EWU women concludes non-conference play with loss to Bradley
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Eastern Washington University women’s basketball team concluded the Roo Holiday Classic and non-conference play with a 66-46 loss to Bradley this morning (Dec. 21).
The Eagles trailed by just five points going into the fourth quarter, but Bradley used a 19-0 run during the final frame to claim the victory. For the second-straight game, EWU had three in double figures. Bella Cravens had 11 points and was just short of a double-double with nine rebounds and also had three blocks. Jessica McDowell-White and Jenna Dick each added 10 points.
“Today was another tough one against a really good Bradley team. Once again, I thought we did a lot of things well that could’ve put us in a position to win and then we had a rough fourth quarter,” said head coach Wendy Schuller . “We are looking forward to having a few days to connect with family and hopefully get healthy. A lot of players played through things this weekend and the break is going to be a nice good chance to refresh. We have played a killer schedule the last two months, and I feel bad for putting such a young team in a position like we were in. These ladies have continued to work and improve and we are ready for a new season to start with Big Sky play.”
The Eagles trailed 10-4 early before McDowell-White made a three-pointer to try and spark the Eagle offense to put them within three. Bradley then responded with a 4-0 run and led 14-7. From there, the Eagles used a 4-0 run of their own to close the first quarter and trailed by three, 14-11, at the end of the first 10 minutes. Eastern Washington took seven free throw attempts in just the first quarter alone, connecting on four.
Eastern Washington used a 10-2 run during the second to tie the game at 23-23. Jenna Dick poured on six points during the spurt, both coming from behind the arc. Bradley answered back with an 8-0 run of their own to pull ahead 31-23. The Eagles got the last say, as both Cravens and McDowell-White hit layups with less than a minute to go to make it a four-point game at the half, 31-27. EWU shot 50 percent (7-14) during the second quarter.
EWU hung with Bradley during the third quarter, only being outscored 16-15 and shot 40 percent from the field compared to BU’s 27.8 percent. The Eagles also went 6-for-6 from the free throw line during the frame to trail 47-42 at the end of the third.
Bradley opened the fourth on a 19-0 run and the Eagles couldn’t catch up, falling to the Braves 66-46.
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington concludes non-conference play with an overall record of 1-8. Bradley improves to 9-2 overall.
TOP PERFORMANCES: Bella Cravens led the team with 11 points, going 5-for-11 from the field. She was a rebound short of a double-double with nine and also led the team with five blocks.
For the fourth-straight game, Jenna Dick scored in double figures, adding 10 points. She was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and made two three-pointers to go with two steals.
Jessica McDowell-White also scored 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three-point range. She also led the team with two assists and added a block.
Grace Kirscher added seven rebounds, five points and led the team with two steals.
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington shot just 29.6 percent from the field on 16-of-54. They were 4-for-17 from three-point range and 10-for-13 from the charity stripe.
Bradley shot 37.1 percent from the field (23-62), 50 percent from three-point range (9-18) and 73.3 percent from the free throw line (11-15).
The Eagles were edged in rebounds, 41-to-38, and were outscored in the paint 22-to-14.
UP NEXT: This morning’s game marked the final non-conference game of the season for the Eagles. Eastern Washington begins Big Sky Conference play on Saturday, Dec. 28 against Weber State at 2:05 p.m. inside Reese Court. On Monday, Dec. 30, the Eagles will close 2019 when Idaho State comes to town for a 6:05 p.m. tip.
