Eastern Washington women stifle Montana State 56-39 en route to Big Sky title game

BOISE – A dream a decade in the making crystallized for Jamie Loera and Jacinta Buckley on Tuesday afternoon.

Long-ago basketball teammates as youth players, the two Eastern Washington seniors find themselves 40 minutes from a trip to the NCAA Tournament – and trying to balance that pinch-me feeling with the steely focus that’s taken them this far.

The Eagles could hardly have been more dialed in than they were in their semifinal at the Big Sky Conference Tournament, mowing down Montana State 56-39 in a game that set standards for bump, grind and slap.

And stifle. The Eagles (28-5) set a school record for fewest points allowed in a tournament game – by 14. If that impacted the game’s aesthetics, it only added to Eastern’s elation.

“I can’t explain how I’m feeling,” said Buckley, the Lewis and Clark graduate who led all scorers with 16 points. “It’s everyone’s dream to play for the opportunity to go the dance. When I was 12 years old, I was dreaming of this day, and I’m really grateful to be here and share the moment with my best friends.”

It will be Eastern’s first appearance in the Big Sky finale since 2019, when the Eagles fell 61-59 to Portland State. They’ll be aiming for their first berth in the NCAA bracket since 1987. The 2 p.m. game will be seen on ESPNU.

Perhaps the Eagles won’t have their way on defense in the same fashion with their title game opponent, Northern Arizona – but surely they now have the blueprint.

Eastern limited the Bobcats to just 26% shooting – and woeful 3 of 22 from beyond the arc. The Eagles had seven blocks – a conservative count – and when they weren’t contesting shots, they were challenging drives and deflecting passes, though a goodly number of MSU’s 19 turnovers were unforced errors.

“Our trademark has been locking in defensively,” EWU coach Joddie Gleason said, “and it showed up huge today.”

But subtly, too. Even big blowouts can be rooted in small moments.

The most telling came midway through the second quarter when Eastern was still trying to find any offensive rhythm. Loera got whistled for an intentional foul on an inbounds play, and MSU had a chance to stretch a 15-12 lead.

But Madison Hall missed both free throws, and Eastern forced a turnover on the ensuing possession. The energy flip was stark as the Eagles then ran off 13 straight points – a short Loera fadeaway giving EWU the lead, Alexis Pettis burying a 3 and Buckley banging in seven points for a 28-17 halftime lead.

“Jacinta hit some really clutch buckets for us,” Gleason said, “and our guards were attacking and drawing the defense and found some open spaces when we had been really struggling to score.”

Maybe more representative of Eastern’s scrap came early in the fourth quarter when Jaleesa Lawrence had a putback blocked. On the ensuing rebound free-for-all, Buckley managed to stab the ball out to Loera, who found Lawrence cutting back along the baseline for a reverse layup.

That made it 41-27, and by that time it was established that even if the Bobcats pitched a shutout the rest of the way, they weren’t going to score enough to catch Eastern.

Loera had 12 points and Aaliyah Alexander 10 points and 10 rebounds behind Buckley, and Eastern shot 46.8% – boosted considerably by an 8-of-9 showing in the second quarter. Loera added eight assists, though the Bobcats – denying and switching constantly – also hounded her into six turnovers.

Like Buckley, Loera took an expansive look back – to age 12 – to put a perspective on playing for the title.

“ ‘Buck’ and I were playing at that age together,” she said, “and being here with her makes it even more special. We talk about those moments. We watched our favorite players growing up. We’re just super excited to be at this tournament and having the opportunity to play for a championship.”

Northern Arizona, a 74-67 semifinal winner over Montana, split two games with Eastern this season, winning in overtime in Flagstaff before the Eagles assessed a 25-point beatdown in Cheney.

“They kind of kicked our butts,” NAU coach Loree Payne said, “so I think that’s the memory right now in our minds.”