CANTON/GALVA LADY EAGLE BASKETBALL

LADY EAGLES WIN 3 IN 4 DAYS

By Staff

            CANTON – The Canton/Galva girls are finishing out the 2024/25 regular season with a flourish, playing three games in four days and four games in seven, beginning with a loss to top-ranked Little River before closing out with wins over Rural Vista, Centre, and Lincoln.

            With the three wins, the Lady Eagles are now 10-9 for the season as they look to finish the regular season schedule on Thursday, February 20 hosting Central Plains, the fifth-ranked team in Class 1A Division I.

            Beginning on Tuesday, February 11, the Lady Eagles entertained the top-ranked Little River Lady Redskins where they ran into a buzz saw while being handed a decisive 34-point, 19-53 loss.

            The Canton/Galva offense never got untracked and trailed 4-33 at halftime. Leading scorers for the Lady Eagles were Trinity Espinoza and Rae Hawkinson as each scored six points.

            Bouncing back from the Little River game, the Lady Eagles went on the road Friday and  scored a commanding whistle to whistle, 62-38, win over Rural Vista.

            Taking a seven-point, 20-13, lead at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Eagles pushed the lead to 12, 34-22, by the halftime break before extending the advantage to 17, 47-30, after three and then gaining the final 24-point, 62-38 win.

            “I was very pleased with how we started,” noted Lady Eagle head coach David Ediger. “Sometimes when you win a lopsided game earlier in the season, then play them again, you do not come focused and ready to play. That was not the case as the girls did a great job of being ready to play from the start.”

            Trinity Espinoza exploded for a game high 27 points while Rae Hawkinson scored 14 and Faith McMannis just missed double digits with nine.

            Coach Ediger finished his thoughts on the game with Rural Vista by saying, “We were consistent all night, outscoring them each quarter. It was a good team effort. It was also good to have a full squad again with Brynn (Kruse) returning and Trinity (Espinoza) had her best game of the season. Emerson (Hoppes) did a good job around the basket which helped the offense.”

            Hosting Centre on Saturday in a make-up game, the Lady Eagles scored another impressive win, 58-39.

            “We started fast and never looked back, controlling the game from start to finish,” explained coach Ediger.

            Canton/Galva sprinted out to a 14-point, 22-8, advantage by the end of the first quarter and took a commanding 20-point, 38-18, lead into the halftime break. After Centre chipped a few points off the lead by the end of the third quarter (46-30), the Lady Eagles closed out the game for the final 19-point, 58-39 victory.

            Trinity Espinoza led all scorers with 21 points and Faith McMannis hit four three-pointers in scoring 16. Malia Hoppes, filling in for Rae Hawkinson who was unavailable for the game, also connected on four three pointers in scoring 15.With Espinoza hitting on three three-pointers, the Lady Eagles made 12 in the game overall.

            Coach Ediger concluded his reflections on the Saturday win by adding, “We needed someone to step up with Rae (Hawkinson) gone and Malia (Hoppes) filled that hole with her best game of  the season, hitting three of her four three-pointers in the first quarter. With the win being  our second in a row, we are trying to build momentum for post-season play. If we can cut down on silly fouls and do better on the boards, we will be tough to beat. I like where we are headed.”

            Playing their third game in four days when they took to the court against Lincoln on Monday, the coaches were concerned about the team being focused. Guess what, they were as they once they got rolling, they ran out to a 24-point, 52-28, victory.

            “We scored over 50 points for the third straight game while shooting the ball with more consistency,” noted coach Ediger. “We now have made 25 three-pointers in those three games with several  players giving the boost to the offense.”

            Leading by just six, 14-8, at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Eagles pushed to an advantage to 14 points, 26-12, heading to the halftime break before outscoring Lincoln 26-16 in the final two quarters to get the final 24-point win.

            Trinity Espinoza continued to be on a roll with a game high 24 points while Rae Hawkinson returned to the lineup and scored 10.

            Finishing his reflections on the game, coach Ediger said, “We have worked on a variety of defenses lately, making us more versatile on that end of the floor. The girls are working hard at picking everything up and I think that will make us even better come playoff time.”

LADY EAGLES hosting Little River, Tuesday, February 11

SCORING = Lady Eagles lost 19-53.

Lady Eagles = 2-2-6-9 = 19; Little River = 18-15-14-6 = 53.

LADY EAGLE TEAM STATS = 2fgs – 4/11; 3pts – 1/10; fts – 8/11; asst – 4; rbs – 16; stls  - 7; blks – 0; to – 27; fls – 10.

LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS =

Scoring (19) = Rae Hawkinson, Trinity Espinoza – 6; Malia Hoppes – 3; Faith McMannis, MaKinlee  Hoppes – 2.

3-Pointers Made (1) = Mal. Hoppes – 1.

Assists (4) = MaK. Hoppes – 2; Mal. Hoppes, McMannis – 1.

Rebounds (16) = Hawkinson – 5; MaK. Hoppes – 3; McMannis, Espinoza – 2; Mal. Hoppes, Jordyn Elliott, Emerson Hoppes – 1.

Steals (7) = Hawkinson, Espinoza – 3; McMannis – 1.

LADY EAGLES at Rural Vista, Friday, February 14 

SCORING = Lady Eagles won 62-38

Lady Eagles = 20-14-13-15 = 62; Rural Vista = 13-9-8-8 = 38.

LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL SCORING = Trinity Espinoza – 27; Rae Hawkinson – 14; Faith McMannis – 9; Emerson Hoppes – 7; Malia Hoppes – 4; Brynn Kruse – 1. 3-Pointers Made (5) = Espinoza, Hawkinson – 2; McMannis – 1.

LADY EAGLES vs. Centre, Saturday, February 15 (makeup game)

SCORING = Lady Eagles won 58-39.

Lady Eagles = 22-16-8-12 = 58; Centre = 8-10-12-9 = 39.

LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL SCORING = Trinity Espinoza – 21; Faith McMannis – 16; Malia Hoppes – 15; MaKinlee Hoppes – 5; Emerson Hoppes – 1. 3-Pointers Made (12) = Mal. Hoppes, McMannis – 4; Espinoza – 3; MaK. Hoppes – 1.

LADY EAGLES hosting Lincoln, Monday, February 17

SCORING = Lady Eagles won 52-28

Lady Eagles = 14-12-17-9 = 52; Lincoln = 8-4-12-4 = 28.

LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL SCORING = Trinity Espinoza – 24; Rae Hawkinson – 10; Jordyn Elliott – 6; Emerson Hoppes – 4; Faith McMannis, Malia Hoppes – 3; MaKinlee Hoppes – 2. 3-Pointers Made (8) = Espinoza – 3; Hawkinson, Elliott – 2; Mal. Hoppes – 1.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at macks.people.places@gmail.com)