By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
GOESSEL – Poor shooting hampered the Elyria Christian girls while the Little River girls welcomed back their top player which propelled them to a hard earned 20-point, 46-26, win over Elyria on Monday in the first round of the Bluebird Classic hosted by Goessel.
In a very low scoring first quarter, the Lady Redskins took an early 7-0 lead before pulling out to a 15-point, 21-6 advantage over the Lady Eagles heading into the halftime break.
Both teams played even up with nine points coming out of the break before Little River put another five points on their winning cushion for the final 20-point, 46-26 victory.
“Little River is a very solid team,” noted Lady Eagle head coach Greg Fields in his post-game reflections. “I was disappointed in the way we started the game offensively. We had plenty of opportunities to score with many open looks, but we found ourselves with only two points with a minute left in the first half. We were able to relax in the second half while Ryland (Hawkinson) came out of halftime with some good energy and confidence.”
As a team, Elyria on shot 21% from the field while Little River connected on 61% of their attempts, helped a bunch by the Lady Redskins in the paint who also dominated the boards as Little River grabbed 32 rebounds to just 14 for the Lady Eagles.
The one weakness for the Lady Redskins on the night was ball handling as they turned the ball over 28 times.
Leading the way for Little River was the return of Lily Boughfman who missed the season opener. Boughfman scored 21 points and just missed a double-double with eight rebounds while also dishing out five assists plus making a pair of steals and blocked shots.
Aubrey Olander helped in the paint for the Lady Redskins as she reached double digits in scoring with 10 while grabbing six rebounds and making a pair of steals.
For the Lady Eagles, Ryland Hawkinson had a big game once she got going as she led the team in scoring with more than half the team points at 14 while also pulling down four rebounds, stealing the ball three times and blocking three shots.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR the LADY EAGLES AND LADY REDSKINS?
The Lady Redskins will not have any time to rest on the win as they turn around and play their second game of the Bluebird Classic on Tuesday when they tangle with host Goessel.
For the Lady Eagles, they get a few days to rest and prep for a matchup with Burrton on Friday for their next Bluebird Classic battle.
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES vs. Little River at Bluebird Classic
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
LADY EAGLES 0 6 9 11 26
LADY REDSKINS 7 14 9 16 46
TEAM STATS: LADY EAGLES LADY REDSKINS
Shooting 9/44 (21%) 20/33 (61%)
3-Pointers 1/10 (6%) 1/3 (33%)
Free Throws 7/10 (70%) 5/12 (42%)
Rebounds (Off/Def) 14 32
Assists 6 16
Turnovers 20 28
Steals 14 9
Blocked Shots 3 3
Personal Fouls 17 10
CANTON/GALVA LADY EAGLES INDIVIDUAL SCORING & STAT LEADERS:
Scoring (26 Total Points): Ryland Hawkinson – 14; Kylee Penner – 5; Allie Stone – 3; KiLynn Starburg – 2; Macy Reiff – 2.
Three-Pointers Made (1): Allie Stone – 1.
Rebound Leaders: Ryland Hawkinson, Kylee Penner – 4; Allie Stone, Alexus Swenson – 2.
Assist Leader: Six Lady Eagles had one assist.
Leader in Steals: Ryland Hawkinson – 4; KiLynn Starburg – 3.
Leader in Blocked Shots: Ryland Hawkinson – 3.
LITTLE RIVER LADY REDSKINS INDIVIDUAL SCORING & STAT LEADERS:
Scoring (46 Total Points): Lily Boughfman – 21; Aubrey Olander – 10; Raelynn Welsh – 4; Kate Ellwood – 3; Elsie Boughfman – 3; MeKenzie Renken – 3; Alaina Eck – 2.
Three-Pointers Made (1): MeKenzie Renken – 1.
Rebound Leaders: Lily Boughfman – 8; Aubrey Olander – 6; MeKenzie Renken, Ashley Stephenson – 4.
Assist Leader: Lily Boughfman – 5; Elsie Boughfman, MeKenzie Renken – 3.
Leader in Steals: Lily Boughfman, Aubrey Olander, Kate Ellwood – 2.
Leader in Blocked Shots: Lily Boughfman – 2.