GU seek regional sweep against Eastern

Funny, this doesn’t feel like a road trip.

And it probably won’t feel like a road game when the Gonzaga women play at Eastern Washington in a non-conference game Sunday afternoon.

The Bulldogs figure to have plenty of fan support at Reese Court as they try to complete a sweep of regional rivals Washington State and Eastern.

Part one was accomplished with ease Thursday night at McCarthey Athletic Center: GU got a school-record 34 points in the first quarter to dispatch the Cougars 79-61 and improve to 6-2.

“There are definitely some things we need to work on, but a win is a win, and I’m happy with how we played,” coach Lisa Fortier said after her first win over WSU in three tries.

Now it’s on to Cheney, where two years ago the Fortier era had barely begun when the Bulldogs needed a last-second turnover and a jumper from Elle Tinkle to pull out a 61-60 win.

That was a banner year for both teams; GU went on to Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament and Eastern finished with 20 wins and beat WSU in the WNIT.

Last year at McCarthey Athletic Center, GU clung to a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter before pulling away for a 78-56 win.

GU will be favored in this one, but the Eagles are 4-3 and coming off an 84-67 win over Cal-State Fullerton on Thursday.

In that game, junior forward Delaney Hodgins became just the 17th player in EWU history to score 1,000 points.

The Eagles, who will be at home for only the third time this year, rank 83rdnd in the Rating Percentage Index - only one spot below Gonzaga.

Gonzaga leads the all-time series 30-13 and has won 12 straight since a 72-69 loss in 2003 at the Spokane Arena.

The Zags also are riding a seven-game winning streak in Cheney, dating back to a 63-65 loss in Cheney in 1998, also marking the longest road winning streak for either team in the series.