LAHAINA, Hawaii—UC Riverside Women's Basketball head coach John Margaritis talked candidly before the season about the importance of the team's first 10 games.
In Saturday's contest, the team's 10th of the season, it took a giant step forward by getting a 57-45 win vs. Eastern Washington. The win broke a four-game losing streak and was also an example of the team's improvement.
"We are slowly transforming into a unit," Margaritis said. "We did a good job of running our offensive and defensive schemes. We did a great job at both ends of the floor."
The team (3-7) got out to a strong start, taking an early 10-2 lead. Each of the first four buckets were scored by a different member of the starting lineup. As the quarter progressed, the starting five continued to work well together.
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The Highlanders finished the quarter with a 16-13 lead, going 7-for-10 from the field with all five starters scoring, including Tianna Eaton with six points.
UCR got a noticeable boost from Daphne Gnago, who made her fifth start of the season. She tallied six points in the first half and a total of 12 points (5-for-7) in the game. Throughout the game she could be seen clapping her hands in excitement and looking back at the bench with a giant smile on her face.
"She is very competitive and very determined," Margaritis said. "She puts hours and hours into playing and it is showing up."
The Highlanders went cold from the field in the second quarter, shooting 25 percent, but their defense made up for it. UCR held Eastern Washington to eight points in the quarter.
Much of that was due to Marina Ewodo, who dominated on the defensive and offensive end. She finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. She has 24 blocks on the season, which leads the Big West.
The third quarter is when UCR began to pull away. After the Eagles tied the score at 24, the team went on an 11-2 run. That nine point lead was kept in part by UCR heading to the free-throw line 12 times in the quarter.
The Highlanders shot 50 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and were able to hold the Eagles to 26.7 percent shooting, which helped secure the win.
"It was a very big game for us," Margaritis said. "We needed a win. I would have taken one on the moon. Doing this on the road is especially important."
The Highlanders' next game will be on Thursday against Weber State on the road.
