Top-seeded EWU women fight back to beat Weber State 71-58 in Big Sky quarterfinals

BOISE – During a third-quarter timeout Sunday, an Eastern Washington cheerleader appeared to fumble a catch of his female partner and she tumbled to the floor as a few spectators gasped. No harm, no foul – she picked herself up and was back to waving her pompom immediately.

But it must have been a signal.

Because the league champion Eastern women – down nine points with 12 minutes to play – chose that very moment to pick themselves up, too, and eventually powered past Weber State 71-58 in their first outing at the Big Sky Conference Basketball Tournament at Idaho Central Arena.

There have been smoother entrees, yes, but proving yourself adaptable in the tournament crucible can be a reward, too. Having shinnied back up the face of the cliff, the Eagles (27-5) have a day off before facing the winner of Monday’s Montana State-Northern Colorado quarterfinal for a chance to play for the championship, and senior point guard Jamie Loera certainly grasped job one for the Eagles.

“Playing with more urgency than we did today,” she said.

Or perhaps “surgency.”

When the Eagles got that message after coach Joddie Gleason called that timeout, the resulting surge was impressive.

They outscored the ninth-seeded Wildcats 37-15 the rest of the way, forced 10 of Weber’s 21 turnovers over that final quarter and a half and shot 58% in the fourth period.

Getting to that point, however, was a study in struggle.

The teams were tied at 25 at halftime, having slogged through a 71/2 minute stretch in which there was one made shot, 17 misses and eight turnovers. When play resumed, Weber’s Jaydn Matthews and Daryn Hickok took control, combining for 16 points as the Wildcats took that 43-34 lead.

But Eastern, too, has some control freaks, if you will.

One is Loera, who seems to have not just the ball on a string, but the whole game – and her 14-point, eight-assist, four-steal effort was again impressive for just how routine it looked.

“It’s all about the read, and in the fourth quarter they were giving us the drive,” she said, “and when we kicked the ball out, we made those shots, too.”

Another is Aaliyah Alexander, EWU’s scoring leader who somehow remained pointless through the first half on but a single shot. She finally announced herself with a four-point play to open the third quarter, but didn’t truly come alive until after that fateful timeout.

Gleason ordered up a midkey post-up that produced an immediate bucket. After two Loera free throws, Alexander waved teammate Jacinta Buckley in position for a screen and drained a 17-footer. And when the sophomore guard muscled in for a putback of Alexis Pettis’ missed 3, the Eagles had a 47-46 lead to take into the fourth quarter.

“Aaliyah does so much for us,” Gleason said. “She’s used to getting double and triple-teamed inside and a couple of times she looked around and I think was surprised to find just one defender there. So we got her some ball screens and tried to get her in some space. She steps up every single night.”

In the meantime, the Eagles finally took Matthews out of the scoring mix, and Hickok couldn’t keep pace with Eastern’s balance. Jaleesa Lawrence scored 13 of her team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter. Buckley returned to the starting lineup after a concussion sidelined her for a month and contributed 10, and Jaydia Martin added 12 off the bench.

“We forced them to take tough shots,” said Hickok, who combined with Matthews for 41 of Weber’s 58 points, “and in the third and fourth quarters, they showed they were able to make those shots.”

That it was a slow build didn’t seem to faze Gleason.

“There isn’t any simulation of that first game in a tournament,” she said. “The lights are on, and that full experience can be tough. We were fired up, ready and focused, but there are still nerves when you haven’t played yet. That’s behind us now, and we can rely on that experience moving forward.”