PYLE LEADS ELYRIA GIRLS IN SEASON OPENERS

ELYRIA LADY EAGLES STUMBLE TWICE TO OPEN SEASON

By Staff

          The Elyria Christian girls’ basketball program hit the 2025/26 season running with a pair of games against schools with bigger population and a strong court presence, and fought hard but lost to Wichita Classical, 41-50,  and Moundridge, 10-54.

          In the season opener Tuesday evening against Wichita Classical, the Lady Eagles fell behind by six, 12-18, by the end of the first quarter and were down by nine, 21-30 going into the halftime break. After falling behind 26-44 at the end of the third quarter, Elyria fought back and whittled the final point deficit down to nine again at 41-50 by the end of the game.

          Joy Pyle earned a double-double by leading the team in scoring with 11 and rebounding with 10. Amelia Moody pitched in with eight points while Grace Prescott directed the offense by dishing out five assists. Haven Bower and Prescott did yeoman work in the paint helping Pyle by grabbing six and five rebounds, respectively.

          The Lady Eagles closed out the week playing the defending Class 2A state champion Lady Wildcats of Moundridge and got shut down offensively in suffering a 10-54 loss.

          After falling behind 4-11 at the end of the first quarter, Elyria could not get a score in the second period while Moundridge poured 25 points in the stat sheet, giving Elyria a huge 32-point, 4-36 halftime deficit. Only managing to score six points in the final two quarters, the Lady Eagles finished out with the final 10-54 loss.

          It will be a busy second week of the season for the Lady Eagles as they play in the Goessel Bluebird Classic Tournament where they are scheduled to play Hutchinson Central Christian on Tuesday, December 9 and Little River on Friday, December 12 before facing a yet to be determined opponent on Saturday.

          Here are head coach Greg Fields’ reflections on the two games as well as the team and individual stats and scoring.

TUESDAY, DEC. 2 – vs. Wichita Classical

Lady Eagle Head Coach Greg Fields reflections:

“It is never fun to start the season with a loss,” noted coach Greg Fields, “but I was incredibly pleased with the effort our girls played. Every time they build a lead, out girls fought back and never gave up which is my biggest takeaway from the game.”

          Reflecting on how the players did in the game, coach Fields added, “Joy (Pyle) showed that she can compete against tough competition in the paint with her double/double. Grace (Prescott) distributed the ball extremely well, and Haven (Bower) showed tremendous improvement from last season. Two freshmen, Abigail Stone and Izzy Stucky,  stepped up and played like much older athletes by providing quality minutes off the bench. Abigail (Stone) was aggressive on defense and drove the ball several times under pressure where she created offense when we were struggling to score. Izzy (Stucky) was strong around the basket getting key rebounds and providing more scoring threats in the paint.”

SCORING = Lady Eagles lost 41-50

Lady Eagles = 12-9-5-15 = 41; Wichita Classical = 18-12-14-6  = 50

TEAM STATS =

Lady Eagles = FG – 16/50; 3PTs – 1/11; FT – 8/13; AST – 9; REBS (off/def) – 18/13 = 31; Steals – 12; Blocked Shots – 2; Turnovers – 24; Fouls – 9.

Wichita Classical = FG – 22/55; 3PTS – 1/10; FT – 5/10; Assts – N/A; Rebs (off/def) – 15/15 = 30; Steals – 13; Blocked Shots – 4; Turnovers – 20; Fouls – 18.

LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS =

Scoring (41) = Joy Pyle – 11; Amelia Moody – 8; Izzy Stucky, Grace Prescott – 6; Haven Bower, Abigail Stone – 5.

3-Pointers Made (1) = Moody – 1.

Assists (9) = Prescott – 5; Moody – 2; Pyle, Bower – 1.

Rebounds (31) = Pyle – 10; Bower – 6; Prescott – 5; Moody, Stucky – 3; Kami Noggle – 2; Stone – 1.

Steals (12) = Noggle, Prescott – 3; Pule, Stone – 2; Moody, Stucky – 1.

Blocked Shots (2) = Pyle – 2.

FRIDAY, DEC. 5 – at Moundridge

Head Coach Greg Fields reflections on the game:

          “It was great to play such a quality opponent, and I am so impressed with the work that coach (Kaleigh) Huxman is doing with her girls. I was happy with the way we started the game, controlling the ball on offense and being patient for some shots. It was when they picked up their pressure that we really struggled.”

          “Joy (Pyle) ended the night with some good rebounds and was our leading scorer. Grace (Prescott) did a great job handling their defense and being aggressive trying to find shots. Haven (Bower) also got more aggressive as the game went on and was strong on the boards in the second half.”

SCORING = Lady Eagles lost 10-54

Lady Eagles = 4-0-4-2 = 10; Moundridge = 11-25-14-4 = 54

TEAM STATS =

Lady Eagles = FGs – 4/27; 3PTs – 0/4; FTs – 2/11; Assists – 2; Rebounds (off/def) – 10/13= 23; Steals – 2; Blocked Shots – 2; Turnovers – 22; Fouls – 8.

Moundridge = FGs – 23/49; 3PTs – 4/16; FTs – 4/8; Assists – 0; Rebounds (off/def) – 11/15 = 27; Steals – 10; Blocked Shots – 0; Turnovers – 8; Fouls – 10.

LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS =

Scoring = Joy Pyle – 6; Grace Prescott – 4.

3-Pointers Made = 0.

Assists (2) = Prescott, Kami Noggle – 1.

Rebounds (23) = Pyle – 8; Haven Bower – 6; Prescott – 5; Noggle – 3.

Steals (2) = Prescott – 2.

Blocked Shots = 0.

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