By: Loren Miller, USU Eastern Sports Information

PRICE – Utah State Eastern women’s basketball defeated the Northwest College Trappers 74-60 on Saturday in Ephraim.

After a double-digit win on Friday over Western Wyoming, the Eagles looked to be in for a good one after the first quarter against Northwest.

Both teams played scrappy and went after the ball hard on each possession in the first quarter which led to the score being 12-10 at the end.

“It was super tight in the first half. We just have to settle down and run our sets and play our defense because we didn’t do that in the first half,” said USU Eastern’s Abby Butler.

In the second quarter it was more of the same but the Eagles would end up leading at halftime 25-23 with Butler leading the way.

Butler scored eight points in the first half while grabbing two rebounds. She would finish the game with 15 points and four rebounds while shooting 85.7 percent from the field.

“Abby made the right reads and finished at the basket.  She is a great leader for us on the floor,” said USU Eastern Head Coach Chelsey Warburton.

After the half, the Eagles offense exploded and opened the third quarter on a 14-5 run led by Emmery Wagstaff’s two three-pointers.

Wagstaff would go on to be the leading scorer for USU Eastern by finishing with 18 points.

“Emmery played well on both ends.  She has the ability to score in several ways which she showed today,” said Warburton.

The Eagles would continue to hold the momentum of the game and hold a double-digit lead throughout the second half.

A big part of their win on Saturday was the free throw shooting.

The Eagles made 20 out of 25 free throw attempts which put them at 80 percent for the game.

“Free throw shooting was huge for us and it changed the game for both teams. It helped us put the game away,” said Butler.

The Eagles will now have a full week to prepare for two more games at home next weekend.

“We are happy with our performance this weekend as a team.  One thing we will focus on this week is our transition defense,” said Warburton.

They will take on Central Wyoming on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and then turn around the next day to play Eastern Arizona at 4 p.m.

Both games will be broadcasted on the Scenic West Digital Network and on USU Eastern YouTube channel.

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