Photo by Jeff Barrett
By Jordan Buscarini
The USU Eastern women’s basketball team wrapped up a three-game road trip with a dominating win over Phoenix College last week in Arizona. Six players reached double-figures as the Lady Eagles earned their first victory of the season in a dominating 104-38 effort. The win halts a four game losing skid to open the 2021-22 campaign.
Alexandra Olson led USU Eastern and all scorers with 23 points on an efficient 8-12 shooting performance. Ella Bradley logged a double-double as she posted 22 points and 10 assists while also grabbing eight rebounds.
Playing for the third time in as many days, the Lady Eagles showed little signs of fatigue as they jumped out to an early 36-13 lead by the end of the first quarter. The one-sided affair continued in the second half as USU Eastern outscored Phoenix 46-14 over the final 20 minutes.
Mardee Fillmore helped pace the tempo on both sides with 16 points and nine rebounds. Paulisa Barbosa scored 14 points and both Maclani Michael and Brooklyn Palmer poured in 12.
Friday’s win came after back-to-back losses to open the road trip. The first came on Wednesday against Mesa Community College in a 72-63 final.
Trailing 19-9 at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Eagles responded by chopping the deficit to just three by half time. Mesa answered by outscoring USU Eastern in each of the next two quarters to claim the nine-point victory.
Bradley led USU Eastern with 20 points and 10 boards in the setback. Palmer posted a game-high 25 points.
Thursday’s contest played out in similar fashion as USU Eastern slipped to Pima Community College 75-67. Again faced with a deficit at the end of the end of the first quarter, the Lady Eagles fought back, but ultimately fell short.
Bradley was again the leading scorer for the Lady Eagles as she finished with 22 points. Palmer helped push the offense with 12 points, and both Fillmore and Michael scored 10.
The results of the three-game road trip place USU Eastern’s overall record at 1-4 on the season. Two more non-conference games remain on the schedule before the start of SWAC play on Wednesday, Nov. 24 against Salt Lake Community College.
Friday, the Lady Eagles will travel to Wyoming to meet Central Wyoming College. The two-game road trip will wrap up Saturday against Western Wyoming Community College.