Area women’s basketball: Montana State ends EWU’s winning streak

Melissa Williams scored 16 points and added a career-high 17 rebounds, Hayley Hodgins added 22 points and nine boards, but the Eastern Washington women missed out on an opportunity to keep pace with Big Sky Conference-leading Montana on Thursday with a 63-53 loss to Montana State in Bozeman.

Remaining 2 1/2 games back in the standings with three games left, Eastern (17-9, 10-5) travels to Missoula on Saturday with a chance to inch closer to the Grizzlies

Montana has two games remaining.

Eastern has already clinched a postseason berth.

Montana State (13-14, 7-9) used balancing scoring (nine players scored, led by Peyton Ferris’ 16 points), and its bench (24-5 advantage) to snap the Eagles’ six-game winning streak.

The double-double was Williams’ fourth straight and 10th this season.

Senior Lexie Nelson was held scoreless for the first time in her Eastern career. The Eagles’ 53 points were their fewest in conference play this season.

Montana 81, Idaho 68: McCalle Feller scored 18 points and the Grizzlies (20-7, 13-3) used a 49-point second half in defeating the Vandals (12-14, 6-9) in Missoula.

Stacey Barr, the reigning co-Big Sky Player of the Week, scored 17 in the final 20 minutes and led Idaho with 24 points. Brooke Reilly (Mt. Spokane High) had 11 points and eight rebounds and Ali Forde grabbed 14 rebounds for the Vandals, who had won their previous two games.

San Diego 75, Gonzaga 62: Sunny Greinacher scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but the Toreros (22-5, 13-4 West Coast Conference) used a 46-point second half in defeating the Bulldogs (22-6, 15-2) in San Diego.

Katherine Hamilton led San Diego with 16 points, all off the bench as Toreros substitutes outscored the Gonzaga bench 25-10.

Shelby Cheslek added 13 points and seven rebounds, and Keani Albanez and Elle Tinkle scored 11 apiece for the Bulldogs.

UCLA 74, Washington State 69: Nirra Fields led a balanced attack with 14 points, Corinne Costa made two free throws with 5 seconds left and the Bruins (12-16, 8-9 Pac-12) held the Cougars (15-13, 6-11) scoreless for almost 6 minutes down the stretch for a win in Pullman.

Kari Korver added 13 points as UCLA beat the Cougars for the fourth consecutive time and 27 of the last 28 meetings.

Tia Presley had 25 points and Lia Galdeira 24 for Washington State.

Washington 60, USC 48: Kelsey Plum scored 27 points and the Huskies (21-8, 10-7) pulled away from the visiting Trojans (15-13, 7-10) in the second half to post a Pac-12 victory.

Plum scored 17 points in the second half.

The win keeps Washington in fifth place in the conference.

Talia Walton and Jazmine Davis each scored 11 points for Washington.

Eastern Utah 66, North Idaho 58: Bryanna Adams scored 24 points and the Golden Eagles (20-9) advanced in the Region 18 tournament by defeating the Cardinals (18-13) in Price, Utah.

Monica Landdeck scored 20 points and Mariah Swanson added 17 for North Idaho.

North Idaho’s Kara Staggs was named to the All-Region first team, and Landdeck was named to the second team.