EWU earns win in rivalry game against WSU

PULLMAN – The Eastern Washington Eagles Women’s basketball team (6-4) earned a significant win against the Washington State Cougars 71-69. This game marked the Eagles’ first win over the Cougars since March 18, 2015, when the teams faced off in the first round of the Women’s NIT tournament. 

“Washington State is a really good team. They’re very well coached and they’re prepared,” said Eagles Head Coach Joddie Gleason. “They run their offense really well and are hard to guard. Coming in here to get the win is huge for us. It shows that we’re read to get these road wins in the Big Sky.” 

The Eagles were dominant in the first quarter, scoring 28 points and holding the Cougars to 15. WSU began to match the energy from EWU in the second quarter outscoring the Eagles by two points but were still trailing by 11 at the end of the half. 

During the third quarter, the Cougars made a significant push to take the lead from the Eagles, scoring 23 and holding their opponent to 10. With the Eagles down by two coming into the fourth quarter, they worked to execute on offense to retake the lead late in the game. WSU would have a chance to steal the win, but EWU’s defense held on to secure a victory. 

“We’ve been in these situations before and I think that this team just really never quits. They really listen to what we’re telling them as far as scouts and timeouts. They execute in those situations really well,” said Gleason. 

Ella Gallatin from the Eagles led the team on offense with 22 points with Elyn Bowers following close behind with 20. Jaecy Eggers added 18 points to the Eastern scoring, putting up 10 of the 16 made in the fourth. 

“I think Elyn did a great job of finding me, getting me the ball and then also, we have so many threats on the court that it’s really hard to double team. It’s been really nice to get one-on-one possessions which helped me score,” Gallatin said. “Like Coach said, it’s not just one player being the star every game. I think it’s really nice to know we have options everywhere and we don’t have to rely on one person to get big wins.” 

WSU’s Charlotte Abraham was a key standout for the team, earning 22 points, which is a career high along with her eight successful field goals. During the game she contributed four assists and six rebounds. 

Eleonora Villa added 16 points to the score, sinking two threes which has put her at 1099 career points and 113 career threes which is only 20 away from joining the WSU all-time top-10 list. 

Cougars' freshman Malia Ruud had a strong showing, delivering 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Ruud also had a career high of three three-pointers made in a game. 

The Cougars will stay at home to host Texas Tech on Friday at 6 p.m. The Eagles will be off for a week before traveling to California to play Santa Barbara on Dec. 18 and CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 20.  

BOX SCORE:  

EWU: 28-17-10-16: 71 

WSU: 15-19-23-12: 69