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Sacramento State
2/2/2023 | 6 p.m
ESPN+
Feb 02 (Thu) / 6 PM
Sacramento State
History
It was one too many road games for Eastern Washington women’s basketball, as the team dropped its game Saturday (Jan. 28) against Weber State, 68-65. The Wildcats used an 18-3 run in the fourth quarter to get the win over Eastern. The Eagles now fall to 6-4 in conference and 13-7 overall. Weber State improves to 1-8 in the Big Sky and 5-16 on the season.
Aaliyah Alexander led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds. Jaydia Martin added 12 points.
“We’re a pretty good basketball team that got a beat tonight. Weber St. made more plays down the stretch that they needed to in order to get the win,” head coach Joddie Gleason said. “They were more physical and attacked the rim with toughness. The more physical team won the rebounding battle and won the game. We looked to our bench a lot tonight and hopefully those opportunities will help out in the long run.”
Eastern opened the game with the lead, getting scores from Jamie Loera and Aaliyah Alexander for a 5-2 advantage. Weber St. quickly tied the score up and the game moved into a back-and-forth contest. Alexander was scoring well and added another layup inside. Jaleesa Lawrence lined up a three and gave the Eagles a 14-13 lead with 2:18 left in the quarter. Following a Wildcat score, Milly Knowles knocked down a jumper to put the team back in front. The first quarter ended with the score tied at 18.
The Eagles shot 54.5 percent in the first, while the Wildcats were at 46.2.
Alexander would give Eastern the lead to start the second quarter, but Weber St. responded to take the lead, 25-22, at 7:48 on the clock. After a pair of Eagle free throws, Andie Zylak recaptured the lead for Eastern, 27-26. The lead was short lived as the Wildcats were back in front with a jumper on its next possession. They would extend the lead to 31-26 with 2:50 left in the half. The scoring would be lite down the stretch and Eastern went into the half trailing, 26-32.
During the second quarter, the Eagles struggled shooting with an 18.2 percentage from the floor. The Wildcats had a 41.7 percentage.
Trailing at the half, Eastern came out focused in the third quarter. Jaydia Martin played limited minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, but came out shooting in the second half, scoring seven-straight points to give Eastern a 35-34 lead. Loera then found space on the wing for a three and the Eagles had some breathing room. Alexander carried on with her scoring, accounting for five-straight points to give Eastern the 43-37 lead. The Wildcats were sticking around and stayed within arms-reach of the Eagles. After three, Eastern had a 52-46 lead.
In the third, the Eagles shot 56.3 percent and Weber St. shot 42.9 percent.
Eastern was converting its free throw opportunities to help extend the lead into the fourth quarter. The Wildcats, however, mounted an 8-0 run to tie the game at 54 with 7:55 on the clock. Knowles would score inside to get the lead back, but Weber St. had the momentum. The Wildcats would charge ahead with a 10-0 burst, and they had a 64-57 lead with 3:54 left in the game. Eastern would make a final push, as Alexander and Martin both converted layups to bring the score to 66-62. A Weber St. free throw would put the lead at five, but Lawrence came up with a clutch three to cut the lead to one possession. The Eagles had a chance to tie the game at the end but could not convert the opportunity. Weber St. won the game 68-65 following a 70 percent shooting average in the fourth. The Eagles managed a 26.7 percentage in the final quarter.
Eastern finished the game with a 39.6 shooting percentage and Weber St. had a 49.0 mark.
Key Statistics
In the game featured 15 lead changes and eight ties.
Jamie Loera recorded 11 points on 3-of-8(37.5%). Milly Knowles scored 10 points on 5-of-7(71.4%) shooting. It was Knowles fifth double-digit scoring game this season and Loera’s 12th.
Aaliyah Alexander now has 11 games this season scoring in double digits and 20 for her career. Jaydia Martin notched her 18th game in double figures and has 44 in her career.
Eastern forced 20 turnovers from the Wildcats and scored 16 points on the opportunities. It was the seventh game this season where the Eagles forced 20 or more turnovers.
The Eagles scored 30 points in the paint to the Wildcats 25.
Gabreille Jung matched her career-high with six rebounds. Alexander had a season-high in rebounds (7).
up next
Following the road trip, Eastern will be at home for two games next week, playing Sacramento State on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 6 pm Pacific Time. The Eagles then host Portland State on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2 pm
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