Eagles Take Down Weber State, 73-67

Eastern evens conference record at 5-5 with important road win over Wildacts

In another tight Big Sky Conference battle, the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team held on in the final seconds to beat Weber State, 73-67 on Saturday (Feb. 12) evening in Ogden, Utah. With the win, Eastern snapped a five-game losing skid and evened its conference record to 5-5. Eastern also earned its fifth-straight victory against the Wildcats.

It took EWU some time to settle in at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, but the team in red and white was determined to break its current run of bad luck in the Big Sky.

After shooting just 33 percent in the first half, the Eagles went into the locker room at halftime trailing Weber State, 30-29. Eastern did drain five three pointers in the first stanza, compared to zero for WSU, but the Wildcats were much more efficient from inside the arc, including 10 made free throws. But the Eagles responded in the second half, scoring 16 of the first 24 points. By the 14:21 mark, EWU had earned a nine-point advantage at 47-38.

The Eagles extended their lead to double digits at 57-46 and again at 59-48 after senior Tatjana Sparavalo drained back-to-back jumpers for EWU. However, an offensive rebound and tip-in for WSU's Amanda Brown at 8:30 sparked a 17-9 run by the Wildcats over the next six minutes. With just over two minutes remaining, the home team had pulled within one point at 68-67.

WSU tried to take the lead with a three pointer at 1:23, but Megan Patterson's long-range shot was off the mark, and junior Chene Cooper was fouled on the ensuing rebound. Coop made her first free throw and missed her second, but thankfully, senior Julie Piper corralled the offensive board, which she immediately kicked back to Cooper. The five foot point guard drained a jumper to put EWU back up by four (71-67) with 46 ticks remaining.

The Wildcats missed their five final attempts from the field, and EWU hit two free throws in the final seconds to solidify the 73-67 road victory.

Sparavalo led the Eagles with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, which included three three pointers. Cooper also knocked down three treys to finish with 20 points. Piper was unable to get a field goal in the contest, but had a major presence on the court with a team-leading 10 rebounds, and was 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

As a team, the Eagles converted 8-of-17 three-point attempts, which was their most efficient effort from beyond the arc this season.

The Wildcats held a slight advantage in rebounds (36-34) and turnovers (12-11), but did not make a single shot from long range (0-8), and were out-scored in the second half 44-37.

The Eagles, who are currently in sixth place in the league standings, return to Cheney on Thursday (Feb. 17) to host Northern Arizona in the annual WBCA Pink Zone Game at Reese Court. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and all fans who wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness will be granted free admission.