LADY EAGLES GO 1-2 AT BLUEBIRD CLASSIC

NOW 2-2 FOR SEASON

(Enjoy the free writes in December, we return to subscription status after Christmas - my staff and I have to live and  pay expenses, at $2.50/month, it is a good deal!)

By Staff

          The Canton/Galva girls’ basketball program went up against a pair of powerhouse teams and lost at the Goessel Bluebird Classic Tournament last week while getting a win in between.

          Losing 26-55 to second-ranked Linn in the first game, the Lady Eagles bounced back and scored a decisive 53-36 victory over host Goessel in game two on Tuesday before losing a heartbreaker in overtime, 46-53, to Hutchinson Central Christian on Saturday in game three.

          Next up for the Lady Eagles will be Tuesday at Marion before hosting Centre on Friday just before the holiday break.

          Here is a summary and some stats for each game:

MONDAY, DEC. 8 – vs. Linn at Goessel Bluebird Classic

          On the opening night of the Bluebird Classic the Lady Eagles faced Linn, the second-ranked team in the state, and lost 26-55.

Only trailing by one, 6-7, at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Eagles stumbled in the second quarter and only scored three points while Linn put up 16, putting Canton/Galva in the hole 9-23 at the halftime break. Linn added 26 points to their total in the third, pushing the Lady Eagle deficit to 19-49 before finishing with the final 29-point loss.

Head coach David Ediger pointed out, “while we played well in the first quarter, the middle two quarters we did not play as well. Linn is a very physical team, especially with their perimeter defense and we did not respond well to that. They also made a ton of offensive rebounds and took advantage of our bunches of turnovers, which is a bad combination against the second-ranked team in the state.”

          No Lady Eagle reached double digits in scoring as Malia Hoppes scored nine and both Trinity Espinoza and Faith McMannis hit for eight.

          Concluding his post-game reflections, coach Ediger said, “We will play them again later in the season and will learn from this game.”

SCORING: Lady Eagles lost 26-55.

Lady Eagles = 6-3-10-7 = 26; Linn = 7-16-26-6 = 55.

TEAM STATS:

Lady Eagles = 2FGs – 7; 3PTs – 2; FTs – 6/16.

Linn = 2FGs – 12; 3PTs – 5; FTs – 16/22.

LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring (26) = Malia Hoppes – 9; Trinity Espinoza, Faith McMannis – 8; Emerson Hoppes – 1; Charlee Moddelmog, Brynn Kruse, Jordyn Elliot, MaKinlee Hoppes – 0.

3-Pointers Made (2) = Mal. Hoppes, McMannis – 1.

TUESDAY, DEC. 9 – vs. Goessel at Goessel Bluebird Classic

          In game two at the Bluebird Classic, the Lady Eagles scored a decisive 17-point, 53-36 victory over Goessel.

          After jumping out to an eight-point, 14-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, Canton/Galva’s intensity helped push the lead to a 16-point, 29-13, advantage at halftime. Leading by 22 at the end of the third, Goessel tried to make a comeback, but the Lady Eagles held on for the final 17-point win.

          According to coach Ediger, “The girls started with a lot of intensity and built on that. We managed to keep the momentum going in the third quarter as we expanded our lead to 22.”   

          Trinity Espinoza led the Lady Eagle offense with 21 points while Malia Hoppes pitched in with 14 thanks to making three three-pointers.

          “Our efforts on the offensive boards was outstanding,” continued Ediger. “That gave us several second and third chance shots while we also kept our turnovers down.”

SCORING: Lady Eagles won 53-36

Lady Eagles = 14-15-13-11 = 53; Goessel = 6-7-7-16 = 36.

TEAM STATS:

Lady Eagles = 2FGS = 14; 3PTs = 5; FTs – 10/21

Goessel = FGs = 7; 3PTs = 6; FTs = 4/13

LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring (53) = Trinity Espinoza – 21; Malia Hoppes – 14; Faith McMannis – 8; Jordyn Elliot – 5; MaKinlee Hoppes – 4; Emerson Hoppes – 1; Aaliyah Skipworth, Brynn Kruse - 0.

3-Pointers Made (5) = Mal. Hoppes – 3; McMannis, Elliot – 1.

Saturday, Dec. 13 – vs. Hutchinson Central Christian at Goessel Bluebird Classic

          In the final game of the tournament, the Lady Eagles came from behind in the fourth quarter only to lose by seven in overtime, 46-53 to Hutchinson Central Christian.

          Canton/Galva led by five, 15-10 at the end of the first quarter and still held a slim, two-point, 20-18 advantage heading into the halftime break. The Lady Cougars edged ahead by three, 29-32 after three quarters when the Lady Eagles tied the game late in the fourth to send it to overtime where they lost by seven.

          “We knew coming into the game  that if we played well, we would have a chance to win and if we did not – we would not, as both teams were pretty evenly matched across the board,” pointed out coach Ediger.

          The difference in the game came at the free throw line where Central Christian had 26 more attempts and 16 more ;points than the Lady Eagles.

          Trinity Espinoza led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 18, Malia Hoppes scored 14 and Faith McMannis just missed double digits with nine.

          “We did a lot of good things tonight and learned a lot about ourselves,” noted Ediger as he continued his reflections on the overtime loss. “One thing we need to work on is guarding without fouling. It is hard to overcome when you shoot 36 fewer free throws than your opponent. We got a lot of open looks and missed shots that we usually make. It was just one of those days, though we did show a lot of heart and determination to fight back and get it into overtime.”

          Coach Ediger concluded his reflections on the game by saying, “We are currently 2-2 with both losses to ranked teams. What we have done is proved we can play with both of them. We are ahead of last season, but not where we want to be yet. The girls are working hard and are looking forward to two more games before the holiday break.”

SCORING: Lady Eagles lost 46-53 in overtime.

Lady Eagles = 15-5-9-13-4 = 46; Central Christian = 10-8-14-10-11 = 53.

TEAM STATS:

Lady Eagles = 2FGs – 12; 3PTs – 5; FTs – 7/11.

Central Christian = 2FGs – 12; 3PTs – 2; FTs 23/37.

LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring (46) = Trinity Espinoza – 18; Malia Hoppes – 14; Faith McMannis – 9; Emerson Hoppes – 5; Makinlee Hoppes, Jordyn Elliot, Brynn Kruse – 0.

3-Pointers Made (5) = Espinoza – 2; Em. Hoppes, Mal. Hoppes, McMannis – 1.

Overall Record:  2-2, League Record:  0-0                                                   

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