Jim Allen

Halfway through Sunday’s NCAA selection show, coach Jim Hayford and his players watched as the name of Eastern Washington appeared on national television alongside Georgetown, the Eagles’ opponent in a second-round game Thursday in Portland.

It was a special moment last night for Eastern Washington

MISSOULA – As the confetti rained down Saturday night and Eagle Nation celebrated a Big Sky Conference championship, a few fans watched the fun – and had some of their own. “Just like football, just like football” they chanted in the middle of Dahlberg Arena after Eastern defeated host Montana 69-65. The final ledger in the two major sports: 4 to 1 in favor of the Eagles, including the two that mattered most: a 37-20 FCS playoff victory in November and Saturday’s dramatic win.

Eastern Washington's sports success isn't defined by its failures and successes against Montana, but sometimes it feels that way. Tonight is no exception.

After another great shooting performance, Eastern Washington is on the brink

Jake Rodgers likes his chances of playing on Sundays. The former Eastern Washington offensive lineman from Spokane said he’s getting positive feedback from scouts, enough to give him hope of being a late-round selection in the upcoming National Football League draft.

MISSOULA – The University of Montana isn’t the permanent site for the Big Sky Conference women’s tournament. It only seems that way. The Grizzlies have hosted 21 of them, including this year’s event. That may change if the conference approves an official permanent site beginning next year.

Late in the game, during a timeout, Felix Von Hofe broke into a smile. It was as wide as the basket looked all night to the Eastern Washington sharpshooters in a 91-83 victory over Sacramento State on Friday in the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament.

Jake Rodgers, the former Eastern Washington offensive lineman from Spokane, said he’s getting positive feedback from scouts, enough to give him hope of being a late-round selection in the upcoming National Football League draft.

The Eastern Washington Eagles had plenty of swagger entering their Big Sky Conference women's basketball semifinal against host Montana, but it slipped away in a 55-51 defeat that was the product of poor long-range shooting, a hostile crowd and a physical game that seemed to favor the hosts.

Here's a look at today's men's Big Sky Conference semifinal game between Eastern and Sacramento State. The game begins at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time

With both basketball teams in the Big Sky tournament semifinals, the Eagles have a chance to make a statement today

MISSOULA – Their game plans will be tested tonight. Their friendship? Never. Eastern Washington coach Jim Hayford and Sacramento State’s Brian Katz go back more than two decades, but only one will take his team to Saturday night’s Big Sky Conference title game.

MISSOULA – The Eastern women’s basketball players are in a good place, even if that place is Dahlberg Arena. “It’s every coach’s dream – actually a nightmare,” EWU coach Wendy Schuller joked of today’s Big Sky Conference tournament semifinals matchup against top-seeded Montana.

The Big Sky Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments unfold at the University of Montana

MISSOULA – As Wendy Schuller sees it, her first 20-win season at Eastern Washington was earned years ago. Moments after the Eagles dispatched Northern Arizona 73-57 in the Big Sky Conference quarterfinals Wednesday night, “my phone was blowing up with texts,” Schuller said.