The Eastern Washington women’s basketball team earned a split in a pair of preseason games last week falling to local rival Gonzaga 78-56 Nov. 19 in Spokane before topping Cal State Northridge 70-59 Nov. 22 at Reese Court.
For Eagles’ head coach Wendy Schuller the loss to Gonzaga, while disappointing, was not as painful as the 2014 version where the Bulldogs got a last-second put-back basket in a 61-60 loss at Reese.
“I think the last second (in 2014) hurt more,” Schuller said. “Last night hurt, definitely, but our kids gave a great amount of effort.”
The Eagles outplayed the Bulldogs for stretches over the first three quarters, taking a 14-10 lead after the opening 10 minutes and was within seven, 32-25, at the half. GU led by as many as 15 in the third quarter, but Eastern closed the period on a 7-2 run to cut the hosts’ lead to nine, 52-43.
But the final minutes proved costly as Schuller saw fatigue set in and youth succumb to a senior-rich GU team that put the game away with a 26-13 edge in the fourth quarter.
Delaney Hodgins led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting. She added four steals and three rebounds to her stat line. Sister Hayley Hodgins was the only other Eagle in double figures with 14 points. Ellie Tinkle, the player who hit the winning shot last December, led Gonzaga with 15 points.
In their return home, the Eagles trailed only briefly before the sister act once again took control.
Delaney Hodgins was the Eagles leading scorer versus the visiting Matadors with a career-high 20 points. Hayley Hodgins chipped in with 18 and Tisha Phillips added 12.
The Eagles controlled the ball, finishing with a season low 10 turnovers, while their defense forced 18 CSUN turnovers.
Eastern, 3-1, will be put to the test this week as they travel to Austin, Texas, for the Lone Star Showcase, Nov. 26-28. The Eagles will play three opponents, Northwestern, East Carolina and Creighton.
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].
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