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The doldrums hit the Gonzaga Lady Zags after their 7-0 run opened the contest Sunday afternoon against the EWU Eagles. When Katy Ridenour took a charge that had Coach Kelly Graves jumping to his feet, it looked like a blow-out in the making. But EWU took a strategic time out and changed the entire tone of the game. For the remaining 15 minutes of the first half, the Zags were held to a mere 11 points while the Eagles soared to a 20-18 intermission lead. During this stretch, Eastern was defensively aggressive with Joanna Chadd leading the charge. Her 3-point play with 3 minutes to go in the half gave EWU their first lead, 15-14.
Ashley Anderson scored a pair of buckets early in the second half, but fate seemed to be on the side of the Eagles as they extended their lead. Throughout GU’s woes, Coach Graves tried a variety of players but never seemed to find an energized line-up…that is until he put the Zags in a full court press. Again, Katy Ridenour sparked the team with her gritty hustle.
Freshman Sasha Polishchuck, in her second collegiate start, hit a three pointer off a 3-man weave that ignited Gonzaga’s offense. Ashley Anderson took things from there. With inside support from Stephanie Hawk and Anne Bailey, Anderson and company scored on a variety of athletic drives to the bucket. Meanwhile, Chadd, post Julie Page, and the rest of the Eagles refused to give up and the game was in doubt until EWU’s three point attempt at the buzzer rattled free of the rim. The game was saved in the final quarter of the contest when GU’s intensity finally picked up to match Eastern’s.