Photo courtesy of Dallin Grant

The lead swapped hands 13 times as the USU Eastern Lady Eagles suffered a slim 63-60 loss to the No. 13 ranked College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles in a Scenic West Athletic Conference showdown Thursday night at the BDAC in Price.

Locked in a 36-36 tie at the end of the first half, the final two quarters brought even more drama as the Lady Eagles entered the fourth quarter holding a one-point advantage. CSI ended the game on a 17-13 run to secure the three-point win on the road.

Ellie Esplin posted 14 points as she shot an efficient 6-of-10 from the field to lead USU Eastern. Addasyn Scrivner chipped in with 12 points and Aly Coombs led the second unit with 10.

The two teams shared nearly identical statistics in the closely contested matchup. CSI garnered a slight advantage from the three-point line, cashing in on 6-of-14 attempts, while the Lady Eagles ended 5-of-19. CSI also finished with an advantage at the foul line, attempting 12 shots to USU Eastern’s six.

Kennedy Gillette powered CSI with an 18-point performance to lead all scorers. Macie Brown also reached double figures as she poured in 10 points, playing all 40 minutes of action.

Tempo favored the Lady Eagles early as they opened a 13-point lead in the first quarter. CSI’s largest advantage came in the closing minute, holding a six-point lead.

Thursday’s loss drops USU Eastern to 10-8 overall on the season and 2-2 in conference play. The .500 mark in league action sets the stage for an important tilt on Saturday with North Idaho College in Price at 1:00 pm.

The two teams will enter with identical conference records, sharing third place within the division. Both are on similar trajectories, defeating Colorado Northwestern and Snow College while falling to Salt Lake and CSI.