Following Thanksgiving, Eagles Head to BYU for First Road Test of the Season
Eastern opens a five-game road stretch against Cougars, who won 25 games in 2010-11 and advanced to the third round of the WNIT
Upcoming Games/Coverage
EWU vs. BYU
Saturday, Nov. 26 | 1 p.m.
Marriott Center | Provo, Utah
Radio | Live Stats | BYUtv
After enjoying home-court advantage in its first four games of the 2011-12 season, the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team will hit the road for its first game of the year away from Reese Court. The Eagles play at BYU on Saturday (Nov. 26), with tipoff from the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, scheduled for 1 p.m. Pacific time.
The game will be televised nationally on BYUtv (Channel 9403 for Dish Network; Channel 374 for DirecTV).
Saturday's meeting will be the first between the Eagles and Cougars since 1994, when Eastern defeated BYU in Provo, 83-71. The Cougars lead the all-time series, 2-1.
The Eagles will head into the game with a 2-2 record, after dropping their most recent contest to Oregon State. Although it was a loss for EWU, the team gained valuable experience against the Beavers that it will use as it embarks on a five-game road swing that includes three WCC opponents and another Pac-12 foe.
Eastern's starting point guard, Chene Cooper, had a season-high nine assists with only one turnover against the Beavers, and senior Brianne Ryan continued to excel on both ends of the floor, as she turned in 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, six rebounds and one steal.
BYU is also 2-2 on the season, but will have a slightly different record come Saturday, as the Cougars play Wisconsin tonight in Provo.
One of BYU's two wins this season was against Big Sky member Weber State, which the Cougars handled quite easily, 84-67. Weber State as picked eighth - one spot behind Eastern - in this year's Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll.
BYU also won a narrow contest at Tulsa, 64-61, but dropped its other two games against Duke and Kansas State.
The Cougars returned two starters from its 2010-11 squad that went 25-9 overall, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the Women's National Invitation Tournament. Brigham Young also captured the Mountain West Conference regular-season title that year after it dropped only one contest throughout the entire league season.
Along with the two returning starters in Haley Steed and Jennifer Hamson, who stands at 6-foot-7, the Cougars welcomed back five other letterwinners. BYU did however, lose its top two scorers from the successful 2010-11 squad.
Steed has paced the Cougars so far in the 2011-12 campaign, averaging nearly a double-double of 14.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Sophomore Kim Parker and freshman Lexi Eaton also average double figures at just over 10.5 points per game.
News & Notes
Ryan Lays Claim to Big Sky POW - For the first time in her already decorated career, senior Brianne Ryan was selected as the Big Sky Player of the Week for games played Nov. 14 - Nov. 20. Ryan had a remarkable performance on both ends of the floor to lead Eastern to a 68-57 victory over San Diego (Nov. 17). Her all-around effort was highlighted by 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the floor, which included three 3-pointers. She scored nearly half Eastern's total points in the game to become the first player in the Big Sky this season to reach the 30-point scoring mark. Ryan's effort against USD was just three points shy of her career-high of 33, which she set last year versus Sacramento State on 14-of-18 shooting. In addition to her offensive contributions, Ryan also led all players on the glass with nine rebounds. She also had three assists, one steal and one block, while playing a game-high 38 minutes against the Toreros.
Coop Picks Up Right Where She Left Off - After the first two weeks of the season, senior Chene Cooper ranks No. 1 in the Big Sky Conference in assists and No. 2 in steals. The 5-0 point guard is averaging 6.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Last season in league-only statistics, Cooper ranked No. 1 in both categories, averaging 5.0 assists and 2.8 steals. In overall season stats, she was second in the conference in those two categories. In EWU's career record book, Cooper ranks seventh in assists with 342, and third all-time in steals with 185.
Pakootas Perfect Against Toreros - Sophomore Chenise Pakootas scored 10 points on flawless shooting in Eastern's most recent outing against San Diego (Nov. 17). Pakootas hit 3-of-3 from the field, which included two 3-pointers and was 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. Pakootas has scored in double figures in two of Eastern's first four games of the season.
One Night, Three Career-Highs - In Eastern's season opener against Corban (Nov. 11), three different Eagles posted career-high scoring numbers - and ironically, those numbers were the same for each player. Junior Carrie Ojeda and sophomores Laura Hughes and Chenise Pakootas all had 12 tallies against the Warriors. Ojeda's previous career high was 11 points, while Hughes and Pakootas' was 10. And although it wasn't a career-high, it should be noted that senior Brianne Ryan also scored 12 points agaisnt Corban.
Freshmen on the Floor - Eastern has two freshmen this season who are expected to play significant roles in their rookie seasons. Melissa Williams, a 6-1 forward, has earned a spot in Eastern's starting lineup. The Camas, Wash., native leads the team in rebounding and is among the top 15 in the big Sky Conference, averaging 6.0 per game. Point guard Kylie Huerta has aveaged 12.0 minutes in Eastern's first four games of the season, and has tallied seven assists and three steals. Huerta was an Associated Press 4A All-State Honorable Mention and two-time South Puget Sound League North Division Player of the Year out of Kentwood High School, which is the same school that produced Gonzaga legend and current WNBA star Courtney Vandersloot, as well as Nebraska standout/two-time All-Big 12 honoree, Lindsey Moore. Kentwood is also the alma-mater of EWU men's basketball legend, Rodney Stuckey.
Big Numbers for 2011-12 Campaign - At 17 players deep, the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team begins the 2011-12 season with the biggest roster in head coach Wendy Schuller's 11-year tenure. This roster includes three returning starters from 2010-11, six other returning letterwinners, two returning redshirts, one non-lettering squad member, one transfer and four freshmen.
Building Cred in the Big Sky - The Eagles are coming off their second-straight postseason appearance. In 2010, Eastern earned an automatic bid to the Big Sky Conference semifinals after winning the regular-season title. In last year's Big Sky tourney, Eastern advanced the semis again after a 77-68 victory agaisnt Montana State in the quarterfinal round, which actually marked the first postseason win for EWU since the 2004 campaign. Eastern has earned 20 Big Sky Conference wins over the past two years, which is more than the Eagles had in the previous four seasons combined. In 2009-10, EWU captured the school's first-ever Big Sky regular-season title with a 12-4 league record.
Academic Excellence - In the past 10 seasons, Eastern Washington women's basketball players have been honored 81 times on the Big Sky All-Academic list, which is the most for any women's basketball team in the league. The Eagles have also been recognized on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Honor Roll for nine of the past 10 seasons. Eastern was among the top five academic teams in the nation in seven of those 10 years, including the 2003-04 campaign, in which the team placed first nationally with a 3.63 cumulative grade point average.
