Women’s b-ball falls to rival Badgers

On February 3, the Eagles hosted the College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles at home. USUE jumped ahead in the first quarter, scoring 21 points to CSI’s 15. The ladies fell short in the second quarter, allowing the Golden Eagles to jump into the lead 39-33 by the half. As the game progressed, the Eagles slowly increased their points. In the fourth quarter, Brooklyn Barrus put up 13 points for USUE to help tie the game. Barrus was fouled before the buzzer sounded, then took her two shots. The rest fell to tie the game, but the second bounced off the rim to send the game into overtime. During overtime, the ladies fell behind by four points, but managed to scratch and claw their way to victory. Rashel Blazzard scored nine points and secured the win at the end of the game with four made free- throw points. Kaitlin Toluono, who had missed two games due to injuries, was a key player in the match against CSI. She led the team in scoring with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Alyssa Crumley also shined with 16 points, nine rebounds and a steal. Next, Snow College traveled to Utah State University Eastern to face off against the Eagles on Fan Appreciation Night. The game kicked off with Snow taking a 20-9 lead. In the third and fourth quarters, the Eagles could not close the gap and Snow kept them at arm’s reach. Coach Chelsey Warburton explained how the shots just would not fall for her offensive team. “Snow has been playing well and is a good team. I feel like we beat ourselves a lot of the time with errors and when we force the offense,” she said. Their offense finally clicked in the fourth, when the team pulled together and began to drain shots. USUE put up nine more points than the Badgers, as they fought for the W. Their effort didn’t pan out however, as time ran out and the final buzzer sounded and the Eagles fell short 65-61. Toluono led the game with 20 points and Madison Loftus grabbed nine defensive rebounds. On February 10, USUE traveled to CSI to take on the Golden Eagles once again. As was the case the last time they met, the Eagles struggled in the beginning as CSI came out strong in the first half. During the first quarter, CSI blazed by the Eagles, heading into the second leading 18-11. The first half offense for the girls was slim, only shooting 11.1% from three-point range and had many turnovers. Abby Butler commented on how the team dug a hole for themselves in the first quarter. “The last couple of games we start[ed] out super slow, and that’s what kills us. But by the end of the game we started playing our game, and that’s why we came back. We just need to start out strong and play the whole 40 minutes,” she explained. The Eagles buckled down in the nal half, led during both quarters, but still lost 76-72. Crumley in points, putting up 21 and Toluono posted 16 points and eight rebounds. Blazzard was also key, despite the loss, with 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds. USUE has three games left in SWAC play, with their last home game on Feb.22 against the CNCC Spartans.