For the second straight year, Eastern Washington University played their regular season home opener against Corban University. On Thursday night, the Eagles beat the Warriors 72-47 and did not allow Corban to lead at any point in the game.
Senior guard Jamie Loera scored the Eagle’s first points of the night on a left-handed layup. Loera finished the game with 10 points, 7 rebounds, and a team-high 3 assists.
The two teams played close for the first five minutes until a layup by junior forward Jaydia Martin, who led the Eagles in points per game in 2022, kicked off a 9-2 run to close out the quarter. Martin’s 13 points were tied with sophomore guard Aaliyah Alexander, who was second on the team in scoring last season, for the most on the Eagles.
Corban’s junior guard Maddie Godwin made a three-pointer to score the first points of the second quarter, but after that, it was all EWU.
The Eagles went on a 13-point run, led by four points from senior guard Jacinta Buckley. She scored 10 points, making her one of four Eagles to hit double-digits.
Eastern won the second quarter 24-12 and took a 44-24 lead into halftime. Buckley and redshirt freshman Bella Hays each scored four points to lead the team during the period.
The third quarter was the most lopsided of the night. EWU scored 22 points, while Corban had just 7. Corban once again scored the first points, but the Eagles again responded with a run. Alexander scored 7 points during Eastern Washington’s game-sealing 14-0 run.
The Eagles struggled in the fourth quarter, as Corban out-scored them 17–6 behind freshman guard Autumn Agnew’s 6 points. Agnew tied fellow freshman guard Lizzy Bennett for the team lead with 10 points.
However, with the lead that EWU had built up during the first three quarters, they still finished the game with a convincing 25-point victory.
Led by junior Gabrielle Jung’s 8 rebounds, the Eagles out-rebounded the Warriors 54-35. Loera had 7 rebounds, while Hays and junior guard Jaleesa Lawrence each had 6. Also helping was redshirt freshman forward Cori Wilcox, who had 5 rebounds in her first game for the Eagles.
EWU is now 3-0 and the only Big Sky team that is still undefeated. Eastern Washington will travel to California on Monday to take on the UC Irvine Anteaters, who are 1-2. They will then head to Texas and play Tarleton State, who are 1-2, on Nov. 22.
