By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
ELYRIA – The Elyria girls basketball team closed out their pre-holiday schedule on Monday and Tuesday with two solid victories over Smoky Valley Home Educators and Rural Vista.
On Monday, the Lady Eagles scored a huge second half rally to gain a final seven-point, 54-47 win over Smoky Hill Home Educators before going on the road Tuesday and earn a 15-point, 35-20 victory over previously unbeaten Rural Vista.
The two wins leave the Lady Eagles with a 3-3 record for the season as they head into the extended holiday break before returning to competitive action on Friday, January 7 with a home game against Solomon.
Summary of the two games:
MONDAY – LADY EAGLES RALLY FOR WIN
On Monday, the Elyria Christian girls fell behind early and trailed Smoky Valley Home Educators (SVHE) by two, 11-9, at the end of the first quarter before going into the halftime break with a six-point deficit at 24-18.
Coming out of the break, the Lady Eagles doubled up SVHE in scoring 14-7 for the third quarter to take back the lead by two points at 32-30, before holding off the visitors 22-16 in the final eight minutes of play to gain the final seven-point victory.
“We felt fortunate to come away with a win against a very good Smoky Valley Home Educators team,” noted Lady Eagle head coach Greg Fields. “They have really improved from when we met them last year, and I was impressed with their speed, shooting, and ability to get to the basket.”
For the game, SVHE out shot Elyria, hitting on 51% of their shots while Elyria made 37%.
Where the Lady Eagles held a decisive advantage was on the boards as they out rebounded SVHE 32-21 which included a solid 15 offensive rebounds to give the Lady Eagles many second chance point opportunities.
Ryland Hawkinson led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 17 while Kylee Penner recorded a double double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Allie Stone also reached double digits in the scorebook with 10 and KiLynn Starburg led the team in assists with three and steals with five.
Coach Fields concluded his post-game reflections by adding, “We really struggled to score some easy looks around the basket in the first half, so I felt like we played from behind for much of the game. Kylee (Penner) had a huge second half and was highly active on the boards as I was excited to see her get a double double tonight. Ryland (Hawkinson) had another nice game as she continues to be our best scoring threat right now.”
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
SV HE 11 13 7 16 47
LADY EAGLES 9 9 14 22 54
TEAM STATS: SV H.E. LADY EAGLES
Shooting 19/37 (51%) 18/48 (37%)
3-Pointers 2/2 (100%) 3/11 (27%)
Free Throws 7/16 (44%) 15/22 (68%)
Rebounds (Off/Def) 21 (8/13) 32 (15/17)
Assists 0 13
Turnovers 14 18
Steals 2 11
Blocked Shots 1 1
Personal Fouls 20 18
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES INDIVIDUAL SCORING & STAT LEADERS:
Scoring (54 Total Points): Ryland Hawkinson – 17; Kylee Penner – 12; Allie Stone – 10; Macy Reiff – 6; Julia Allen – 4; Olivia Clark – 3; Alexus Swenson – 1; KiLynn Starburg – 1.
Three-Pointers Made (3): Allie Stone – 2; Olivia Clark – 1.
Rebound Leaders: Kylee Penner – 15; Ryland Hawkinson – 6; KiLynn Starburg – 5; Alexus Swenson, Allie Stone – 2.
Assist Leader: KiLynn Starburg – 3; Kylee Penner, Macy Reiff, Ryland Hawkinson – 2.
Leader in Steals: KiLynn Starburg – 5; Kylee Penner, Allie Stone, Ryland Hawkinson – 2.
Leader in Blocked Shots: Kylee Penner – 1.
TUESDAY – LADY EAGLES BEAT UNBEATEN RURAL VISTA
In the game on Tuesday, the Lady Eagles pulled a big confidence builder by scoring a win over previously undefeated Rural Vista, winning by 15, 35-20.
After leading by four, 9-5, at the end of the first quarter, Elyria pushed out to a seven-point, 21-14 advantage as the two team took the halftime break, after which the Lady Eagles cruised in with consistent game to earn the final 15-point victory.
“It was great to get a win over a previously undefeated team,” explained Lady Eagle head coach Greg Fields. “Rural Vista has a very strong six-foot-two post that is difficult to keep out of the paint, but I thought our girls did an excellent job most of the night denying her the ball, though when she did get it – she was dominate.”
Despite the disadvantage in height, Elyria only trailed Rural Vista 28-21 in rebounds while both teams struggled hanging on the to ball with Elyria making 16 turnovers and Rural Vista losing 15.
For the second night in a row, Ryland Hawkinson led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 16 points, giving her 33 points in the final two games before the break.
Kylee Penner and Alexus Swenson each just missed double digits with nine points each which included Swenson making three three-pointers.
Coach Fields concluded his post-game reflections by saying, “Alexus (Swenson) looked a lot more relaxed and hit some big three’s for us while she also had a nice night protecting the ball and playing solid defense. Ryland (Hawkinson) was big for us again offensively as she was not intimidated by their big on the inside and did a fantastic job causing disruption as the top of our 1-3-1 defense. This was a big confidence booster for us after a shaky start to the season. Right now, our girls just need to believe what they are capable of on a consistent basis.”
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
LADY EAGLES 9 12 7 7 35
Rural Vista 5 9 3 3 20
TEAM STATS: LADY EAGLES Rural Vista
Shooting 14/41 (34%) 8/26 (31%)
3-Pointers 3/15 (20%) 0/8 (0%)
Free Throws 4/11 (36%) 4/16 (25%)
Rebounds (Off/Def) 21 (6/15) 28 (8/20)
Assists 8 0
Turnovers 16 15
Steals 11 0
Blocked Shots 0 1
Personal Fouls 16 10
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES INDIVIDUAL SCORING & STAT LEADERS:
Scoring (35 Total Points): Ryland Hawkinson – 16; Kylee Penner – 9; Alexus Swenson – 9; KiLynn Starburg – 1.
Three-Pointers Made (3): Alexus Swenson – 3.
Rebound Leaders: Kylee Penner, Julia Allen – 5; Ryland Hawkinson – 3; KiLynn Starburg, Allie Stone, Olivia Clark – 2.
Assist Leader: Alexus Swenson, Kylee Penner – 2.
Leader in Steals: Alexus Swenson, KiLynn Starburg – 3; Allie Stone – 2.
Leader in Blocked Shots: None.