Both the men’s and women’s Eastern Washington University basketball teams went 1-1 this week. Each team lost to Montana State on Thursday, Feb. 1, before beating Montana on Saturday, Feb. 3. The men remain in first place in the Big Sky conference, while the women are second.
The women lost by just one point in a hard-fought battle against the Bobcats. Senior guard Jamie Loera led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points, followed closely by Aaliyah Alexander’s 14. Alexander is averaging 16 points per game, second-best in the conference.
Sophomore forward Marah Dykstra’s 21 points led the way for Montana State. Senior guard Katelynn Limardo, whose 12.3 points per game rank tenth in the Big Sky, contributed 14 points.
The Eagles shot the ball more efficiently than the Bobcats in each of the first three quarters and took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter. However, EWU shot just 37.5% from the field in the final quarter, compared to Montana State’s 50%.
Eastern Washington was able to bounce back with a 61-56 victory against Montana. Only five Eagles scored points, but that was enough as Loera and Alexander had 19 and 17 points each, while junior guard Jaleesa Lawrence had 18. Senior forward Milly Knowles scored 4 points, and junior guard Alexis Pettis scored 3.
EWU held Carmen Gfeller, who ranks fourth in the Big Sky in points per game, to 14, just under her season average. As a team, the Grizzlies shot only 33.3% from the field and were also forced to commit 13 turnovers.
The Eagles are now allowing just 57.3 points per game as a team, 0.1 points per game away from first-place Idaho. They have made defense their identity and leaned upon it to defeat Montana.
Eastern Washington’s men’s team suffered a ten-point defeat to Montana State. The Bobcats have three players who rank in the top ten in the Big Sky in points per game, and all three had double-digit points against the Eagles. Senior guard Robert Ford III had 21 points, junior forward Brian Goracke had 12, and sophomore forward Brandon Walker scored 11.
EWU was led in scoring by junior forward Casey Jones’ 12 points and junior forward Cedric Coward’s 11 points. Coward is averaging 13.8 points per game, placing him eighth in the conference. Coward also had 9 rebounds and is seventh in the Big Sky in rebounds per game.
The Eagles have been the best three-point shooting team in the conference this season in terms of percentage, but shot just 2-18 against the Bobcats, leading to the loss. Eastern Washington also committed 18 turnovers to Montana State’s 12.
Like the women, the men won their next game. Led by 21 points from senior guard Jake Kyman, who transferred to Eastern Washington this year from UCLA, the Eagles beat Montana 78-65. Kyman, who made 3 three-pointers, is shooting 41.6% from beyond the arc this season and has been a big part of EWU’s conference-leading 37% team three-point percentage.
Coward and Jones were also key contributors to the victory, scoring 16 points each. Jones drew 16 free throws and made 12 of them. The Eagles shot 34 free throws as a team, twice as many as the Grizzlies.
Montana’s senior guard Aanen Moody, who is seventh in the Big Sky in points per game and tenth in three-pointers per game, was held by EWU to 11 points. He also shot just 1-7 from the three-point line.
While both teams lost a game this week, they rebounded with victories. The men’s team still posseses first place in the Big Sky, while the women are in second place and one game behind Northern Arizona. They each play two games this week, including a double-header at Reese Court on Saturday, Feb. 10, starting at 2 p.m.
