While many Eastern Washington University students went home for winter, the men’s and women’s basketball teams stayed busy. The two teams combined to play nine games during the school’s three-week break.
The women’s team played the first three games. On Dec. 14, EWU lost to Gonzaga 79-50. Senior forward Yvonne Ejim scored 28 points for the Bulldogs. This summer, Ejim was selected for Canada’s Olympic team. She is averaging a career-high 20.2 points per game.
Graduate student guard Peyton Howard was Eastern’s leading scorer, finishing the game with 15 points. Senior guard Alexis Pettis and freshman forward Jaecy Eggers had 10 points each. Pettis’ previous best three-point percentage was 31.7 percent, but this season she is shooting 48.3 percent from beyond the arc, leading to a career-best 8.9 points per game.
The Eagles were back at home on Dec. 16 and beat Warner Pacific 98-45. Eastern Washington spread their scoring evenly. Six different players scored at least 10 points, and all but one player who entered the game scored at least 2 points. Freshman guard Emily McElmurray scored 16 points to set a new career-high.
UC Santa Barbara traveled to Cheney for a game on Dec. 20, and the Eagles defended their home court. Led by Pettis’ 17 points EWU won 54-46 for their second straight victory. Freshman forward Kourtney Grossman had 15 points and 17 rebounds, both career-highs. Grossman is averaging 8.4 rebounds per game, ranking fourth in the Big Sky.
The men’s team played Lincoln University at Reese Court the next day and had a similar result. The Eagles had their highest point total of the season in a 107-63 win. Sophomore guard Sebastian Hartmann had a career-high 20 points, while the team’s leading scorer this season, senior guard Andrew Cook, had 18 points.
EWU’s men played the second of their four straight home games on Dec. 30 and beat Eastern Oregon 89-63. Cook and Hartmann each had 14 points, but it was redshirt freshman forward Emmett Marquardt who continued the theme of Eagles scoring career-highs, scoring 17 points.
The new year brought the EWU teams into Big Sky conference play. From Jan. 2 to the end of the regular season on March 3., the men’s and women’s teams play the same schools on the same days. However, one team will play at home, while the other will play on the road.
On Jan. 2, the men’s team played Montana in Cheney, while the women’s team played Montana in Missoula. Both teams lost their first conference matchup. The men lost 92-81 despite 28 points from sophomore guard Mason Williams, another Eagle career-high point total. The women lost 78-70 but saw junior guard Ella Gallatin score a career-high 22 points.
Both teams played Montana State on Jan. 4. The women were the away team again, and the Bobcats defeated the Eagles 66-54. The senior guard duo of Katelynn Martin and Esmeralda Morales combined for 35 points for MSU. Grossman led the Eagles with 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Also on Jan. 4, in the final game of the winter break, the Eastern Washington men came away with a 68-63 victory over Montana State at Reese Court. Redshirt junior Nic McClain scored 16 points, Cook had 13 points and Williams scored 11. EWU’s defense allowed the team to overcome shooting 1-14 from the three-point line. The Eagles allowed the Bobcats to make just 36.5 percent of their shots.
The women were 2-3 during the break, and the men posted a 3-1 record. The women are now 4-10 with a 0-2 conference record. The men are 5-10 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Both teams’ next game is against Portland State on Thursday, Jan. 9. The women play at 6:00 p.m. at Reese Court in Cheney, while the men’s game starts in Portland at 7. Both games can be streamed via ESPN+.
