Eagles breeze through schedule
The Utah State University Eastern women’s basketball team started off their season with a bang in their first game. The Eagles went up against Western Wyoming Community College as they won 73-64. Both teams were in a tight matchup going into the fourth quarter as they were both tied 52-52. The lady Eagles eventually pulled through scoring 21 more points in the fourth quarter as Wyoming only scored 12. 20 points for Wyoming from the free throw line was also not enough to beat the Eagles. Hadley Humphreys helped the team dominate with 14 points and 17 rebounds for a double-double. Ellie Esplin had the team high of 17 points leading the Eagles in points, Esplin played 28 minutes and shot 7-15 from the field, including 3-6 from the three-point line. Summer Christensen was the only starter from the lineup to reach double digits in points with 12 along with five rebounds and four assists. Janel Blazzard scored seven points for the eagles, as well as Japrix Weaver with five points.
Utah State University Lady Eagles took on Casper Community in a tight matchup. The Eagles started off hot, Japrix Weaver had a big game scoring 16 points off the bench. At the end of the first quarter the Eagles were trailing 17-5. Before the half the Eagles managed to come through putting themselves ahead with a score of 29-28. Utah State Eastern came out and outscored Casper 20-13 in the third quarter extending their lead. Eagle player Ellie Esplin was one of three starters in this game to reach double digits as she finished the game with 10 points, and five assists. Olivia Nelson and Hadley Humphreys both scored double digits as well with 10 points, along with nine points from Summer Christensen. The Eagles definitely outscored Casper in the long range with 10 three-point shots for the Eagles and only three from Casper. The Lady Eagles came out victorious winning against Casper in a tight game 67-62.
The USU Eastern Lady Eagles put their record at 3-0 after beating up on Mesa Community College on the road. The Lady Eagles took the lead early on in the first quarter and didn’t look back. Eagle player Japrix Weaver led scoring with 15 points shooting 6-10 from the field adding on with 3-7 from deep. Summer Christensen scored 12 points and Olivia Nielson ended up with 10 for the Eagles. The Eagles stayed on top the whole game putting a big lead in the third quarter by 16. Outstanding defense from the Lady Eagles, they forced 13 turnovers from Mesa six of those coming from steals, along with 13 rebounds.
Eastern then traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to take part in the “Bears Tip-off Showcase” hosted by Phoenix College. The Eagles opened the showcase with a matchup with the hosts on Nov. 10. Eastern dominated from start-to-finish, dominating the Bears 79-42 for their fourth win of the season. Ellie Esplin led USUE with 17 points while Hadley Humpherys recorded a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds. Brinlee McRae was the third Eagle to finish the game with double-digit points, 10.
To finish the Phoenix road trip, Eastern scored a season-high 89 points during a 61-point victory over Glendale Community College. Summer Christensen scored 16 points as four different Eagles finished with double figures.
The Eagles will return home to host the “Eagle Classic”. The games against Laramie County Community College and Treasure Valley Community College will be the first home games of the season. Games are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 18.
