Eagles turn over game to University of Wyoming, 81-53

With basketball season now here the Eagles women’s team traveled to Laramie last Sunday to play its season opener against the University of Wyoming Cowgirls in an exhibition game.

The Eagles came out to a good start, jumping to a five-point lead in the first quarter against the Cowgirls. Emma Block, senior of Copenhagen, Denmark, led the Eagles’ offense with 15 points, shooting three of five from the 3-point line and making all six  from the free-throw line. Stephanie Knowles, senior of Colorado Springs, Colorado, also managed to score 10 points for the Eagles, shooting five of 16 from the field. The duo combined for a total of 25 points, which was just under half of the team’s total 53 points in the game.

The Eagles also saw good production coming from some of their key reserves that checked into the game. Kayla Matthews, sophomore of Adelaide, Australia, came in and gave the Eagles nine points, and Erin Graham, junior of Deland, Florida, scored eight.

Defensively Knowles led the Eagles in steals with five, just over half of the Eagles nine total team steals, while four other Eagles each contributed one steal a piece. Maddie Metzger, junior of Georgetown, Texas, grabbed five rebounds, which tied for a team high with Knowles. The team had 27 total rebounds, which includes five team rebounds.

“I thought our defense was solid all around and we communicated well,” Havannah Newens, junior of Mitchell, said. “We have scrappy defenders who put pressure on players.”

The Eagles managed to compete and keep it a close game going into halftime only trailing by 11, points but in the second half, the depth of the Cowgirls became a factor against the young Eagles team. Turnovers played a major factor in the game. The Eagles totaled 21 turnovers while the Cowgirls marked 17 but also had 17 assists while the Eagles only assisted six times. Capitalizing on the Eagles’ turnovers, the Cowgirls scored 24 points off just turnovers which helped keep the lead for the remainder of the game.

“We have some really great talent on the team this year which should take us far,” Block said. “The only thing that can stop us this year is ourselves.”

The Eagles play at home this weekend in two non-conference games against Augustana College and the University of Nebraska-Kearney.