Jose Briseno – USU Eastern Assistant SID

Photo courtesy of Dallin Grant

The Utah State Eastern women’s basketball team began its season with two non-conference wins at the Snow Classic.

The first matchup of the season was against a former conference foe, College of Southern Nevada. Marlee Pieper scored eight points in the first quarter as the Eagles and Coyotes finished the period tied at 16-16. Aubrey Mulitalo’s four points in the second quarter propelled Eastern to a 27-26 lead at the half.

Eight different Eagles scored in the third quarter as the Eagles extended their lead to five, 45-40. Pieper and Addison Tanner combined for 10 points to secure Eastern’s first win of the season, 63-57.

Pieper finished the game with 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Eagles in the season opener.

Next, the Eagles squared off against Yavapai College on Saturday morning. Eastern’s defense was the star of the show, holding the Roughriders to just two points in the opening period. Marlee Pieper scored six to lead Eastern’s offense to 20 points in the first quarter. Neither team found an offensive spark in the second quarter, with 15 combined points added to the score. Eastern led Yavapai 28-10 at halftime.

Multiple Eagles found the net in the third quarter, as Eastern led 48-21 heading into the fourth quarter. To close out the game, Eastern scored 16 points in the final period, leading to a final score of 64-23. Amiah Timothy scored 12 to lead the Eagles, and Pieper nearly recorded her second double-double of the year after a 10-point, 8-rebound performance.

Next for the Eagles is a trip to Riverton, Wyoming, to take part in the Rustler Classic Tournament. Eastern will face Central Wyoming College on Friday and the Wyoming All-Stars on Saturday.