MEN’S BASKETBALL
Eagles look to mirror past
success versus Dons
Eastern Washington is looking for a little more magic in the bay area.
The Eastern men’s basketball team has been to venerable War Memorial Gym before, and wants to continue the recent success the Eagles have enjoyed there since 2014 when they return tonight (Dec. 7) for a 7 p.m. meeting with the University of San Francisco.
The game will be carried live on 700-AM ESPN and 105.3-FM in the Spokane/Cheney area, with Larry Weir calling the play-by-play.
Coming off an 84-65 loss to Seattle in EWU’s lone game last week, the Eagles continue a 10-game road stretch by playing at what is also known as the Sobroto Center — a facility originally built in 1958, renovated in 2017 and the site of EWU wins in 2014 and 2015.
Eastern is 3-1 all-time against San Francisco, winning 96-90 a year ago in Cheney. The three prior meetings were in San Francisco, and Eastern lost 66-48 on Dec. 1, 1995, won 81-76 on Dec. 11, 2014, and won 81-77 on Dec. 1, 2015. All three games were played at War Memorial.
Now 3-5 this season, the highlight thus far was a Nov. 14 visit to the San Francisco bay area. The Eagles picked up a 67-61 victory at Stanford that day in EWU’s first win over a Pac-12 opponent since 2002.
“We have to play hard and bounce back from the Seattle loss,” EWU head coach Shantay Legans said. “I think our team will do that and will be mentally ready to go. We’ll get them revved up to play this next game with more emotion, more defense and we’ll be ready offensively. That’s something we’ll get accustomed to the rest of the season.”
The Dons are in the midst of their busiest stretch of the season thus far, with four games in 10 nights. The Dons enter Monday’s (Dec. 4) game at Central Arkansas with a 3-3 record, having recently lost 79-72 at home to UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 28 and then 75-57 on the road at Arizona State on Dec. 2.
“We have to be ready for that game,” Legans said. “They have a couple of good recruits and a transfer, and are a good team.”
The Eagles returned home from the Seattle game for finals week, but still plays three more road games before hosting two games prior to Christmas.
The Eagles conclude their stretch of 10-straight road games at South Dakota on Dec. 10 and Wyoming on Dec. 12. They then will host Cal State Northridge on Dec. 17 and the University of Providence from Great Falls, Mont., on Dec. 20.
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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Eastern women fall at home to
Boise State, host ‘Kid’s Day’ game
The Eastern Washington University women’s basketball team battled Boise State to the final minutes, but couldn’t overcome a scoring drought in the second quarter, falling 61-57 last Sunday at Reese Court.
It was a family affair as senior Delaney Hodgins faced off against her younger sister, Boise State sophomore guard Braydey Hodgins. Both sisters led their respective teams in scoring – Delaney Hodgins had 26 points while Braydey Hodgins added 14.
Eastern takes on Multnomah alongside 2,500 local elementary school students for Kid’s Day on Friday, Dec. 8, at 11 a.m.
The Eagles then play host to Cal Poly on Dec. 11 before heading out to Indiana for the Traveler’s Invitational on Dec. 17-18. Big Sky Conference play begins on Dec. 28 against Northern Colorado at Reese Court.
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MEN’S BASKETBALL
Eastern men’s games on SWX
Four Eastern Washington University men’s basketball games – including a pair of doubleheaders with the EWU’s women’s program – will be aired by SWX in Spokane this winter.
The broadcasts begin on Wednesday, Dec. 20, when Eastern hosts the University of Providence out of Great Falls, Mont., at 6 p.m. Pacific time. The next broadcast will be Thursday, Jan. 4, against Portland State at 6 p.m.
The final two broadcasts on SWX will be doubleheaders against Idaho on Friday, Jan. 12 in Cheney and Friday, Feb. 9 in Moscow. Both nights the women’s game between the Eagles and Vandals starts at 5 p.m., with the men’s game following at approximately 7:30 p.m.
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