Eastern women win road basketball opener at Utah Valley

Senior leadership emerged to lead Eastern Washington to victory in its season-opening women’s basketball game versus Utah Valley State University last Friday, Nov. 14, on the road in Orem.

Melissa Williams tossed in 18 points, plus 12 rebounds for a double-double. Lexie Nelson added 12 more as the Eagles rallied in the second half to win 68-62 at the UCCU Events Center in the opening contest for both teams.

“I thought Melissa was fabulous,” EWU head coach Wendy Schuller said. “She set the tone defensively for us in the paint and did a great job on their post players.”

After trailing 35-34 at halftime following 32 percent field goal shooting, the Eagles shot 52 percent in the second half outscoring the Wolverines 34-27. Eastern had a 41-38 percent field goal edge for the game.

The real catalyst, however, was an adjustment on the defensive side of the ball.

“We made some defensive adjustments at halftime, specifically focusing on doing a better job in guarding their zone offense,” Schuller said. “I thought we communicated better defensively in the second half and our zone frustrated them over the final 20 minutes.”

Trailing 38-34, with 17:23 remaining, the Eagles would outscore UVS 8-4 over the next two minutes to take the lead for good with 15:10 remaining. A 9-2 run near the midpoint of the second half pushed the Eagles’ lead to 58-48.

The hosts made one final charge, a 12-0 burst, cutting EWU’s lead to two, 60-58, with 3:11 left to play but Eastern turned up the defensive pressure and sunk free throws to secure the win.

Sophomore Jade Redmon also recorded a double-double, the first of her career, with a 14-point, 12-rebound night. Hayley Hodgins finished with 13 points, while sister, Delaney Hodgins, added nine points in her first college game.

The win marked Eastern’s first victory in a road season opener since the 2009-10 season. The Eagles are now 3-0 all-time against Utah Valley.

Eastern had its home opener versus defending Missouri Valley Conference champions, Wichita State this past Tuesday and then hit the road for games at Southern Methodist — a doubleheader with the EWU men — Nov. 22 and at Abilene Christian, Monday, Nov. 24. They return home Sunday, Nov. 30, to meet Central Washington in another doubleheader with Eastern’s men’s team.