SPOKANE, Wash. — Home court was successfully defended today by Eastern Washington women's basketball. Eastern defeated Portland State, 87-78, ending a four-game conference losing streak for the Eagles. EWU improved to 6-9 in the Big Sky and 13-15 overall.
Eastern led for the majority of the game, but was up only four at halftime. The Eagles stormed out of the half to separate from the Vikings. The lead proved crucial as the Vikings continued to compete in the fourth quarter.
"To start the second half, we talked about trying to get a score-stop-score to start. Our players answered the call and executed with a couple of stops in a row," head coach Joddie Gleason described. "We really talk about communicating even more than you should. It needs to be early and often; recognizing different sets and different actions and on-ball looks. I thought that our players did a nice job of that, along with continuously rebounding. It's all about defending with urgency and making them take tough shots. You have you tip your hat to Portland State; they did make a lot of tough shots and continued to answer the call when we had the lead. "
The ball was moving for the Eagles today as the team recorded a season-best 24 assists on 32 made field goals, while shooting 45.1 percent for the game.
"We've been watching film regarding setting people up and recognizing when we have those transition looks," Gleason explained. "We wanted to take that extra dribble and make sure to get players in the rhythm they want to shoot. I love the way we executed what we watched on film. For us, it's recognizing when it's time to go in transition and we did a really nice job of setting that up today."
Ella Gallatin turned in another 20-point game, scoring a game-high 23 on 8-of-17(47.1%), including 3-of-8(37.5%) from three-point range. Gallatin added to the stat sheet with her second career-double double on a career-best 10 assists.
"My teammates did a great job of finding me, in transition specifically," Gallatin explained. "Everyone is a threat on this team so that drew defenders off me. A lot of the assists were in transition so my teammates were running hard and knocking down shots. You can't get assists without people making shots."
Kourtney Grossman was back to her double-double ways with a career-best 24 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.
"I received great passes from my teammates and Ella getting 10 assists and that definitely helped me. When my teammates give me the ball in a good position, I try to embrace my role and score," Grossman said. "This game, along with all of them this season, the emphasis was on rebounding so I was just trying to do that for the team. I knew everyone else was trying to accomplish the same thing."
The game was low-scoring to begin, with EWU holding a 4-3 advantage at the 6:01 mark of the first quarter. Eastern then scored five-straight points to take the lead, getting layups from Ella Gallatin and Emily McElmurry. The game tightened back up, with the Vikings cutting the lead to 12-10 at 3:09. Elyn Bowers stepped up as the quarter winded down, scoring five points and helping EWU lead 21-14. The team shot 45 percent in the opening quarter.
Eastern looked to expand its lead in the second quarter, going up 10 behind a layup from Kourtney Grossman with 8:43 on the clock. PSU brought the lead down to five with a quick 5-0 burst, but Grossman answered again with a three. The Vikings then cut the lead down to two, but Gallatin had EWU's response with her own three. At the end of the half, the Eagles led 41-37 after shooting 36.8 percent in the quarter.
The Eagle shooters were hot out of the gate with an 8-0 run, getting threes from Gallatin and Caitie Gingras. The lead grew to 14 as Gingras found her rhythm from behind the arc. Eastern opened up a 17 point lead at the 3:39 mark, with Grossman getting inside for another score. PSU trimmed the lead down, but EWU led 67-55 at the end of the third. They shot a hot 60 percent from the floor.
Eastern continued to run its offense in the fourth quarter, as Grossman and Jaecy Eggers were effective in scoring in the paint. Despite the double-digit deficit, the Vikings did not give up and gradually reduced the Eagle lead to single digits. The lead was down to eight at 37 seconds and six with 24 seconds remaining. EWU made its free throws down the stretch to secure the home court win.
Eag Notes
- Eastern went 11-of-28(39.3%) from three point range, led by Kourtney Grossman going 4-of-5(80%). Ella Gallatin made 3, followed by 2 from Caitie Gingras. EWU has 3 games this season with 10-plus made three point field goals.
- Gallatin tallied her 7th 20-point game of the season and 3rd in 4 games. It was Gallatin's 23rd game scoring in double-digits. Gallatin's 10 assists is the most by an Eastern player since Jamie Loera recorded 12 against Utah State in 2023.
- Grossman notched her 17th double-double of the season and 4th 20-point game as well. She has 24 games scoring in double figures and 20 double-digit rebounding games.
- Eastern had players with double-doubles in the same game today, with the last occurrence last month, when Grossman and Jaecy Eggers posted double-doubles against Weber State (1/15).
- EWU committed only 9 turnovers in the game. It was the 6th game this season Eastern has recorded less than 10 turnovers.
- Elyn Bowers scored in double figures for her 24th game this season, finishing with 12 points.
- Jaecy Eggers was in double figures for scoring for the 16th game, totaling 10 points.
- Eastern carried a 43-to-34 rebounding advantage over Portland State. EWU grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and scored 12 points on second-chance opportunities.
Up Next
Eastern Washington has three games left in the regular season, traveling to Northern Colorado next Thursday (Feb. 26) and at home on Saturday (Feb. 28) for Senior Day against Northern Arizona. EWU's final regular season game March 2 at Idaho.
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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