Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Eastern Washington
Hot-shooting Eagles charge past Wildcats
12/20/2012 10:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
OGDEN, Utah - The Wildcats had a large and enthusiastic crowd behind them on Thursday afternoon, but that extra energy just wasn't enough as the Weber State University women's basketball team fell short on Field Trip Day.
Sophomore guard Brianna Averette knocked down a career-high 15 points and freshman guard Regina Okoye added 12 points, five steals and four assists for Weber State, which fell 88-60 to Eastern Washington in its Big Sky Conference opener at the Dee Events Center.
The game was the Wildcats' sixth annual Field Trip Day promotion, with more than 2,000 local elementary school students in attendance in the crowd of 2,275. It's the fifth largest crowd in Weber State women's basketball history.
Averette was 5-of-6 from the field, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range as she nearly doubled her previous career high of eight. Okoye was also 5-of-6 from the field and added a pair of 3-pointers as she reached double-figures scoring for the fourth time this season.
Freshman point guard Desiree Ramos added 11 points and three assists, while freshman forward Kalie Matthews added 10 rebounds, and freshman center Jalen Carpenter had nine points.
Weber State (0-1 Big Sky, 0-10 overall) started the game off strongly, building a four-point lead (13-9) early in the first half, but Eastern Washington (1-0 Big Sky, 4-5 overall) responded with an 11-0 surge to take a 20-13 lead and the Eagles would never trail again.
The Wildcats trailed by just six late in the first half, but a disastrous final 32 seconds saw the Eagles score seven straight points to take a 13-point lead at halftime.
Eastern Washington went on to lead by as many as 32 points in the second half, before settling for the final margin.
The Eagles shot 55.2 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from behind the arc, while the Wildcats finished the game shooting 44 percent (22-of-50).
Weber State will return to action for its final game of 2012 on Saturday when the Wildcats host Portland State. The Vikings took a 5-3 overall record into their Big Sky Conference opener at Idaho State later Thursday.
