By Elohino Theodore
The Eagles played Northern Colorado on the road on Feb. 1, where they defeated the Bears, 52-51.
According to goeags.com, head coach Wendy Schuller describes how she felt about her team after the win. “I’m very proud of our team to come up with this win and not to think about fatigue or any of that,” Schuller said. “I was proud of our ability to come out and fight and I thought we played extremely hard.”
Northern Colorado got an early lead in the opening minutes of the first half, leading 9-4. Sophomore guard Hayley Hodgins scored four points in a row to cut the Bears’ lead to one. Northern Colorado would answer back with a 5-0 run to lead by six.
Freshman guard Bethany Montgomery and senior center Laura Hughes both scored layups to pull the Eagles within two points. After Northern Colorado’s timeout, they answered Eastern’s attack; however, junior guard Lexie Nelson scored a 3-pointer followed by a layup from Hughes to give Eastern the lead.
Northern Colorado fought back to steal the lead from the Eagles using a 7-2 run. Hodgins converted on two free throws to tie the score; however, the Bears would score to give them a two point lead heading into halftime.
In the second half, Nelson scored two 3-pointers to tie the score in the opening minutes; however, it would be a back and forth affair between the two teams. At the seven minute mark in the second half, Hodgins scored a 3-point shot while junior forward Melissa Williams made two free throws to tie the score, 48-48.
Freshmen guard Jade Redmon scored a layup to give Eastern the lead. In the final minutes of the game, Eastern would go to the free throw line. Nelson missed a free throw to give the Bears the possession, though Northern Colorado senior guard Molly Duehn would miss the 3-pointer.
After the miss, the Bears still managed to grab the possession and their senior forward Kim Lockridge tried a last second jump shot, but it was off the mark. From that point the Eagles would hold on to the lead to win the game.
Hughes and Hodgins finished with 12 points, while senior guard Aubrey Ashenfelter and Nelson contributed with nine points. Williams grabbed a game high of 10 rebounds with six points. Redmon chipped in with seven assists and five rebounds.
Eastern will be back home to host Montana State on Feb. 6.
