Eags turn tables on WSU
PULLMAN – Eastern Washington University thought it might be going through it all over again. Last season, the Eagles lost to Washington State University by a point on a tip-in during the final seconds. This year, up one point after Julie Page missed two free throws with 14.3 seconds left, the Eagles watched again as the Cougars had a chance for a win.
This time, however, things turned out differently. Page redeemed herself by blocking a Charmaine Jones jumper and WSU point guard Stephanie Singer got trapped in the corner, failing to complete a cross-court pass before time expired.
That defensive stand gave the Eagles (5-3) the 54-53 non-conference women’s basketball win over the host Cougars (4-4) on Friel Court.
“I was very proud of our team’s defensive effort,” EWU coach Wendy Schuller said. “We were switching off screens, didn’t know what they were going to run or what they were going to do. They took the ball hard to the basket. Julie Page did a nice job of blocking the shot without fouling. We finished it off the way we should.”
It didn’t hurt that the Cougars’ shooting woes continued (29.8 percent from the floor), as well as a troubling pattern of poor play in the first half.
In fact, former Central Valley High star Felice Moore’s five first-half field goals for EWU were one shy of the entire Cougars squad, which went 6 for 29 in the first 20 minutes.
“We just lollygag for a half and then decide we want to play,” said a frustrated WSU coach Sherri Murrell. “If I had an answer as to why my kids didn’t (play hard in the first half), I wouldn’t be sitting here frowning after a loss.”
The Cougars rebounded from the dismal first half by staging a comeback on the shoulders of Keisha Moore, playing her first game for WSU after transferring from Idaho last year. The center scored 10 of her 11 points after the half and was a primary reason the Cougars were able to take a three-point lead – their biggest of the day – with 9:23 to go.
EWU also made things a little easier for the Cougars by not feeding the ball to Felice Moore after she had played so well in the early going. The forward had one bucket in the second half, but EWU’s Joanna Chadd picked up the slack by hitting three 3s on the way to a game-high 18 points.
“Washington State fought back hard,” Schuller said. “We just had to get ourselves believing in our own ability and we hit a couple shots that got ourselves back on. I thought that made the difference.”
Mead grad Adriane Ferguson was the lone Cougars guard shooting well, leading the team with 13 points. But she never touched the ball on the final possession. That was good news for the Eagles, who were able to make the drive back to Cheney knowing they’d earned some measure of redemption after last year’s narrow defeat.
“When we needed it at the end, they did a great job,” Felice Moore said of her teammates’ effort. “We were all like, ‘We don’t want to go through this again.’ “
Eastern Washington 54, WSU 53
Eastern Washington (5-3)–Chicane 2-5 0-0 4, Moore 6-9 1-4 13, Bounds 1-6 0-0 3, Chadd 5-10 5-6 18, Ulmer 2-7 0-0 6, Boscacci 0-0 0-0 0, Knight 1-2 0-0 2, Osborn 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson 2-4 0-1 4, Chaffee 0-0 0-0 0, Page 2-5 0-2 4. Totals 21-50 6-13 54.
Washington State (4-4)–Joneby 2-3 0-0 4, Benz 3-7 4-4 11, Perry 1-3 0-0 2, Jones 2-15 4-4 9, Ferguson 3-7 5-5 13, McCormick 0-3 1-2 1, Scales 0-2 0-0 0, Singer 0-3 0-0 0, Blue 1-3 0-0 2, Montgomery 0-0 0-0 0, Moore 5-11 1-3 11. Totals 17-57 15-18 53.
Halftime–Eastern Washington 26, Washington State 17. 3-point goals–Eastern Washington 6-18 (Chadd 3-5, Ulmer 2-5, Bounds 1-4, Chicane 0-2, Osborn 0-2), Washington State 4-14 (Ferguson 2-4, Benz 1-3, Jones 1-5, Scales 0-2). Fouled out–None. Rebounds–Eastern Washington 34 (Chicane 5), Washington State 41 (Benz 12). Assists–Eastern Washington 12 (Bounds, Chadd 3), Washington State 14 (Joneby, Perry 4). Total fouls–Eastern Washington 21, Washington State 16. A–491.