Eastern Washington women open Big Sky tournament with win over Montana State

PORTLAND – Tatjana Sparavalo scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help lead Eastern Washington to a 77-68 win over Montana State in the opening round of the Big Sky Conference women’s basketball tournament Thursday. Brianne Ryan and Chene Cooper each added 15 points for the sixth-seeded Eagles (13-17).

Third-seeded MSU (17-14) took a 44-39 lead with 14:21 remaining in the second half, but Eastern Washington took advantage of several turnovers and went on a 15-0 run to put the game out of reach.

Lyndi Seidensticker (Lewis and Clark High) scored 14 for the Bobcats.

MSU had beaten EWU twice in the last two weeks.

The Eagles will play top-seeded Portland State (19-10) tonight in the semis. Montana will play Northern Colorado in the other semi after the Grizzlies defeated Idaho State 66-53.