By Calvin Jensen, USU Eastern Sports Information Contributor
The Lady Eagles cruised past Western Wyoming in front of their home crowd on Friday night.
USU Eastern began the first quarter a little sluggish, holding a slight lead of 12-10 at the two-minute mark. A three-point shot by Emmery Wagstaff sparked a 10-0 run by the Eagles to finish out the first quarter of play, 22-10.
USU Eastern’s run didn’t stop after the break as the offense continued draining baskets while the defense held the Mustangs scoreless until the 1:54 minute mark in the second quarter. Fans cheered the Lady Eagles on as they headed to the locker room at halftime with a 24-point lead, 39-15.
USU Eastern’s defense continued to overwhelm Western Wyoming in the second half and 58% shooting from the floor in the fourth quarter gave the Lady Eagles an 87-39 dominating win over the Mustangs.
“It always feels great to play at home,” said sophomore guard Emmery Wagstaff. “The majority of the crowd is there for us and it’s very easy to have energy and momentum. And a big focus of ours these last few weeks has been to limit turnovers and to out-rebound the other team. Turnovers turn into easy points for the other team and teams almost always score when they get an offensive rebound. We limit those and we win.”
Wagstaff put on her best offensive performance of the season, hitting six of nine shots from the floor, leading with 15 points on the night. Margarett Otuafi followed close behind, adding 14 points and six rebounds. With her fifth double-double of the season, Sharne Robati crushed the boards with 13 rebounds and 12 points against the Mustangs.
“This team continues to work hard week in and week out and they are continually improving,” said head coach Chelsey Warburton. “It’s great to see the team chemistry, no matter which five players we have on the floor together. We are looking forward to closing out preseason play next week at the Vegas tournament.”
The USU Eastern women’s basketball program has continued to build upon successes from year to year with 2019-20 being a remarkable recruiting year for the team. An impressive 12-2 record marks the best start in over a decade for the women’s basketball program under coach Warburton’s fifth year of leadership.
In their final non-conference tournament of the year, USU Eastern will travel to Last Vegas, Nev. to take part in the College of Southern Nevada Holiday Tournament. The Lady Eagles will take on North Idaho College at 2:30 p.m. this Thursday, Dec. 19. The following day, they will take the court against Dawson Community College at 11 a.m. On Saturday, they will play their final preseason game against Central Arizona College at 4 p.m. Please visit USU Eastern Athletics social media pages for live streaming links when available.
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- Photos by Jeff Barrett
