By Elohino Theodore
Montana State University hosted EWU on Jan. 11 where they fell to the Bobcats, 78-74.
Early in the first half, both teams matched up well by answering each other’s baskets. With 16:05 on the clock, sophomore guard Hayley Hodgins gave the Eagles the lead with a 3-pointer.
Freshman guard Tisha Phillips also contributed by scoring off the bench to give the Eagles a five-point lead, 16-11.
After Montana State’s time out, they went on a scoring run to give them a one point lead with 7:58 left in the first half. Senior center Laura Hughes finally scored a bucket to give Eastern an answer. After that, junior guard Lexie Nelson scored five points to give EWU a one point lead with two minutes left in the first half.
However, Montana State would get back on top with a 3-pointer from their junior guard Kalli Durham. Eastern would answer back to tie the score, 35-35, heading into halftime because sophomore center Hanna Mack made a successful jump shot.
In the beginning of the second half, EWU went on a 7-0 run to lead 42-35. The Bobcats later fought back to cut the Eagles’ lead to two points. Soon after that, Montana State would take a one-point lead with 15:26 in the second half.
Eastern scored 10 straight points to go up by nine points. Montana State answered back by ending Eastern’s 10-0 run with a jump shot. Hodgins reciprocated for the Eagles by scoring a 3-pointer to give Eastern a 10 point lead.
The Bobcats would not give up as they fought back to cut EWU’s lead to six points. EWU’s junior forward Melissa Williams would score a layup to increase the Eagles’ lead to eight points with 8:59 left in the second half.
The turning point in the game happened as Montana State would get aggressive and dominate EWU for the rest of the second half for the win. The Eagles would go 0-4 in the final minute of the game.
Montana State outshot the Eagles 51.6 percent to 36.1 percent in the second half. Nelson finished with 19 points. Hodgins contributed with 18 points, while Ashenfelter chipped in with 13 points and six rebounds. Williams scored six points and had four rebounds off of the bench. Phillips had five points and four rebounds.
The Eagles will host Northern Arizona on Jan. 16 at Reese Court.
