Eagles edge Hornets; playoffs still possibility

Phynique Allen recorded 12 points, eight assists and four steals as Eastern Washington edged Sacramento State 66-63 in Big Sky Conference basketball action at Sacramento, Calif., Saturday night.

Joanna Chadd tallied a team-high 13 points for the Eagles (9-18, 4-10), who moved one game closer to sixth-place Portland State for the final slot into postseason play.

The Hornets (3-25, 1-13) took an early 10-2 lead and extended the lead to nine on three separate occasions. EWU rallied and made up much of the difference by halftime, trailing 29-27.

The Eagles took their first lead, 41-40, on Chadd’s 3-pointer with 14:47 remaining. After the teams continually traded baskets, a basket by Tara Holgate gave EWU a 54-51 lead with 5:47 remaining. A pair of Brittney Osborne free throws with 6 seconds remaining made it 66-61, sealing the win for the Eagles.

Kim Sheehy poured in a game-high 22 points for the Hornets.

Sydney Benson scored 10 and grabbed nine rebounds for the Eagles, who sit two games back of PSU with two conference games to play.

•Casey Nash scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed five rebounds, leading Oregon State past Washington State 66-61 in Pac-10 play at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman.

Sophomore guard Amanda DuRocher shot 8 of 18 from the field – 6 of 12 from 3-point range – to pace the Cougars (5-23, 1-17) with 24 points. WSU finished regular-season play.

WSU took a 39-27 lead at the break after controlling much of the first half. The Cougars used a 20-2 run to take a 12-point lead with 8:48 left in the half. After the Beavers (9-18, 4-14) cut the lead to six with 4:53 to play, WSU used a pair of layups to take a 12-point advantage at the break.

In the second half, the Cougars extended their lead to 16 points on a DuRocher jumper at the 11:42 mark. Nash sank two free throws to pull OSU within seven with 9:23 remaining, before the Beavers used a 15-3 run late in the half to take the lead for good.

Kate Benz recorded a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Cougars, who shot 56 percent from the field in the first half and a season-high 47 percent from the 3-point line.

•Cameo Hicks scored 13 points and Andrea Plouffe added 12, as Washington closed out the Pac-10 season with a 61-47 win over Oregon in Seattle.

The Huskies (18-11, 11-7), who have won five of their last six, saw Hicks become the 12th highest scorer on UW’s all-time list with 1,435 points.

UW, leading 26-21 at the break, used a 16-7 run to open the second half, putting the game away.

Eleanor Haring and Kaela Chapdelaine scored 10 points apiece for the Ducks (16-11, 10-7), who had won six of their previous eight games.

The Pac-10 tournament begins March 2 and concludes March 5 in San Jose, Calif.