Photo by Jeff Barrett
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An 11-5 overall record, 3-1 in conference play, has the Utah State Eastern women’s basketball team in a tie for second place in the Scenic West Athletic Conference standings. The Eagles sit just a half game behind conference-leading Southern Idaho. Now, 16 games into the season, USU Eastern has won five of its last six games.
The season started with the Eagles taking a trip to Ephraim, Utah to participate in the Snow Classic. Eastern opened the season with Casper College, ranked No. 11 at the time. Annie Stinar and Brooklyn Palmer’s 42 combined points (21 each) were not enough as Eastern fell 82-76.
USU Eastern bounced back the next day with a 100-72 victory over Central Wyoming. The Eagles outrebounded Central Wyoming 60-34 to go along with Brooklyn Palmer’s 24 points. Maci Wall had 19 points and 12 rebounds of her own.
After the Snow Classic, the Eagles traveled to Arizona for their annual preseason trip to play Mesa Community College. The then-ranked No. 8 team in the NJCAA D2 rankings, Mesa, was too much for the Eagles. Eastern fell 65-57 as Brooklyn Palmer scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Brinlee McRae also had 15 points and six rebounds.
Eastern then traveled to Scottsdale, Arizona to take on Scottsdale Community College. Despite 20 total team turnovers, the Eagles dominated Scottsdale for a 76-59 win. Annie Stinar scored 16 points on 3-8 shooting from three-point range. Brooklyn Palmer added 15 points and 10 rebounds on 100% shooting from the field.
Brooklyn Palmer’s third-straight double-double led the Eagles to a 62-48 win over Phoenix College. Palmer had 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with Annie Stinar’s 13 points.
The Eagles played at home, for the first time, for the Eagle Classic. Eastern first took on Laramie County Community College. Defensively, USUE held Laramie to just 18% from three-point range in a close 67-64 USU Eastern victory. Annie Stinar had 15 points in the third-straight Eastern win.
Yavapai College was the next foe to take on the Eagles in the Eagle Classic. Annie Stinar made five threes to lead the Eagles with 15 points in their 60-52 win. Brooklyn Palmer added 11 points and six rebounds.
Eastern claimed their fifth-straight victory at the Bruin Classic in a 72-66 victory over Eastern Wyoming. Brooklyn Palmer tallied a season-high 25 points and contributed with nine rebounds. Maci Wall added eight points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
USUE’s five-game win streak was snapped on day two of the Bruin Classic after a 66-54 loss to Odessa College. Annie Stinar led the Eagles with just 11 points and Brooklyn Palmer added eight points and five rebounds.
USU Eastern opened conference play on Dec. 3 at the College Southern Idaho. Eastern fell to the No. 9 Golden Eagles, 67-44, for their only two-game losing streak of the season. Baylee Ueligitone scored 11 points. Brooklyn Palmer recorded seven points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
In order to break the two-game losing skid, Eastern defeated Salt Lake Community College 63-59 behind 18 points from Maci Wall. Kacelyn Toomer had a season-high 11 points, including clutch threes down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
Snow College was the next conference foe to fall to the Eagles. Hadley Humpherys scored 16 points on 100% shooting from the field to go with nine rebounds. Brooklyn Palmer added eight points and 10 rebounds in the 75-54 win over the Badgers.
A long road trip to Redlands, California awaited the Eagles, but the trip proved beneficial for Eastern after an 81-38 dominating win over Community Christian College. Maci Wall led the Eagle attack with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Teagan Gray also had 12 points.
Taking a short break from conference play, Eastern traveled to Henderson, Nevada to take part in the CSN Holiday Tournament. Dawson Community College was the first opponent Eastern played, and the Eagles completed a second-half comeback for the 67-63 win. The fourth-straight Eagle victory was led by 21 points from Maci Wall. Brooklyn Palmer added 17 points in a game where Eastern trailed by one at the half.
The second day of the CSN Holiday Tournament featured a matchup between USU Eastern and Casper College for the second time this season. This time, Casper was ranked No. 10 in the NJCAA rankings, but the outcome resembled that of the first matchup. Eastern fell 70-58 despite 19 points and eight rebounds from Brooklyn Palmer.
Eastern ended the 2022 calendar year with a 72-50 win over Glendale Community College. In the game, 18 points from Maci Wall and 11 points from Hadley Humpreys guided the Eagles to a victory despite 32 total team turnovers.
The Eagles will next take the court on Jan. 4 at home against the Colorado Northwestern Spartans. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center.