Eastern Washington women lose to Portland State

The Eastern Washington women’s basketball team lost a chance to close in on Big Sky leader Idaho State by losing to Portland State 76-69 on Thursday night in Cheney.

The Eagles (16-11, 10-4) could still catch the Bengals (20-7, 12-2) as Idaho State also lost on Thursday, 75-63 at Sacramento State. EWU and Idaho State play their final two conference games against each other, Saturday in Cheney and March 3 in Pocatello.

The Eagles suffered their second-worst shooting performance of the season, hitting only 20 of 66 field-goal attempts for 30.3 percent, in losing to the Vikings (14-12, 6-7).

Brianne Ryan led EWU with 20 points while Chene Cooper and Carrie Ojeda added 17 apiece.

Portland St. 76, EWU 69

 Portland St. (14-12, 6-7)—Jones 7-13 2-3 20, Greene 4-6 9-10 17, Samms 5-6 2-2 12, Vanbrocklin 3-6 5-6 11, Egwuatu 4-4 0-2 8, Rivard 3-4 0-1 6, Lanz 1-3 0-0 2, Brock 0-3 0-0 0, Powell 0-0 0-0 0, Lampman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-46 18-24 76.

E. Washington (16-11, 10-4)—Ryan 6-20 7-7 20, Cooper 6-18 3-4 17, Ojeda 4-11 9-13 17, Hughes 1-3 5-6 7, Pakootas 2-5 2-4 6, Russell 1-1 0-0 2, Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Ashenfelter 0-5 0-0 0, Huerta 0-1 0-0 0, Nolen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-66 26-34 69.

Halftime—Portland St. 34-29. 3-Point Goals—Portland St. 4-7 (Jones 4-5, Vanbrocklin 0-1, Lanz 0-1), E. Washington 3-15 (Cooper 2-6, Ryan 1-7, Pakootas 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Portland St. 37 (Samms 8), E. Washington 32 (Ojeda 12). Assists—Portland St. 17 (Vanbrocklin 5), E. Washington 9 (Cooper 6). Total Fouls—Portland St. 22, E. Washington 24. A—884.