Eastern Washington women ready to take next step with four returning starters

Oct. 29—Kourtney Grossman was still a recruit, not a roster member, when the Eastern Washington women's basketball team went to the NCAA Tournament in 2024.But she recognizes that she has benefited from what trickled down from that year's Eagles team."It was definitely the culture that they left," she said. "They had a culture of accountability. It was fun to see how that works inside and out, and knowing that even though we're different players, it's the same system."Grossman is now in her third year in that system under sixth-year EWU head coach Joddie Gleason. Picked by the media and coaches to finish fourth this season in the 11-team Big Sky Conference, the Eagles are looking for their first winning season since that 2023-24 tournament team.With four returning starters from last year's squad that went 15-18 overall and 7-11 in Big Sky play, the Eagles are confident they will take the next step forward as a program."We're approaching (this season) with quite a bit of fire, knowing we have a lot of people returning," Grossman said. "Every team is optimistic, but for us, focusing on what we can do for the team is a big emphasis."Grossman's most notable contribution has been in rebounding. She had 415 last year, a Big Sky single-season record and the most by an Eagles player since 1979, when Maria Loos grabbed a program-record 422.Along with Grossman, the Eagles return four of their top five scorers, led by sophomore Elyn Bowers, who averaged 14.8 points last season. Junior Jaecy Eggers (11.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and redshirt junior Caitie Gingras (4.6 ppg, 30% on 3s) are all expected back as starters.The Eagles also return junior Emily McElmurry and Madeline Gibbs, two rotation players a year ago who should see increased roles."We lost a good core group of seniors last year: four who were here for four years, and that's unique in this day in age," Gleason said. "But it's exciting to see (this group's) leadership. It's cool to see the reins get handed over to them. Now it's their program and they can put their stamp on it."