Delaney Hodgins’ hot hand propels Eagles

Sophomore Delaney Hodgins poured in a career-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds to power the Eastern Washington Eagles (6-6) to a 59-55 victory over the Northern Colorado Bears (5-6) in a Big Sky Conference opener on Thursday in Cheney.

EWU junior Ashli Payne recorded her third double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Hayley Hodgins scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting with a pair of steals.

The third quarter was the difference for the Eagles. EWU shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the period and opened up a 53-40 lead. Freshman Aqeelah Williams came off the bench and hit a pair of 3-pointers. Eastern cranked up the defense in the quarter, holding the Bears to 25.8 percent from the floor.

Eastern’s offense sputtered in the final period – going scoreless for 8 minutes. Northern Colorado used a 9-0 run to get within striking distance, but a three-point play from Delaney Hodgins, with 2:15 remaining in the game proved to be the deciding factor.

Idaho 92, North Dakota 65: Nine first-half 3-pointers helped propel the Vandals (9-4) to a victory over the visiting Fighting Hawks to open Big Sky play.

Idaho finished shooting a season-high 58.8 percent (10 for 17) from 3-point range.

Christina Salvatore scored a game-high 21 points with seven rebounds for the Eagles. Reserve Geraldine McCorkell added 20 points, while fellow substitute Renae Mokrzycki scored 12. Idaho’s reserves accounted for 46 points in thegame.

High school boys

Brody Lundblad scored a game-high 17 points and dished out five assists, leading Coeur d’Alene to a 63-38 first-round win over Middleton at the Centennial Christmas Tournament in Caldwell, Idaho.

The Vikings (5-1) got off to a quick start, knocking down 8 of 12 field goals in the opening quarter. Lundblad made three of Coeur d’Alene’s seven 3-pointers in the game. Sam Matheson chipped in 13 points and Joey Naccarato nearly notched a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.