By Elohino Theodore

The Eagles competed against the Weber State Wildcats on Jan. 2, and won, 78-67, with a late 15-4 run in the second half.

At the start of the game, Eastern opened with a five-point lead. EWU junior guard Lexie Nelson furthered the lead to six, to make the score 12-6. EWU senior center Laura Hughes would assist the lead with a layup, bringing the score to 16-9.

Weber State would fight back with a 20-2 run for eight minutes, leaving six minutes in the first half. At the 1:46 mark, Weber State would increase their lead to 12, and the Eagles would answer back with lockdown defense for the rest of the first half.

Heading into halftime, Weber State’s lead was cut to only four. Beginning the second half, Eastern amped up their aggression with a 12-4 run. Weber State would answer by tying the score 48-48. Free throws from EWU senior guard Aubrey Ashenfelter would tie the score 59-59 down the stretch of the second half.

After the score tying free throws, EWU sophomore guard Hayley Hodgins would score a 3-pointer to put the Eagles up by two points with five minutes left on the clock. Hodgins again scored a 3-pointer to increase the Eagles lead. Weber State would stay in the game throughout the second half.

With Eastern clinging to a three point lead, Hughes scored seven points in a row to increase the lead to 10 points with 1:31 left in the game. Reaching the end of the game, Nelson would help Eastern put the game away with a jump shot and two free throws.

Hodgins had a game high of 22 points, Nelson contributed 21 points, Hughes scored 17 points for the game and Ashenfelter chipped in with six points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

The Eagles record improve to 5-6 with this win. The next game will be against Idaho State on Jan. 4 at Reese Court.