By Staff

            FAIRFIELD – On Monday the Canton/Galva girls looked well rested as they jump started their play at the 2023 Fairfield Lady Falcon Invitational by throttling Goessel with a 21-point, 53-32 win.

            Now 8-5 for the season, the Lady Eagles will now play in the Invitational semi-finals against the Tuesday winner of host Fairfield and Stafford.

            Canton/Galva jumped out to an early eight-point, 13-5, lead at the end of the first quarter before outscoring Goessel 19-2 in the second quarter to take a commanding 25-point, 32-7 advantage into the halftime break. Goessel chipped six points off the lead in the third before the Lady Eagles were able to right the offense again and earn the final 21-point victory.

            “We got off to a really good start again,” pointed out Lady Eagle head coach Brad Willems. “Our defense and energy was really good, and our press seems to be getting better every game. Mainly because the girls flat work hard to get better every day and I could not be more pleased with their effort. Our defense leads to transition buckets and that is when we are at our best.”

            Trinity Espinoza continues to have a fabulous freshman season as she lead the Lady Eagles in scoring with 22 points thanks to hitting on four three-pointers. Mimi Craig also reached double digits with 10 while seven other girls filled out the scoring for the game.

            Lili Espinoza was the workhorse in the pain and on the boards as she grabbed 12 rebounds with Brecken Pearson pulling down six and Mimi Craig hauling in five as the Lady Eagles recorded 36 rebounds for the evening. Trinity Espinoza had the quick defensive hands with five steals.

            Coach Willems finished his post-game reflections by saying, “We need to continue to work on our free throws as we did not shoot them well tonight. Rebounding is something that have to take care of, no second chance shots. But other than a little let down in the third quarter, we played a good game against a good team that plays hard and is coached well. I am very happy with how the girls came out after a week off with some good energy. We have some young girls who are starting to get more and more confidence.”

CANTON/GALVA LADY EAGLES vs. Goessel at Fairfield Tournament

SCORING: LADY EAGLES > 13-19-7-14 = 53; Goessel > 5-2-13-12 = 32.

LADY EAGLE TEAM STATS > 2-FGs – 14/26; 3-PTs – 5/18; FTs – 10/23; AST – 11; REBs – 36; TO – 23; STLs – 13; BLKs – 1; FLs – 11.

LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS: Scoring > Trinity Espinoza – 22; Mimi Craig – 10; Lili Espinoza – 5; Adi Alcala – 4; Makinlee Hoppes – 4; Jayden Orth – 3; Sage Toews – 2; Brecken Pearson – 2; Emerson Hoppes – 1.  3-Pointers Made > T. Espinoza – 4; Orth – 1.  Assists > Alcala – 3; T. Espinoza, L. Espinoza, Pearson – 2.  Rebounds > L. Espinoza – 12; Pearson – 6; M. Craig – 5; T. Espinoza – 4; Orth – 3; Alcala – 2.  Steals > T. Espinoza – 5; M. Craig – 3; L. Espinoza – 2.  Blocked Shots > Pearson – 1.

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