July 26, 2024

Women’s basketball rolling at home

With a 1-4 record, USU Eastern women made a three-day road trip to Casper, Wyo. The Eagles played three games, in three days, against three different teams.

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This archived article was written by: Hayden Peterson

With a 1-4 record, USU Eastern women made a three-day road trip to Casper, Wyo. The Eagles played three games, in three days, against three different teams.
Day one the Eagles were matched up with NJC Plainswomen. The first half the Eagles struggled to find the hoop, shooting only 6-32 from the field, and 1-9 from the three-point line. At the half,the Eagles were trailing 17 to 33. The second half was a completely different story for the Eagles as they came out and scored 36-second-half points. Lerissa Quintana lead all scorers with 21 points, Amy Arbon helped by adding 13 points as she went 3-3 from the three-point line. The second half effort made the game close, but the Eagles would eventually fall, losing the game 59-53.
The following day the Eagles struggled once again trying to find the basket in the first half as they managed only 16 points, but their defense held the College of Casper to only 17 points. The second half was a story of making jump shots, both teams shot 35 shots, the T-Birds made 14, while the Eagles made only eight. The lack of scoring would eventually lead to the Eagles second loss in Wyoming as the Casper T-birds would hold on to win 53-42.
On day three of the long road trip, the Eagles were matched up with the Wyoming All-Stars. Although the Eagles would play their best offensive first half, they found themselves trailing 32-20 at the half as the Wyoming All-Stars shot 46 percent from the field and 35 percent from the three-point line. The second half began with both teams shooting high percentages from the field, however the hot shooting wouldn’t prove to be enough as the All-Stars would go on to score 48 points in the second half, eventually running away with the game. The final score was 80-57. A few positives were to be taken from the game as the Eagles distributed the scoring evenly as six players on the team scored more than five points and 13 players scored in the game.
After going 0-3 on their road trip to Wyoming, the Eagles came home, regrouped and traveled to Taylorsville, Utah, for a two-game road trip. On Nov. 23 the Eagles played Northwest College and from the tip, the Eagles were bound to get that road win that had eluded them in Wyoming. The Eagles would get a huge lift from their point guard Hailee Parry as she would shoot 7-10 from the field, and 2-2 from the free throw line for 16 points. The Eagles also got a boost on the scoring line from their bench as Tandy Thackery and Isabela Costa came in and both added 12 points in their 20 minutes. The Eagles built up a lead and never gave it back as they went on to win 68-58.
The second day of the double header, the Eagles found themselves in a nail biter with Lamar Community College, who is currently 9-1. At the end of the first half, the Eagles had a four-point lead. Both teams shot  right at 35 percent from the field, the only difference was a three and a free throw. The second half stayed close the entire way up to the last seconds of the game. 
 Coach Dave Paur said, we were leading the entire game and lost it in the last 20 seconds. Free throws have hurt us all year, we shot 32 free throws and only made 15. Lamar shot 31, but made 21, that right there is the difference of getting the W or taking the loss. 
 In the second half, the Eagles free throws were the difference, shooting only 4-12,  leaving them with only 70 points as Lamar came from behind to win the one-point thriller. Abby Call came off the bench and played solid basketball for the Eagles in her 13 minutes, recording 10 points, three rebounds and one steal.
The Eagles returned home for the first time in over three weeks to play on Dec. 1, in front of hometown fans. The Eagles came out firing. It was made clear in the first 10 minutes that the lady Eagles had made a change in their game plan and that change was to shoot the ball as much as possible, limiting turnovers and increasing their odds to score. The strategy would benefit the Eagles in this game as they came out and scored 37 points in the first half. Hailee Parry once again led the Eagles with her terrific play at the point guard position. She contributed by scoring 17 points, getting six assists and five steals. The Eagles would take their 15-point halftime lead and coast to the finish line picking up the win, 68-56. 
The lady Eagles are in action again this weekend at Snow College and their next home game is against CSI on Dec. 13.