Eastern women start on right foot

Eastern Washington kept the momentum from its pair of exhibition wins going right into its non-conference women’s basketball season opener against host Portland, winning 72-64 Saturday behind 17 points and four steals from Brianne Ryan.

The Eagles were outshot 46 to 43 percent and lost the battle on the boards, but EWU turned the tide by forcing 28 Portland (0-1) turnovers and hitting 11 of 21 3-pointers. Jessica Huntington had three 3-pointers and added 7-of-9 shooting from the free-throw line for 16 points.

EWU junior Tatjana Sparavalo added 10 points and six rebounds.

•Mead graduate Kelli Valentine hit a 15-footer with 0.3 seconds left, leading Portland State (1-0) to a 67-66 non-conference win against Washington (0-1) in Portland.

The Huskies led by as many as 12 in the second half but could not shut down Valentine, who scored a game-high 24.

Contributing 11 points in the win was Lexi Bishop from Shadle Park.

Sami Whitcomb led the Huskies with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

The Huskies outrebounded Portland State 43-34, but they saw an 11-point lead with 9:15 left evaporate in the final minutes.

Men

Michael Hale III scored 14 points to go with six rebound and three assists as North Idaho survived one of its closest encounters this season, beating Western Wyoming 65-61 at the Central Wyoming Tournament in Riverton, Wyo.

The key for the Cardinals (5-0) for the second straight day was holding their opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor. WWCC shot 39 percent from the field.

Providing a spark for North Idaho from 3-point range was Taylor Stevens, who scored nine of his 11 points from beyond the arc.