By Staff
ELYRIA – Taking advantage of poor shooting by Elyria Christian, the Moundridge girls basketball team scored a 2022-23 season opening 41-24 victory over the Lady Eagles on the road on Friday.
The Lady Wildcats led by just one point, 13-12 at the end of the first quarter but held the Lady Eagles to zero points in the second quarter enabling them to take a 20-12 lead into the halftime break.
Putting 15 points on the board in the third quarter while holding Elyria to just a pair of points, the Lady Wildcats pushed out to a 21-point, 35-14 advantage heading into the final quarter where they finished off the final 17-point, 41-24 win.
“We had a great atmosphere at Elyria,” noted Lady Wildcat head coach Kaleigh Huxman. “There was a lot of excitement in the gym from players and fans for the first night of games. I challenged the girls to be aggressive, yet patient for a good shot. I thought they did that really well tonight.”
As for Elyria, Lady Eagle head coach Greg Fields explained, “This was a good test to start the season. Moundridge does a great job of playing disciplined defense, and they kept the pressure on us all night. I know that we were going to struggle keeping up with the pace, but I did not expect us to go as cold as we did offensively. A lot of credit goes to their lock down defense.”
While neither team shot that great with the Lady Wildcats connecting on 39% and the Lady Eagles just 30%, Moundridge did hit five three-pointers while Elyria missed on all nine attempts from beyond the arc.
For Moundridge, they were led by Kaelyn Wedel with 15 points which included hitting three three-pointers while Reese Schmidt chipped in with ten.
Lady Wildcat coach Huxman finished off her post-game thoughts by saying, “Overall, I was pleased with our efforts on defense. We were able to hold Elyria to just two points in the second and third quarters. Everyone made it on the floor tonight and eight different players put their names in the scorebook for points. I am looking forward to a very competitive week next week in our preseason tournament.
Senior Ryland Hawkinson led the Lady Eagles as she scored half of the team points with twelve while recording a double-double in pulling down ten rebounds as well.
Coach Fields concluded his reflections on the Lady Eagles season opener by adding, “Ryland (Hawkinson) was a bright spot. She got in some early foul trouble and was out of rhythm after sitting. I was pleased with the way she battled through some adversity and continued to make positive impacts on the game. There were definitely a lot of areas to be excited about the ceiling for this team. We will get back to work and prepare for next week.”
For the Lady Eagles, they are scheduled to play Burrton on Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the Goessel Bluebird Classic Tournament while the Lady Wildcats will host Lyons in the Moundridge Preseason Tournament.
MOUNDRIDGE LADY WILDCATS at ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES
SCORING: LADY WILDCATS > 13-7-15-6=41; LADY EAGLES > 12-0-2-10=24.
TEAM STATS:
Lady Wildcats: FGs – 15/38; 3-PTs – 5/15; FTs – 6/14; AST – 3; RBs – 20; FLs – 10; TO – 14; STLs – 4; BLK – 5.
Lady Eagles: FGs – 10/33; 3-PTs – 0/9; FTs – 4.11; AST – 8; RBs – 21; FLs – 13; TO – 18; STLs – 9; BLK – 2.
INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:
LADY WILDCATS: Scoring: Kaelyn Wedel – 15 pts, 3 – 3pts; Reese Schmidt – 10 pts; Addy Patrick – 4 pts; Emily Durst – 3; Hannah Schrag – 3 pts, 1 -3ptr; Cammi Unruh, Haylee Jantz, Macy Kaminkow – 2 pts. Rebounds: Wedel – 5; Kaminkow, Kindall Elmore – 3; Reese Schmidt – 3.
LADY EAGLES: Scoring: Ryland Hawkinson – 12; Macy Reiff – 5; Julia Allen – 3; Grace Prescott, Laney Reiff – 2. Rebounds: Ryland Hawkinson – 10; Julia Allen – 4. Assists: Allie Stone – 3; Alexus Swenson – 2; Steals: M. Reiff, Allen, Stone – 2. Blocked Shots: Ryland Hawkinson – 2.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)