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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Moore learns lessons at EWU

Felice Moore’s education at Eastern Washington University has done more than prepare her to be an elementary school teacher.

“I learned I’m a tough person; a tough competitor. I hate to lose. I have heart,” said Moore, a senior on the women’s basketball team. “I knew I was tough but I’ve been in situations where it’s tough and you have to push through it or quit. I pushed through it.”

She’s putting those lessons to good use as she nears the end of her career and the Eagles, expected to finish in the upper half of the league, are struggling to make the top six to qualify for the Big Sky Conference tournament for the fifth straight time.

“Being a senior leader, I’m trying to figure out what I need to do (to help the struggling team),” she said. “It’s hard to pinpoint one thing; it comes down to a lot of little things.”

Moore didn’t face those kinds of challenges in high school at Central Valley. The Bears were dominant and her three years ended with back-to-back state titles.

“Being from CV, winning so much, crushing people, it was definitely an adjustment,” she said. “I knew our program was on the rise – we were going in a positive direction – but there were days it was hard because I hate losing.”

Moore has been a solid contributor for the Eagles. The 6-foot-2 post has missed just one game in four seasons and started 89 of 111 games.

Soft spoken, she generally leads by example.

“To me, you can say (anything) but when it comes down to it, you either do it or you don’t,” she said. “We have to do it (now). I don’t have another day.”

Eastern has the difficult Montana trip this week followed by two home games to finish the regular season and Moore is not going to let her career end without a battle.

“We’ve been up and down,” she said. “I want to finish on a positive note. We have to keep grinding away.

“Bring it on, that’s my attitude,” she added. “I’m not scared of anything. I love battling, that’s my favorite part of the game.”

Opposite reaction

After Washington State lost to Oregon State on Thursday, Cougars coach Sherri Murrell told The Daily Evergreen: “I think I’ve lost my kids. They’re on their own agenda right now… . I’ve got some senior leadership (and) junior leadership that is just playing awful right now.”

That same night, Idaho lost to Utah State for the first-time ever and Vandals coach Mike Divilbiss said: “It’s their (the players) season now. We have given them all we can give them and I am frustrated because I know we are a better basketball team than how we are playing. We play well at times and other times we don’t and I don’t know how to explain it. I am as frustrated as I have ever been coaching.”

Saturday, WSU beat Oregon by 15, but the Vandals lost 49-43 at Nevada.

Tip-ins

Kate Benz is just the 10th WSU player, and first since 1997, to earn Pac-10 Player of the Week honors. She averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds in a home split with the Oregon schools. … Gonzaga’s Ashley Anderson averaged 16 points and 9.5 rebounds in a home sweep during the weekend to pick up her fourth WCC Player of the Week honor.

“Pepperdine’s 38 points at GU on Saturday was a season-low for WCC teams. … Eastern ended a 14-game losing streak against Montana earlier this year but heads to Missoula on Thursday where the Griz have a 33-2 mark against the Eagles with 21 straight wins.

“ Idaho only made one 3-pointer against Nevada last week, ending a streak of two or more that reached 107 games. … The Wolf Pack held UI senior Emily Faurholt to nine points, only her third game in three years with less than 10. … Idaho is outscoring WAC foes in the first half but is being outscored in the second half.