The EWU women’s basketball team dropped its third straight road game on Feb. 9, falling to Idaho 85–71. The Eagles are now 1–4 on the road in Big Sky Conference play.

The Eagles took a quick lead when Brittany Klaman opened the game with a three-pointer. But the Vandals answered right back, and held the lead for the rest of the game. Poor shooting prevented the Eagles from ever posing a real threat of winning.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well,” head coach Wendy Schuller said following the loss. “We got good looks but we couldn’t make baskets. When the other team is making three-pointers and you can’t match them, you are going to be in trouble, and that was tough for us.”

After Klaman’s opening three, the Eagles missed their next 11 shots in a row and UI went on a 13-0 run. The Eagles finished the first quarter shooting just 22.8 percent from the field, while allowing UI to shoot 58.8 percent.

The Vandals were able to keep control in the second quarter, and went into halftime with a 47-32 lead.

EWU senior forward, and recently crowned all-time leading scorer, Delaney Hodgins struggled to find her shot in the first half. She finished the quarter 2-for-8 from the floor, with eight points. Junior guard Kapri Morrow had five points on 2-for-10 shooting.

Junior guard Mikayla Ferenz had 18 points in the first half for the Vandals.

The third quarter was the best of the game for the Eagles, who used a 9–0 run to close the gap to 58–50 with two minutes remaining in the frame. Morrow heated up, and had nine points in the quarter. The Eagles kept pushing, and came within six points, 60–54. However, that’s the closest they would get. The quarter ended with the Vandals leading 62-54.

UI recovered in the fourth quarter and built the lead back to 13 in the first three minutes of the final frame. Morrow cooled back off in the fourth, scoring three points.

Morrow finished with 18 points for the Eagles and Hodgins had 16.

Ferenz had 29 points for the Vandals. Senior forward Geri McCorkell contributed 26 points and seven rebounds while senior center Nejra Solo added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Eagles, who are on a five-game home winning streak, continue to struggle on the road.

“Playing on the road in the Big Sky is difficult,” said Schuller. “Traditionally, we haven’t played well [in Idaho]. I’m not sure why. I’m glad we’re taking care of business at home, but we have a big road stretch in front of us so we have to put this game behind us as fast as we can.”

The Eagles’ road stretch continues on Feb. 15 against Montana, and Feb. 17 against Montana State. They return home to Reese Court on Feb. 22 against Weber State.