FRIDAY, FEB 17 at Marion
Giving a voice to the smaller area schools of McPherson County and the Athletes they have….Our goal is to give them all some media love!!
Getting you all the info and stats for the Elyria Christian Eagle boys and Lady Eagles basketball games from Friday, February 17 on the road at Marion.
Next Up – State Regionals for Class 1A Division I
STRONG SECOND HALF
LIFTS ELYRIA GIRLS
TO 14-POINT WIN
By Staff
MARION – After trailing in the first half, the Elyria Christian girls turned up the offense in the final two quarters to score a come from behind, 14-point, 43-29 road win over Marion.
With the win the Lady Eagles finish the 2022-23 regular season with a mark of 16-4 as they now look to be a possible number one seed at the Goessel Sub-State that will include Canton/Galva, Goessel, Lincoln, Rural Vista, Solomon, and Sylvan/Lucas. The sub-state begins on Thursday, February 23.
“This has been a very long and tiring ten days for our girls,” explained Lady Eagle head coach Greg Fields. They have come through a gauntlet of tough games with a weekend team trip in the middle of it just to make sure they were all exhausted.”
Fields, who had been out-of-town earlier in the week, thanked assistant coach Sarah Swenson for stepping in and noted that she did a great job preparing the girls for the Marion game. He also acknowledged the help from former Lady Eagle coach Ben Starburg who also stepped in this week.
Despite scoring 14 first half points, Elyria trailed by four, 18-14, at the halftime break due to Marion going on an 18-0 run between the two quarters.
Coming out of the intermission, the Lady Eagles put 18 points on the board while holding Marion to just eight, giving Elyria a six-point, 32-26 advantage heading into the final quarter of play where they extended their lead out to the final 14-point victory.
Coach Fields talked about the game a bit by saying, “Marion has been playing some good basketball and they came ready to play tonight. They really moved the ball quickly and exposed our defense whenever we had a missed assignment. We had a slight lead early before they went on an 18-0 run. We fought back a little in the second quarter and then finally hit shots in the third quarter to go on our own run. Our defensive pressure intensified significantly in the second half to help get the lead back.”
On spot that Elyria dominated was in the paint as the Lady Eagles had a huge advantage working the boards, out rebounding Marion 34-19.
Individually, only four Lady Eagles put points on board led by Ryland Hawkinson with 17 while both Alexus Swenson and Allie Stone scored 10. Alexus connected on three three-pointers while Allie Stone and Macy Reiff each had a pair.
Ryland Hawkinson recorded another double-double by also pulling down a team leading 10 rebounds. Allie Stone just missed a double-double of her own as she gathered in nine rebounds. Julia Allen may not have scored, but she topped the Lady Eagle defense with five steals and a blocked shot.
Concluding his post-game reflections, Fields said, “Our bench really helped give us some depth tonight, and they allowed our starters to get more comfortable after a slow start. Alexus (Swenson) had a great night shooting while Macy (Reiff) also shot with a lot of confidence from the outside which is not always her role, so it was really nice to see her take good shots at the right times and connect on them. Allie (Stone) and Ryland (Hawkinson) were consistent in their leadership on both ends of the court tonight as well. It was great to see three of our seniors score in double digits. The girls secured the number one seed in sub-state so we are looking forward to having a bye and catch our breath a little to prepare for a very competitive post season.”
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES at Marion
SCORING: LADY EAGLES > 8-6-18-11 = 43; Marion > 9-9-8-3 = 29.
TEAM STATS: LADY EAGLES > 2-FGs – 8/23; 3-PTs – 7/17; FTs – 6/12; AST – 12; REBs – 34; TO – 16; STLs – 13; BLKs – 2; FLs – 13. Marion > 2-FGs – 9/17; 3-PTs – 3/18; FTs – 2/9; AST – n/a; REBs – 19; T0 – 20; STLs – 8; BLKs – 1; FLs – 11.
LADY EAGLE INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS: Scoring > Ryland Hawkinson – 17; Alexus Swenson – 10; Allie Stone – 10; Macy Reiff – 6. 3-Pointers Made > Al. Swenson – 3; Stone, Reiff – 2. Assists > Julia Allen – 3; Ry. Hawkinson, Stone, Addison Swenson – 2; Al. Swenson, Raegan Hawkinson, Grace Prescott – 1. Rebounds > Ry. Hawkinson – 10; Stone – 9; Allen – 4; M. Reiff, Prescott – 3; Ad. Swenson – 2; Ra. Hawkinson, Laney Reiff – 1. Steals > Allen – 5; Ry. Hawkinson – 3; Al. Swenson, M. Reiff – 2; Stone – 1. Blocked Shots > Ry. Hawkinson, Allen – 1.
(The Staff covering events for the MAC AREA SPORTS NEW can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)
ELYRIA BOYS
CRUSH MARION
BY 26
By Staff
MARION – On Friday, the Elyria Christian boys cranked up the offense in the final three quarters to pull away a earn a lopsided road win, 62-36, over Marion.
Currently ranked seventh in Class 1A Division I, the win gives the Eagles a 16-3 record for the season as they now prep for sub-state play in Goessel. According to the brackets, Elyria is the top seed and will have a bye next week before facing the winner of a matchup between Solomon (11-9) and Goessel (9-10) on Friday, March 3. Other teams in the sub-state are Canton/Galva, Rural Vista, Sylvan/Lucas, and Lincoln.
“I believe we were able to learn a lot about ourselves the last eight days with four contests against quality and well-coached opponents,” said Eagle head coach Zach Goodrich. “It was a tough stretch and to end at Marion against a physical team was going to test us physically and mentally.”
After leading by just two, 6-4, at the end of the first quarter, the Eagles pushed out to an 11-point, 20-9, lead as the two teams broke for the halftime break. After extending the lead to 22 and doubling up Marion 44-22 by the end of the third quarter, the Eagles cruised in for the final 26-point victory.
Coach Goodrich remarked on the game some more by saying, “We were not as sharp as I would have liked, and that could have been the lack of practice time between games or still recovering from the three consecutive games. The joy and highlight for me about the game is we finished with 22 assists on 25 made field goals, and that is a testament of the team knowing there is only one way for us to be really good and that is sharing the ball. If we do that, we will give ourselves an opportunity to be in the game.”
Individually, Ty Romero and Alex Robertson led the Eagles in scoring with 19 and 18 points, respectively as Robertson connected on six three-pointers and Romero hit on three. Silas Redenbaugh also had a strong game and reached double figures in the score column as well with 13. While Johnny Unruh may have only scored on one made three-pointer, he directed much of the offense and dished out a team high 10 assists plus topping the team in steals on defense with four. Landon Schneider led the work in the paint with six rebounds while both Redenbaugh and Blake Robertson grabbed four each.
Speaking of his players, coach Goodrich concluded his post-game reflections by adding, “Fortunately for us, Alex (Robertson) was able to get some shots to fall and that is a good sign for us leading into sub-state as he has the ability to string several together. We want him to shoot, and I believe this game should provide the rhythm he has been seeking. Silas (Redenbaugh) has come on late for us, providing size and energy as he adds another element to our team and he is playing with a lot of confidence right now. Ty (Romero) was able to get going in the second half, finishing with 19 points. He has the ability to string together a stretch of possessions and we like that he is rounding into form as we hit the postseason.”
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES at Marion
SCORING: EAGLES > 6-14-24-18 = 62; Marion > 4-5-13-14 = 36.
TEAM STATS: EAGLES > 2-FGs – 15/24; 3-PTs – 10/24; FTs – 2/4; AST – 22; REBs – 30; TO – 14; STLs – 12; BLKs – 1; FLs – 13; Marion > 2-FGs – 9/27; 3-PTs – 5/14; FTs – 3/7; AST – 9; REBs – 21; TO – 16; STLs – 8; BLKs – 0; FLs – 14.
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS: Scoring > Ty Romero – 19; Alex Robertson – 18; Silas Redenbaugh – 13; Blake Robertson – 5; Johnny Unruh – 3; Axton Fields – 2; Andrew Huxman – 2. 3-Pointers Made > A. Robertson – 6; Romero – 3; Unruh – 1. Assists > Unruh – 10; Huxman – 4; Romero – 3; A. Robertson – 2; Fields, Gavin Robertson, Landon Schneider – 1. Rebounds > Schneider – 6; Redenbaugh, B. Robertson, Huxman – 4; Romero – 3; A. Robertson, Unruh – 2; G. Robertson – 1. Steals > Unruh – 4; Romero, Redenbaugh, Huxman – 2; A. Robertson, Schneider – 1. Blocked Shots > B. Robertson – 1.
(The Staff covering events for the MAC AREA SPORTS NEW can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)