By: Sydney Booth

A rivalry is a rivalry no matter how you spin it, especially when the Eaton Reds took on the Platte Valley Broncos on January 12 at home. Adding to the contest was the fact that Eaton is ranked no. 4 in the state and Platte Valley is ranked no. 5 in the state according to Maxpreps. At first, Platte Valley hung in with our unstoppable Reds, but their energy clearly faded. The Reds brought home another victory with a final score of 62 to 45.

During the first quarter, Platte Valley’s stamina seemed up to par with Eaton’s. The score for quarter one was a tight 17 to 15 in favor of the Reds. But the Reds showed off their defense in the second quarter when they held the Broncos to only eight points that quarter, leaving them with 23 points and Eaton with 30. Things picked up in the third quarter coming out of halftime, but Eaton still pulled ahead with a score of 41 to 33 to welcome the final quarter. By the time a timeout was taken by Platte Valley’s head coach with 5:24 left to go, it was clear that Eaton had made this their game with a score of 51 to 38. Making matters worse for the Broncos, their starting senior, number 12 Adrianna Rios, fouled out, along with another player. The lady Reds pushed for more points as the Broncos attempted a comeback. The clock stopped with only four Platte Valley player on the court with a meager 2.7 seconds left as Bailie Schumacher (16) shot two free throws.

There were some pretty spectacular plays on both sides, particularly the call and answer three point shots that came from both teams in a span of about 20 seconds. The Eaton crowd reacted savagely when a Platte Valley player obviously traveled to the hoop and the infraction was not called by the referees in the third quarter.

Coming out of the gate, it was a very physical game that eventually led to a bonus at the end of the first half. The Broncos racked up 10 fouls and Eaton managed to get seven. At the end of the second half, the Broncos landed 10 more fouls and the Reds decreased theirs to five. “We didn’t make any special changes as far as our game plan,” Coach Hernandez said. “We knew coming in that it was Platte Valley and that it would be a physical game.”

As the game went on, it became apparent that Platte Valley was giving Eaton some pretty easy shots under the hoop. Coach Todd Hernandez said, “I think our depth was able to help us. Our conditioning really paid off.” The Reds (trained by Christina Contreras) were able to hustle down the court and continue to play their game.

One of the stars of the game, Schumacher (16) said, “For me, [the best part of the game] was our defense. We are always hustling, so I like to see how we hustle and work every game.” Schumacher scored 22 points.

With the end of the season approaching, the Reds have a greater goal to achieve: playing at the state tournament. The 10 games they have left to play are against some of the same teams they have already played, including Platte Valley. Their shot at redemption will come on Feb. 9 at home.