The EWU women’s basketball team improved to 19-9 overall, 13-3 in league, in their last home game of the season, beating the University of Idaho, 84-70.

The Eagles started off strong, converting five of their first seven shots. But that ended shortly afterwhen the Vandals went on a 17-2 run resulting in a 21-14 lead for the Vandals going into the second quarter. Junior guard Tisha Phillips scored 6 straight points that helped give EWU a 9-2 run, taking a narrow 38-37 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter alone there were two ties and nine lead changes. EWU was able to hold onto a 1-point lead, 58-57, entering the final quarter of play. The Eagles were eventually able to pull away from the Vandals when they went on a 22-8 run late in the fourth quarter.

EWU shot 60 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from the 3-point arc throughout the game. Idaho shot 48.1 percent from the field while shooting 43.5 percent from the three. EWU had 17 turnovers, while the Vandals had 19 turnovers.

“I was proud of our kids for stepping up and making plays. I thought our offensive execution in the second half overall was about as good as it’s been all year in terms of running our stuff and getting what we’re trying to look off of it,” head coach Wendy Schuller said.

Phillips led the team in scoring with 22 points, a new career high, and went 10-of-13 while also leading with six assists and three steals.

Senior guard Hayley Hodgins scored 18 points, and had two blocks and two steals. Sophomore forward Delaney Hodgins scored 16 points and led the team with four blocks while also grabbing seven rebounds. Junior forward Ashli Payne scored 14 points while leading the team with nine rebounds.

In celebrating senior day at Reese Court, Hayley Hodgins was the lone senior on the team to play her last game in Cheney. “I was more focused on the win,” said Hodgins. “I think our team really pulled one out for me, and that made me emotional at the end. It’s surreal, but I know we have a lot more left in us this season, and we have to keep chugging away.”

Hayley Hodgins now has 1,769 career points, ranking No. 8 on the all-time Big Sky scoring leaderboard.

The Eagles play their last away game against Idaho State University on March 2.