbs scored a career-best 11 points. It was her first career double-digit scoring game.
- 12 different players had minutes for the Eagles today and all 12 scored in the game. It was the first time since Feb. 26, 2026 when every player with minutes has scored.
- EWU was 14-for-17 (82.4%) from the free-throw line.
- Dylyn Dress, Grace DeHoog and Camille Dake also all recorded their first points as Eagles.
Up Next
Eastern Washington stays at home and plays UC Irvine on Sunday, Nov. 15 for a 2 p.m. Pacific Time tip-off.
Tickets for the EWU Women's Basketball 2026-27 season are on sale now! Purchase season and single-game tickets for the Eagles' 15 home games, including 10 Big Sky matchups and a non-conference showdown with Gonzaga. For more info, visit goeags.com/wbbtickets or contact the EWU Ticket Office at 509-359-6059 or 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.
FOLLOW THE EAGLES
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
