Over Thanksgiving weekend the Eagles played three games in the Lone Star Showcase in Austin, Texas. Going into the showcase 3-1, EWU looked to make some noise against some of the nation’s top teams. The team played three games and came home from the showcase with three losses to make them 3-4 overall.

Nov. 26: Northwestern University 74, EWU 70

EWU opened its showcase play against the Northwestern University Wildcats and came out of the gates hot. The Eagles started the game with eight unanswered points to take an early lead. But Northwestern came back to end the first quarter leading 19-10.

Eastern came out hot again in the second quarter with nine unanswered points to make it a 19-19 game in a well-played second quarter. The game went into the half with Northwestern leading, 33-32.

The Wildcats did not let up in the third quarter as they led, 57-46, going into the fourth quarter. EWU made a big push in the fourth quarter but fell just short as the game ended, 74-70.

Guard Hayley Hodgins led the team with 24 points to go along with eight rebounds, and forward Ashli Payne scored 17 points with nine rebounds. Guard Tisha Phillips scored 15 points and had four assists.

Turning point:

The Eagles had the Wildcats right where they wanted them at the half, but came out cold in the third quarter shooting at a 30.8 percent mark from the field. Northwestern shot at a 52.4 percent mark, making it tough for the Eagles to come back in the fourth quarter.

Stat of the game:

Turnovers killed the Eagles in this game, surrendering 22 compared to the 12 that Northwestern gave up. This resulted in the Wildcats scoring 42 fastbreak points to Eastern’s seven.

Nov. 27: East Carolina University 80, EWU 62

In their second game, the Eagles started off slow and could never catch back up. In the first quarter they were outscored, 26-9. Over the last three quarters EWU kept the pace with ECU — barely being outscored, 53-52, but could not come back from the poor first quarter.

Hayley Hodgins scored 16 points and was 6-6 from the free-throw line. Forward Delaney Hodgins scored 14 points with four rebounds and Phillips scored 11 with six rebounds.

Turning Point:

In the end this game was decided by the play in the first quarter as ECU heavily outscored EWU. East Carolina shot at a 52.4 percent mark in the opening quarter, compared to the Eagles 17.6 percent, to take an early lead and never look back.

Stat of the game:

East Carolina out-rebounded Eastern Washington, 48-31 — many of which came in the first quarter for ECU. They came out fast and the Eagles could not keep up. “We just started too slow today,” head coach Wendy Schuller said. “East Carolina is a team that plays hard and is really athletic.”

Nov. 28: Creighton University 66, EWU 60

The Eagles came out fast in their third game of the showcase going up, 18-9, in the first quarter with a 50 percent shooting average. They held Creighton to an 18 percent shooting rate and forced four turnovers.

Creighton came back tough in the second quarter outscoring EWU, 23-9, with a 50 percent shooting mark of their own. The Eagles made four of their eleven shots and surrendered 11 turnovers to go into the half trailing, 32-27.

In the third quarter, EWU came back to even the score and go into the fourth determined. The fourth quarter was a battle back and forth. Creighton led by five and then EWU came back to take the lead, 56-52. But Creighton scored four in the final minutes to send the game into overtime.

Creighton led throughout all five minutes of overtime to outscore Eastern, 10-4, and win the game.

Forward Mariah Cunningham led the team with 14 points to go along with four rebounds. Hayley Hodgins scored 13 and had four steals, and Payne had eight points with 10 rebounds. Phillips had a solid game all around scoring eight points with six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Turning Point:

This game was a close one, going back and forth until it was ultimately decided in overtime. EWU missed a couple of shots early in overtime to fall behind and ended up having to foul Creighton to stop the clock. The Blue Jays hit six of their eight free throws to hold onto their lead and eventually the win.

Stat of the game:

The Eagles had more turnovers than Creighton at a 19-12 pace but did not take advantage of them. Despite having fewer turnovers, the Blue Jays had more points off of them; scoring at a 25-16 mark including six fastbreak points. Those missed opportunities cost the Eagles valuable points and possibly the win.

What’s Next:

The Eagles will take on the 6-2 Utah Valley University at home on Dec. 3 at 6:00 p.m.