Eads Girls Lose Heartbreaker to Walsh in OT

KCP Staff

December 26, 2003

The very young players from Eads continue to improve their game and may be a team to reckon with by the end of the season if they continue the gains they are making. This was never more evident than in the first round of the 40^th Annual Lamar Chamber of Commerce Holiday Tournament when Eads would lose a heartbreaker in OT to the Walsh Lady Eagles, 36-39, who had controlled Eads just a week earlier. Eads went on to get their first two wins of the season advancing in the consolation bracket against Granada on Friday morning, 55-22, and then winning the Consolation Championship on Saturday afternoon in a thrilling 48-47 win over an athletic Springfield team.

Eads showed they had come to play in the opening round of the tournament as their half-court press bothered the Lady Eagles from down south and sparked them into a 19-13 lead at halftime. The big scoring production came in the second period when the deep bench from Walsh got into a little bit of foul trouble putting Eads on the line a number of time. However, they only hit four for ten in that period but kept themselves alive with some key steals off the press. Senior leader Jessica Watts had an outstanding day and was tenacious inside against the big Walsh team scoring 15 points before she went out with 3:58 remaining in the game. At the time Watts fouled out Eads was up by five points. The crowd thought Eads was finished as their floor leader was gone as well as their scorer. But the very young Eagles, many times with four sophomores and a freshman on the court, continued to battle. If they could have hit some key free throws in the final seconds of the regulation portion of the game Eads would have won the contest. After Watts went out, junior Morrell Koch helped out Eads’ cause hitting two big buckets to hold on to the lead. But it was the free throw shooting that killed Eads at the end of the game. In OT Eads’ defense continued to battle holding Walsh to a single bucket and two free throws, however, they could not produce any scoring even though they did get some good looks at the hoop. Watts would lead all scorers in this contest with 15 points followed by Koch eight and Jennie Richards with seven.

Eads got their first win on the season over the Granada Bobcats on Friday morning enjoying scoring production from seven Eagles and controlling Granada with some tough man defense. The half court press also bothered Granada as Eads would get 20 points off it in the first and 17 more in the third. Eads outscored the Bobcats in every stanza and showed great improvement in many areas of the game. Point-guard Alyssa Hadley, a good outside shooter who finally got some confidence, had a good outing with 14 points while Watts and Koch each hit for 11 counters and Kerissa Sicklebower, another outside shooter, hit for ten points.

Eads got the Consolation Championship in a very tight exciting game on Saturday afternoon and defeated the Springfield Longhorns who got multiple looks at the bucket at the end of the game but could not get past the Eagle defense. Watts, again, was outstanding hitting for 26 points, many coming from very difficult shots at the post. Koch would complement Watts with 10 points of her own and more importantly maintain that outside threat for the Eagles. But it was freshman Destiny Saffer who stepped up with 2:54 left in the contest to put Eads up for good when she got her own rebound of a free throw and made the layup making the score, 46-45. Watts would hit the front end of a one-and-one at the 1:40 mark to pull Eads to a 47-45 lead. Then it was up to the defense as Springfield got five possessions to score. They would finally tie the score after Hadley fouled their premier player, Jacobs, who had 19 points on the day. Jacobs would hit both free throws tying the contest with :27 remaining. But Hadley would redeem herself on the free throw line with 16.7 seconds remaining. The sophomore has struggled at the line all season, but stepped up when the chips were down to hit one of two bringing Eads up 48-47. Good defense by Eads at the end of the contest forced Jacobs shot to bounce off the rim and Eads had their second win of the season, and more importantly, the Consolation Championship.

The Eagles will be idle over the holidays but may want to do some serious training in the interim as they will face the No. 1 ranked and Holiday Tournament champions the McClave Lady Cardinals immediately after the break. The high-rivalry game will be in Eads on Friday, January 9^th. Eads will follow with a road trip on Saturday as they take on a 2A Crowley County group in Ordway with game time slated for 2 PM with JV action.