GREELEY, Colo. — The final week of the regular season has begun for Eastern Washington women's basketball and the team was in Greeley, Colo. to play Northern Colorado. Eastern dropped the game to UNC, 70-65, despite a furious rally in the fourth quarter. EWU's record drops to 6-10 in conference and 13-16 overall. The Bears improved to 12-4 in the Big Sky and 21-8 this season.
"I'm proud of the way we battled to come back and take the lead in the fourth against a very good UNC team," head coach Joddie Gleason said. "Unfortunately, it was a repeat of the first time we played them, when we were unable to get those final stops to close out the game. It was a great effort by this squad to take them to the ropes."
After trailing by double-digits going into the fourth quarter, the Eagles rallied to take the lead late after trailing by as much as 16 in the game. Despite the effort, UNC fought back to retake the lead. They closed out Eastern to avoid the home loss.
Elyn Bowers led the team with 16 points, while Kourtney Grossman provided 15. Ella Gallatin added 11 points to give the team three players in double figures.
UNC was hot out of the gate, taking a quick 9-2 lead over Eastern. The Bears went up 15-2 at the 3:49 point. Four-straight points from the Eagles cut the lead down, but UNC had another run in them. They closed the quarter on a 9-0 stretch to lead 24-6. EWU struggled shooting, recording a 13.3 mark.
Eastern looked to cut the deficit down in the second quarter, getting early threes from Elyn Bowers and Kourtney Grossman. UNC matched their scores, but the Eagles had found some rhythm on offense. EWU continued to shoot well from behind the arc, getting more made triples from Caitie Gingras, Jaecy Eggers and Ella Gallatin. At halftime, EWU trailed 36-28 after out-scoring UNC 22-12 in the second. Eastern's shooting sharply increased to 60 percent from the floor.
Early in the third quarter, the Eagles continued to close the gap, bringing the lead down to 38-25 with 6:11 on the clock. Grossman and Emily McElmurry both got inside for the layups to provide the scoring. The Bears countered, organizing a 12-2 run to take a 51-37 lead and 1:49 on the clock. EWU trailed at the end of three, 53-40 as the team shot 35.7 from the floor.
Eastern opened the fourth quarter with a 5-0 burst to drop the lead to eight. UNC rebuilt a double-digit lead, but the Eagles were not deterred. EWU mounted a 16-0 run to race ahead of the Bears and lead 63-59 with 2:56 remaining in the game. Bowers had the hot-hand, scoring nine of the team's points during the run. The game of runs continued as UNC responded with a 10-0 stretch to take the lead back once again. The comeback effort from the Eastern fell short as UNC held on for the win.
Eag Notes
- Kourtney Grossman posted her 18th double-double of the season, grabbing 11 rebounds. It was Grossman's 25th double-digit scoring game and 21st rebounding game in double figures.
- Elyn Bowers scored in double figures for the 25th game this season. She led or tied for the team lead in scoring for the eighth time this season.
- Ella Gallatin posted double-digit points for the 25th game as well.
- Eastern carried the rebounding advantage at 34 to 31.
- Jaecy Eggers posted double-digit rebounds for the 7th game of the year. Eggers just missed her 6th double-double of the season with 9 points.
- Eastern had 9 players record minutes in the game, with each player scoring. This is the second game this season when all players with minutes scored, first occurring against Bushnell (12/29/25).
- EWU suffered from 19 turnovers, while UNC committed 10. The Bears scored 22 points off of the Eagle mistakes, with Eastern scoring 11 off turnovers.
Up Next
Eastern Washington is back at Reese Court on Saturday (Feb. 28) to host Northern Arizona, part of a double-header with men's basketball. The women's game tips off at 3:30 p.m., with the men's game starting beforehand at 1 p.m.
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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