By Staff
ELYRIA – It was the Ryland Hawkinson show on Friday in Elyria as the Elyria Christian girls leaned on her dominating performance to gain a 23-point, 60-37 win over visiting Herington.
With the win the Lady Eagles are now 12-2 for the season as they prep to host Goessel on Tuesday.
“We were definitely challenged by Herington tonight,” noted Lady Eagle head coach Greg Fields. “They play good defense, and they have a couple of good outside shooters who can really hurt teams if they are given just a little space. We missed some assignments a couple of times, and they made some big shots.”
After Elyria gained a seven-point, 13-6 lead by the end of the first quarter, Herington powered back into the game and outscored the Lady Eagles 12-5 in the second quarter to put the game in a virtual 18-18 tie at the halftime break.
Coming out in the second half it was all Lady Eagles as they put 26 points on the board in the third quarter to take a commanding 14-point 44-30 lead going into the fourth quarter where they put up another 16 while holding Herington to just seven to earn the final 23-point victory.
Coach Fields noted the difference in halves as he continued his post-game reflections by saying, “We were not fully awake during the first half. I am not sure if the homecoming festivities were on their minds, but I did not do a good enough job of getting the team mentally prepared. We challenged them at halftime to pick up the defensive intensity and attack the basket a little more on offense. We allowed an open three at the beginning of the second half which gave them their first lead, and from that point on, I thought the girls did a much better job of consistently pressuring them into tougher shots or turnovers.”
Ryland Hawkins, a senior, had a monster night for her final career homecoming game as she poured 29 points into the scorebook to go along with leading the team in rebounds with eight, blocking six shots and tying with her sister Raegan Hawkinson for the most steals with four. Ryland even stepped outside and connected on three-of-four three-pointers.
Joining her in double digits scoring was Allie Stone who had 10.
Concluding his reflections on the game, coach Fields talked about his team by adding, “Ryland (Hawkinson) had another great game as she looked very comfortable shooting from long range in the second half and was outstanding protecting the rim. Allie (Stone) played very tough all night, and I was proud of the way she didn’t allow missed shots in the first half to affect her second half confidence as she scored all 10 of her points in the second half and was very much in control of the game. Raegan (Hawkinson) came off the bench and had a very efficient game with no turnovers and some great steals that turned into transition points for us. Grace (Prescott) also showed how special of a player she is becoming as she had a major impact as a freshman tonight.”
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES hosting Herington
SCORING: ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES > 13-5-26-16 = 60; Herington > 6-12-12-7 = 37.
TEAM STATS: LADY EAGLES > 2-FGs – 18/29; 3-PTs – 6/20; FTs – 6/11; AST – 8; REBs – 26; TO – 14; STLs – 15; BLKs – 6; FLs – 17. Herington > 2-FGs – 12/27; 3-PTs – 2/14; FTs – 7/14; AST – 0; REBs – 17; TO – 19; STLs – 3; BLKs – 0; FLs – 12.
LADY EAGLES STAT LEADERS: Scoring > Ryland Hawkinson – 29; Allie Stone – 10; Grace Prescott – 6; Raegan Hawkinson – 4; Macy Reiff – 4; Julia Allen – 3; Mina Aroum – 2; Addison Swenson – 2. 3-Pointers Made > Ry. Hawkinson – 3; Stone – 2; M. Reiff – 1. Assists > Stone – 3; Ra. Hawkinson – 2; Prescott, M. Reiff, Ad. Swenson – 1. Rebounds > Ry. Hawkinson – 8; Ra. Hawkinson – 4; Stone, M. Reiff – 3; Allen, Ad. Swenson – 2; Prescott, Aroum, Alexus Swenson, Laney Reiff – 1. Steals > Ry. Hawkinson, Ra. Hawkinson – 4; Prescott, Ad. Swenson – 3; M. Reiff – 1. Blocked Shots > Ry. Hawkinson – 6.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)