Walla Walla WW 2-3

Eastern Wash. EWU 6-2,0-0 Big Sky

Walla Walla WW

2-3

Final

Dec. 09, 2023

Eastern Wash. EWU

6-2,0-0 Big Sky

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Walla Walla WW	6	12	8	7	33
Eastern Wash. EWU	19	29	12	22	82

Summary
Box Score

Bridget Mayfield

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 12/9/2023 9:24:00 PM

Eagles fly past Wolves in dominating victory

Eastern Washington led wire-to-wire against Walla Walla

CHENEY, Wash.— There was no doubt from the opening tip for Eastern Washington women's basketball on Saturday night. Eastern defeated Walla Walla, 82-33, as the team's defense harassed the Wolves all game. EWU now improves to 6-2 on the season.

"We knew that Walla Walla really gets out in transition and can shoot the three really well. That was our focus at the defensive end," head coach Joddie Gleason explained. "We wanted to make sure we were communicating, matching-up, really pressuring without fouling and taking away that three-point line. That was a huge key for us there and [Walla Walla] only hitting two-point shots is a big deal. Then offensively, we wanted to try to get it inside as much as we can. We felt like we had a mismatch in there, so we tried to run our action that would help us get it inside. Bella [Hays] did a great job of finishing those ones in there. Bella and Milly [Knowles] both."

Bella Hays scored a career-high 15 points on 7-of-8(87.5%) shooting. Aaliyah Alexander added 12 points on 4-of-7(57.1%).

"We've been talking about getting low a lot in practice. I was trying to keep low and then keep my position; then going up strong and being patient with the ball. I couldn't have done that without the great passes I was getting, so credit to my teammates."

Eastern asserted itself early in the game with a 10-0 lead, getting five points from Jaydia Martin. The Eagles' defense swarmed the Wolves, allowing only a 23.1 shooting percentage in the first quarter. EWU posted a 40.0 percentage and would lead 19-6 after the first 10 minutes. Martin had eight points total in the first.

The second quarter continued the trend for Eastern as the team would pour in 29 points. Hays controlled the paint, scoring nine points, while Aaliyah Alexander scored seven points in the quarter. The Eagles shot an eye-opening 75.0 percent from the floor, while Walla Walla improved to 40.0. EWU led 48-18 at halftime.

The pace of the game slowed in the third quarter, with neither team scoring consistently. Eastern found points in the paint from Alexander, Milly Knowles and Hays. EWU outscored the Wolves, 12-8 in the quarter and extended its lead to 60-26. They finished with a 29.4 shooting percentage, while Walla Walla was at 25.0 percent.

With the game in hand, Eastern cruised in the fourth quarter, registering a 47.4 percent shooting percentage. Ella Gallatin and Andie Zylak each scored six points off the bench. Zylak was 2-of-3(66.7%) from behind the arc and Gallatin recorded three assists in the quarter as well. EWU had a 22 to 7 scoring advantage and won the game 82-33.

"We definitely have a schedule that helps prepare us for the conference. We are on the road now for the next three and we start conference games on the road as well," Gleason added. "We just talk about being road warriors and you have to be able to play on the road. We do all these things so that we are ready in the Big Sky when we travel. It won't be any different and we do a nice job of just going one week at a time and one game at a time."

Eag Notes

Eastern Washington tied a program record with 22 steals against Walla Walla. EWU has posted 22 steals in two other games against Montana State(12/29/11) and Portland State(2/3/18). Ella Gallatin led the team with four steals, and six players in total had more than one steal in the game. It was a career-high in steals for Gallatin.
EWU forced 31 total turnovers and scored 27 points off the Wolves' mistakes.
The Eagles had 26 assists on 36 made field goals in the game. Andie Zylak had a game-high six, with Alexis Pettis and Gallatin each recording a career-high five assists.
Eastern controlled the paint with a 40 to 32 rebounding advantage. They outscored Walla Walla in the paint, 44 to 20.
The bench scoring was in the Eagles' favor, 45 to 11.
Zylak scored a season-high 11 points, going 3-of-4(75%) from three-point range.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will have another extended break before traveling for its next game. Eastern plays Cal in Berkeley, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 15 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time.

Season tickets for EWU men's and women's basketball are now available and start as low as $100! Tickets for basketball and all EWU Athletics events are available at goeags.com/tickets or via the EWU Athletics Ticket Office at 509-359-6059.

ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.

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