FARMINGTON, Utah (March 8, 2024) – After becoming only the third set of men’s and women’s basketball programs to claim outright Big Sky Conference regular season titles, the Eastern Washington University basketball programs have been named Commissioner’s Team of the Month.
The men claimed back-to-back regular season championships en route to earning the No. 1 seed in the tournament when they knocked off Montana on Thursday night in Cheney.
EWU is 21-10 on the season and finished 15-3 in Big Sky Conference play. They were three games clear of the next closest teams in the standings.
The path to a tournament title for the Eagles starts against either Idaho or Sacramento State, as those two square off on Saturday.
EWU head coach David Riley was named Co-Coach of the Year, sharing the award with Northern Colorado’s Steve Smiley, who navigated his Bears to the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
With the women’s victory over Sacramento State on Monday night, the Eagles claimed the regular-season title outright and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Sky Women’s Basketball Championships for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Monday night’s win was the Eagle’s 16th conference win this season, the most in program history. The Eagles also extended their win streak to 10 games heading into the postseason.
Eastern Washington’s Jamie Loera has earned the Player of the Week title for the third time this season after posting 49 points over the three conference games to close out the regular season.
Loera powered the Eagle’s offense averaging 16.33 points and 6 rebounds per game. The graduate student totaled 18 rebounds, 18 assists and 10 steals through the three games. Loera hit the game-winning shot as time expired against Montana State to help secure the regular-season title for the Eagles.
The Eagle completed her big week with a pair of blocked shots.
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Previous Team of the Month Winners
January – Northern Arizona Track & Field Program