By Staff

            GOESSEL – Elyria Christian girls ran out ahead early and never looked back on Tuesday as they out distanced Burrton at the Bluebird Classic in Goessel, winning 47-20.

            “We had a good start to the Goessel tournament against Burrton,” said Lady Eagle head coach Greg Fields. “Our girls made good decisions on shot selections and it really helped our shooting percentage. I thought we came out a little too relaxed on defense in the first half, but we did a better job throughout the game.”

            Elyria raced out to a 12-point, 17-9 lead by the end of the first quarter before extending the lead to 23 points at 36-13 as the two teams headed to the halftime break.

            In the final two quarters, the Lady Eagles held Burrton to just seven points total while they cruised in for the final 27-point, 47-20 victory.

            For the game, the Lady Eagles shot 47.5% overall from the field that included hitting on 45% of their attempts beyond the three-point line.

            Ryland Hawkinson led the team in both scoring with 13 points and rebounding by grabbing six. Allie Stone hit on four three-pointers and finished with 12 points total while Addison Swenson came off the bench and just missed double figures with nine and her sister Alexus finished with six.

            Coach Fields continued with his post-game reflections by saying, “Alexus (Swenson) started shooting the ball with a lot of confidence to open things up for us and Addison (Swenson) came off the bench in the second quarter and made three three-pointers in a row in a span of like two minutes. It was really great to see a young player shoot with a lot of confidence early in the season. Allie (Stone) played with a lot of toughness and really shot the ball well and Ryland (Hawkinson) was a strong presence inside again.”

            With the victory, the Lady Eagles will now prep to play top ranked Little River in their second game of the Bluebird Classic on Friday.

            Taking a moment to reflect on the game ahead, Coach Fields added, “We will have a tough test on Friday as we face Little River in the second round. It will be fun to have the opportunity to match up against the number one team in the state.”

ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES vs. Burrton at Bluebird Classic

SCORING: Burrton 7-6-4-3=20; ELYRIA LADY EAGLES 19-17-7-4=47.

ELYRIA LADY EAGLES TEAM STATS: FGs – 19/40; 3-PTs – 9/20; FTs – 2/6; AST – 16; REBs – 20; FLs – 12; TO – 11’ STLs – 9; BLKs – 1.

ELYRIA LADY EAGLES INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring: Ryland Hawkinson – 13; Allie Stone – 12; Addison Swenson – 9; Alexus Swenson – 6; Grace Prescott – 4; Macy Reiff – 2; Julia Allen – 1.

3-Pointers Made: Stone – 4; Addison Swenson – 3; Alexus Swenson – 2.

Assists: Allen – 6; Addison Swenson, Stone – 4.

Rebounds: Ryland Hawkinson – 6; Stone – 3; Prescott, M. Reiff, Allen, Mina Aroum – 2; Reagan Hawkinson – 1.

Steals: Ryland Hawkinson, Stone, Allen – 2.

Blocked Shots: Ryland Hawkinson – 1.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)