Eastern Washington women put up season-high 99 in win over Weber State

Delaney Hodgins and Ashli Payne scored 26 points apiece and Eastern Washington recorded its season-high in points in a 99-85 victory over Weber State in a Big Sky showdown on Saturday in Cheney.

With the win, Eastern Washington (9-7, 4-1) improves to 19-2 over its last 21 games at Reese Court against Big Sky foes. The only two losses have come against Sacramento State during that stretch.

Hodgins and Payne shot at a combined clip of 64.3 percent. Payne added 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Symone Starks scored 14 points with five assists and Violet Kapri Morrow added 13.

Midway through the second quarter, the Eagles opened up a close game with a 15-0 run that lasted over two minutes and saw their lead burst out to 38-25 over the Weber State (8-8, 2-3).

By the end of the third quarter, Eastern saw its biggest lead of the afternoon at 74-52.

The Eagles kept at least a 14-point margin for the remaining period.

Deeshyra Thomas led Weber State with 22 points.

EWU’s season-high points of 99 were the exact amount as both teams’ combined scores in Thursday’s contest against Idaho State.

“I think this is a tempo we are more comfortable playing at,” said head coach Wendy Schuller.

“I thought offensively, especially in the second half, Ashli and Delaney were playing with a lot of confidence and stepping up doing big things. That was good to see. I think a lot of the flow had to do with the opponent and how they want to play. I always say we are built to play however we need to play, and I think this weekend was a good indicator of that.”

The Eagles hit the road in their next matchup, playing Northern Arizona on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.